Shapiro

We've been wondering where Dan Shapiro would end up after his departure from PhotoBucket earlier this year. And while the Ontela co-founder hasn't yet settled on his next startup or at least told us about it, the Seattle entrepreneur is tossing some of his expertise behind another promising venture in town.

Shapiro has joined the board of Bonanzle, a fast-growing e-commerce marketplace that pulled in $1 million in financing last month from a group of Seattle angels as well as venture capital firms such as Ignition Partners, Voyager Capital and Matrix Partners. Shapiro -- who also participated in the investment round -- is pretty excited about Bonanzle.

"I have never, ever seen a company that has created such a passionate, loyal, and committed customer base," said Shapiro. "It's all the rage to talk about 'product market fit.' Bonanzle is the epitome of how that's done. They've created a marketplace so great that their users not only use it in place of markets 10 (times) the size, they tell their friends and competitors to use it too."

In fact, Bonanzle boasts 250,000 registered users and nearly two million unique visitors per month. And it is growing at a rapid clip, with a rabid fan base.

Shapiro said he's been especially impressed with the determination of Bonanzle co-founder Bill Harding.

"What kind of developer decides to quit his job so he can go compete with Craigslist? And then actually pulls it off?," he said.

In addition to Shapiro, Bonanzle recently named Seattle angel investor and Voyager Capital venture partner Geoff Entress to the board. Other investors in the company include Wetpaint CEO Ben Elowitz, BuddyV co-founder Andy Liu, The Founder's Co-op and Curious Office Partners.