8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

_____________________________________________________________________________________

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 13, 2015

IZEA, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Nevada	333-167960	37-1530765
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

480 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 200 Winter Park, Florida	32789
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (407) 674-6911

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR     240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4 (c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR     240.13e-4(c))

CURRENT REPORT ON FORM 8-K

IZEA, INC.

April 13, 2015

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

(d)    On April 13, 2015, John H. Caron was elected to our Board of Directors. Mr. Caron is considered to be an independent member of our Board of Directors, under Nasdaq’s independence standards.

Mr. Caron is currently an independent director on the board of Thrive Frozen Nutrition (http://thriveicecream.com/),on the Strategic Advisory Board for Kairos (http://kairos.io/) and, since 2013, a board member for venVelo (http://www.venvelo.org/), a Central Florida early-stage venture fund. Mr. Caron served as the President of Olive Garden at Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) from May 30, 2011 to January 2013, Darden's Chief Marketing Officer from March 2010 to May 30, 2011 and Darden's Executive Vice President of Marketing for Olive Garden from 2003-2010. As a member of Darden's Operating Team, Mr. Caron led brand growth strategy across the enterprise to help ensure each Darden brand was appropriately positioned and had clearly identified plans in place to drive sustainable growth. Before joining Darden Restaurants, Mr. Caron served as Vice President and General Manager of Lipton Beverages for Unilever Bestfoods North America from 2000-2002. Mr. Caron received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from The Colorado College and a Master's degree in American Politics from New York University Department of Politics. Mr. Caron also earned an MBA in Marketing from New York University Stern School of Business.

In consideration of his services as a director, we have agreed to grant to Mr. Caron stock options to purchase 50,000 shares of our common stock at the current market price, vesting in equal monthly installments over 12 months from the date of grant.

Mr. Caron joined our Strategic Advisory Board in June 2013, but has not engaged in any related party transactions with us during the last two fiscal years. There are no family relationships between Mr. Caron and any of our other executive officers or directors.

On April 13, 2015, we issued a press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Caron to our Board of Directors. The full text of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d)   Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release issued by IZEA, Inc. on April 13, 2015

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	IZEA, INC.
Date: April 13, 2015	By:/s/ Edward H. (Ted) Murphy Edward H. (Ted) Murphy President and Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.1

EXHIBIT 99.1

Former President of Olive Garden Joins IZEA Board of Directors

John Caron brings 27 years of Fortune 500 Brand Experience to Company

Orlando, Florida (April 13, 2015) - IZEA, Inc. (OTCQB: IZEA), operator of the premiere online marketplace that connects brands with influential content creators, announced the addition of John H. Caron to the company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Caron served as the President of Olive Garden and was a member of Darden Restaurants’ (NYSE: DRI) Executive and Operating Teams. At Olive Garden he led a company with more than 820 restaurants, 90,000 employees and $3.7 billion in annual sales.

Mr. Caron has 27 years of marketing experience in the consumer packaged goods and restaurant industries and has served in numerous senior marketing leadership roles including Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Darden. He joined Darden Restaurants as Olive Garden’s Executive Vice President of Marketing in April 2003. During his tenure he oversaw the successful launch of a national Hispanic advertising campaign, the first for a casual dining brand, developed and implemented Olive Garden’s first digital media strategy (the first in the category) and delivered relevant new promotions and advertising campaigns, all leading to sustained results that far outpaced the casual dining industry.

Before joining Darden Restaurants, Mr. Caron served as Vice President and General Manager of Lipton Beverages for Unilever Bestfoods North America. His 17-year tenure with Unilever also included leadership roles for a variety of food businesses including the +$600 million sauce portfolio (Ragu and Five Brothers) and international assignments in Canada and Germany leading the company’s portfolio of margarine brands.

“John joined IZEA’s strategic advisory board in 2013 and has been an incredible asset to the company,” said Ted Murphy, IZEA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We are thrilled to have him devote more time to IZEA and leverage his experience as the company heads into an exciting period of growth and opportunity.”

Mr. Caron is currently an Independent Director on the board of Thrive Frozen Nutrition (http://thriveicecream.com/),on the Strategic Advisory Board for Kairos (http://kairos.io/) and is also a board member for venVelo (http://www.venvelo.org/) a Central Florida early-stage venture fund.

In addition, Mr. Caron is active in the Central Florida community having been appointed by the Mayor of Winter Park to the Economic Development Advisory Board and the City’s Visioning Steering Committee. He is a member of Entrepreneurs in Action - an initiative of the Central Florida Foundation (http://cffound.org/) which helps in the design and implementation of non-traditional social enterprise and nonprofit business strategies; an Advisory Board member for the Rosen College of Hospitality Management (University of Central Florida) and serves as President of the Winter Park Racquet Club.

“I have had the pleasure of working with the IZEA management team over the past few years and witnessed an incredible transformation of the company and the industry” said Caron. “I look forward to becoming more deeply involved and helping the team continue to lead the space.”

Mr. Caron received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The Colorado College and a Master’s degree in American Politics from New York University School of Politics. Mr. Caron earned an MBA in Marketing from New York University School of Business.

About IZEA

IZEA operates the premiere online marketplace that connects brands with influential content creators. IZEA creators range from leading bloggers and social media personalities to A-List celebrities and professional journalists. Creators are compensated for developing and distributing unique content on behalf of brands including long form text, videos, photos and status updates. Brands receive influential consumer

content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. For more information about IZEA, visit http://corp.izea.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release that are forward-looking include the company's bookings. These forward-looking statements are based largely on IZEA's expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond IZEA's control. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors, competitive conditions in the social sponsorship segment in which IZEA operates, failure to popularize one or more of the marketplace platforms of IZEA, inability to obtain additional capital, and changing economic conditions that are less favorable than expected. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information contained in this respect will in fact occur. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://corp.izea.com/safe-harbor-statement.

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IZEA Investor Relations:

Budd Zuckerman

Genesis Select

303.415.0200

bzuckerman@genesisselect.com

IZEA Media Relations:

Brent Diggins

Allison & Partners

(480) 516-2035

brent@allisonpr.com