Elisha Fronda envisioned working in sports after graduating from Grand Canyon University in 2020.
He thought he had a job-shadowing position lined up with the Phoenix Suns before the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a virtual standstill.
Fronda didn’t panic. Shortly after earning his bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in sports management, he joined a startup company as its first full-time employee and packed boxes out of the founders' Scottsdale garage.
Instead of pursuing a sports career or trying to latch onto a high-profile company, Fronda’s work ethic, skills and faith in his new company have paid off well.
Fronda has become a marketing influencer manager for Whatnot, a live streaming platform and marketplace devoted to live shopping for collectibles and other unique items in the United States, England and Europe. Buyers and sellers chat, host auctions and build relationships.
Whatnot amassed more than $3 billion in annual gross merchandise value for livestream sales in 2024, according to Value Added Resource, and garnered $265 million in Series E funding, a later-stage funding round for startups, with a valuation of nearly $5 billion.
Fronda, who resides in the seaside neighborhood of Playa Del Rey in Southern California, is now one of more than 600 employees with offices in Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, London and Poland.
But he hasn’t forgotten his GCU roots, and it’s not just because more than 15 alumni have worked their way through their customer support and warehouse departments to the likes of sports cards partnerships, trust and safety, sneakers account manager and influencer marketing positions.
“So it means a lot to be able to see other GCU folks get the same (opportunity),” Fronda said.
How serious is Fronda about hiring GCU students? He spent three days on campus in late February, attending a career fair, and talking to three entrepreneurship classes, two capstone classes, a hospitality marketing class, and the IDEA and Sports and Entertainment Business clubs.
“We really want to kind of share the story of all these GCU alums and the cool things that they're doing, and what Whatnot is, because our sales and all those things are really doing incredibly well, but there's not a ton of awareness about the company itself,” said Fronda, who estimated there were about 50 job openings late last month.
Fronda emphasized to GCU students that the openings, primarily as a customer experience agent, might not seem glamorous, but they help new employees start from the ground up. Alums who have advanced to more prominent duties “went through the customer support pipeline.”
“Whatnot is truly changing the game of online selling, and getting to know so many GCU students are part of the change is inspiring,” said Shelby Link, president of the Sports and Entertainment Business Club.
Based on his success and those of fellow employees, Fronda believes GCU alums can hold their own against graduates from elite universities.
“We work really hard, so nothing is above us,” said Fronda, who was accompanied by fellow alumni and Whatnot employees Bryan Byerly (trust and safety specialist) and Avram Arenas (strategy and operations manager) on his visit to GCU.
“We’re super humble in that sense and also grounded in high morals. So the way that we treat others is built in the Christian foundation that we have growing up in GCU that goes a long way and helps separate us to compete with everyone here.”
Fronda, a native of Hawaii, is proud of how GCU prepared him for his position. He committed to GCU after taking a Discover Trip and developed leadership skills as vice president of the Honors Student Advisory Board and president of the Sports and Entertainment Business Club.
Fronda presented Ball Out Arizona, a nonprofit basketball organization he founded, for the Honors College Symposium in Spring 2022 after starting Ball Out Hawaii. That caught the eye of John Hamby, a contest judge and former business consultant who later sponsored Fronda’s nonprofit. That also started a connection that paid off when Fronda sought career advice following graduation in the COVID era.
Hamby suggested Fronda contact Whatnot co-founders Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head, and another bond was formed.
“I never would have done it (joined Whatnot) if it wasn’t for the Honors College and all the support here,” Fronda said.
During his visit to GCU, he joked that he felt old after seeing several new buildings on the east side of campus. Pili Fronda, Elisha’s younger brother, recently graduated from GCU and was part of the U.S. tour of “Mrs. Doubtfire” as a drummer.
Selah Fronda, Elisha’s sister, is completing her freshman year at the university.
But Elisha was all business during his trip to GCU, making a point to talk to several groups with entrepreneurship connections because he believed there would be a potential fit with his company.
He also wanted to raise Whatnot’s profile, as he estimated about a quarter of the students knew about his company.
“It costs (about) $10,000-plus to create your own storefront,” Fronda said. “If you're at a mall or you're at your own shop, and then you have to get all the inventory, and then you have to get employees and hire them.
“(Or) I can apply to be a seller today, and by this weekend, I could be selling and live streaming. It's almost like you have access to a much bigger audience than a storefront, but you don't have to pay the overhead that it takes to do that.”
Despite not landing a job in sports, Fronda’s company engages in sports memorabilia and sneaker selling and buying.
“I've had to reassess my path, and it’s a huge blessing,” said Fronda, who points to Romans 8:28:
“All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to God's purpose.”
“It's pretty cool how it all worked out.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at Mark.Gonzales@gcu.edu
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