Adam Lyons Explained

Adam Lyons
Birth Date:06/20/1987 (37 years)
Nationality:American
Occupation:Founder, The Zebra[1]
Years Active:2012-present

Adam Lyons[2] is an American entrepreneur. He founded The Zebra, an insurance comparison website and REALLY Wireless, a telecommunications company.

Education

Lyons grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.[3] He dropped out of high school when he was 15 years old and had odd jobs until he became an insurance underwriter.[4] Lyons was taking classes at a local community college when he was recruited by the Risk Management & Insurance Department at Temple University.[5] He graduated from Temple University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Fox School of Business.[6]

Career

Lyons worked in the insurance industry, starting at Lloyd's of London as a broker and underwriter.[7] Later, he worked as an underwriter for All Risks Insurance, one of the largest US insurance wholesalers.[8] [9]

In 2012, Lyons founded The Zebra.[10] Lyons began to look for investors for the new business venture and partnered with Mark Cuban, after pitching the startup over a cold email.[7] [4] Later, Cuban noted he liked the concept of The Zebra and commented on Lyons' succinct writing style. Adam also partnered with Mike Maples, Jr., an early investor in Twitter and Lyft[11] of Floodgate Fund, UK billionaire Simon Nixon of Moneysupermarket.com.[12] and Silverton Partners based in Austin, Texas.[10] After securing $4.5 million in seed funding in 2013, Lyons relocated the company to Austin, TX.[2]

In 2015, Lyons was named to Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30 list.[13] He was recognized as a finalist for the 2016 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award[14] and also made Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017.[15]

In 2018, Lyons left The Zebra to explore other ventures including the development of a reality TV show with the Pilgrim Media Group in Los Angeles.[16] [17]

In 2022, Lyons founded REALLY Wireless, a fully-encrypted and privacy focused wireless mobile network.[18] [19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 9 extremely clever startup funding stories . 9 January 2015 . fortune.com . Fortune . 3 July 2015.
  2. Web site: Why I Moved My Company to Austin . Lahey . Susan . 10 October 2012 . siliconhillsnews.com . Silicon Hills News . 3 July 2015.
  3. Web site: InsuranceZebra wants to be the Kayak of the online insurance search. Smit. Deb. February 29, 2012. PopCity News. June 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150618160232/http://www.popcitymedia.com/innovationnews/insurancezebra022912.aspx. June 18, 2015. dead.
  4. Web site: High School Dropout Raises $17 Million After Cold Emailing Mark Cuban. Fortune. Erin Griffith. January 26, 2016. February 15, 2016.
  5. Web site: Compare Car Insurance Companies Quickly And Easily Through The Zebra. Cooke. Lacy. June 4, 2015. ThriveWire. June 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150618151836/https://thrivewire.com/stories/compare-car-insurance-companies-quickly-and-easily-through-the-zebra. 2015-06-18. dead.
  6. Office Hours: Adam Lyons. Fox Focus. Temple University. June 18, 2015.
  7. Web site: How Mark Cuban's Advice Led to One Startup's Major Growth, and $21 Million in Funding. Inc.. Zoe Henry. January 26, 2016. February 15, 2016.
  8. Web site: Insurance Zebra raises $1.5 million and moves headquarters from Pittsburgh to Austin. Hawkins. Lori. January 31, 2013. Austin Statesman. June 18, 2015.
  9. Web site: Insurance Zebra Raises $1.5 Million From Mark Cuban, Floodgate, Silverton & Birchmere To Be The Kayak For Auto Insurance. Perez. Sarah. January 31, 2013. TechCrunch. June 18, 2015.
  10. Web site: How a 26-Year-Old Founder Landed Mark Cuban's Money. Lapowsky. Issie. December 10, 2013. Inc. Magazine. June 18, 2015.
  11. Web site: Kayak For Auto Insurance Site The Zebra Grabs Another $3M, Launches Nationwide. Perez. Sarah. December 10, 2013. TechCrunch. June 18, 2015.
  12. Web site: 9 Extremely Clever Startup Funding Stories. Patterson. Te-Erika. January 8, 2015. Entrepreneur magazine. June 18, 2015.
  13. Web site: How This Young Founder Landed Big Fish Investor Mark Cuban. Winfrey. Graham. April 22, 2015. Inc. Magazine. June 18, 2015.
  14. Web site: Meet the 2016 finalists . EY.com . . 2016.
  15. News: Six Austin Entrepreneurs Make the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 List . 7 July 2018 . Silicon Hills . 5 January 2017.
  16. Web site: Adam Lyons leaves The Zebra, hints at something new up his sleeve . August 3, 2018 . Biz Journals . Biz Journals . January 16, 2020.
  17. Web site: How Adam Lyons, a former CEO, is prepping for a career in TV; Coaching entrepreneurs is the goal . March 10, 2019 . Biz Journals . Biz Journals . January 16, 2020.
  18. Web site: Distributed wireless company REALLY strikes deal with T-Mobile. Fierce Network. September 21, 2023. Linda Hardesty. July 13, 2024.
  19. Web site: This Serial Entrepreneur Struck a Key Deal to Scale Up. Here Are His Tips for Achieving Fast Growth. Inc.. September 21, 2023. Sarah Lynch. July 13, 2024.

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