Sam Yagan Explained

Sam Yagan
Birth Date:April 10, 1977
Nationality:American
Education:degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics and an MBA
Alma Mater:Harvard University
Stanford University
Occupation:Co-founder of OkCupid
Co-founder of SparkNotes
Vice-Chairman of Match.com
Former CEO of Shoprunner
Years Active:1999–present
Children:3

Sam Yagan (born April 10, 1977) is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of OkCupid.[1] Time named Yagan one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.[1] He is the co-founder and managing director of Corazon Capital.

Family and education

Yagan is the son of Syrian immigrants, Al and Dr. Haifa Yagan,[2] [3] and grew up in Bourbonnais, Illinois; he studied at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School, Illinois Math and Science Academy, Harvard College, and eventually Stanford Graduate School of Business.[4] [5]

Yagan holds a bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University, where he earned distinction as a Siebel Scholar, an Arjay Miller Scholar, and the Henry Ford Scholar, the award granted to each class's valedictorian.[6] His brother Danny Yagan is an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.[7] His wife Jessica Droste Yagan is the CEO of Impact Engine, an impact investing fund.[8]

Career

In 1999, during his senior year at Harvard, Yagan and his classmates, Chris Coyne, Max Krohn, and Christian Rudder started TheSpark.com,[9] [10] which would later be known as SparkNotes.[11] In 2000, Yagan and partners sold SparkNotes to iTurf for $30 million,[12] [13] the partners then helped iTurf sell the site again to Barnes & Noble. in 2001.[14] After the sale, Yagan then stayed at Barnes & Noble for a year.[15]

eDonkey was a part of MetaMachine Inc and was a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network. Yagan was the CEO of MetaMachine Inc.[16] As the developer of eDonkey, Yagan testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing a need for balance between innovation and intellectual property.[17]

In 2006, MetaMachine, Yagan, and founder Jed McCaleb agreed to pay $30 million to avoid potential copyright infringement lawsuits brought by the RIAA.[16] In accordance with the agreement, MetaMachine, Yagan and McCaleb agreed to discontinue distribution of its software as well as to deprecate previous copies of its software.[18]

In 2003, Yagan again teamed up with his Harvard classmates Chris Coyne, Max Krohn, and Christian Rudder to found online dating website OkCupid.[13] Yagan and partners designed OkCupid with a question-and-answer-based system.[19] [20] In 2011, Yagan led the sale of OkCupid to Match Group, a subsidiary of IAC, for $90 million.[21] Yagan was the CEO of Match Group for three years and left at the end of 2015 before joining the company's public board as vice chairman.[22] While Yagan was CEO, Match Group started Tinder.[23]

In 2009, Yagan, Kelli Rhee, and Kapil Chaudhary co-founded Excelerate Labs with the financial backing from Sandbox Industries.[24] Excelerate Labs merged with Techstars in 2013.[25]

In 2014, Yagan co-founded Corazon Capital with Steve Farsht.[26]

In 2016, Yagan became the CEO of ShopRunner, an e-commerce network that provides two-day shipping across multiple merchants that was founded by Michael Rubin.[27] [28] He led the sale of the company to FedEx in December 2020.[29] Yagan shut down ShopRunner's office in San Mateo, California, and established its headquarters in Chicago.[30] He attributed this move to the labor market and ability to recruit.[31]

Board memberships

Yagan has participated on the board for several companies including Grindr,[32] Match Group,[33] Rush University Medical Center,[34] Start Early,[35] Shiftgig, SpotHero, Tinder, and Techstars.[36]

Recognition

Time named Yagan one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.[1] In 2011, Yagan was named to Crain's "40 under 40" in Chicago.[37]

Personal life

Sam Yagan is married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Droste Yagan.[38] [39] They have three children.[40] [41] Yagan and his wife started the Yagan Family Foundation.[42]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Time 100 - Sam Yagan. Time Magazine. April 18, 2013. April 23, 2013. April 24, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130424004455/http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/sam-yagan/. live.
  2. News: December 2013 . Yagan's influence no illusion . The Daily Journal.
  3. News: April 2013 . Time magazine ranks Bourbonnais' Sam Yagan among 100 most influential people . The Daily Journal.
  4. News: The Daily Journal staff reports . 20 April 2013 . Time magazine ranks Bourbonnais' Sam Yagan among 100 most influential people . 1 March 2024 . The Daily Journal . en.
  5. News: Feloni . Richard . Baer . Drake . September 9, 2014 . The 25 Most Successful Stanford Business School Graduates . 1 March 2024 . Business Insider.
  6. Web site: Executive Profile: Sam Yagan. Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg. April 23, 2013.
  7. Web site: Faculty Profiles: Danny Yagan. UC Berkeley Department of Economics. June 25, 2015. October 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221001214706/https://www.econ.berkeley.edu/faculty/6223. live.
  8. Web site: Jessica Droste Yagan - IMPACT ENGINE. Dec 1, 2023.
  9. News: Aucoin . Don . August 2007 . Digital Man . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001214710/http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2007/09/05/digital_man/?page=full . October 1, 2022 . April 23, 2013 . Boston Globe.
  10. News: Copeland . Libby . 4 January 2004 . Point. Click. Ick! Gross Anatomy Of a Web Site . 27 March 2024 . Washington Post.
  11. News: Martin . Stacy . 5 September 2004 . SITE SPECIFIC-www.sparknotes.com . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20050131025114/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2004%2F09%2F05%2FLVGE88I6RA1.DTL . 31 January 2005 . 2006-03-19 . San Francisco Chronicle . Hearst Communications Inc. . San Francisco . dmy-all.
  12. News: Roberts . Daniel . 25 September 2013 . The nerd king of online dating . 1 March 2024 . Fortune . en . Before they created OkCupid, he and the same friends started SparkNotes, an online alternative to CliffsNotes study guides, in 1999. It sold to iTurf, Inc. for $30 million..
  13. News: Hemmerdinger . J. . 3 March 2011 . Matchmaking math: 1 + 1 = $50 million . 1 March 2024 . Press Herald.
  14. News: Helm . Burt . 23 October 2005 . A Hard Ride For eDonkey . 13 March 2024 . Bloomberg.com . en . Yagan sold the business to Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) for $3.75 million in 2001..
  15. News: Mazarakis . Richard . Feloni . Anna . 21 May 2018 . The cofounder of OKCupid says 3 lucky moments led him to run a multi-billion-dollar company . 13 March 2024 . Business Insider.
  16. News: McCarthy . Caroline . 26 September 2006 . File-sharing site eDonkey kicks it . 13 March 2024 . CNET . en.
  17. Web site: Testimony of Sam Yagan . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20121220031016/http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da10ac129&wit_id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da10ac129-2-6 . December 20, 2012 . 23 April 2013 . United States Senate Judiciary Committee.
  18. Billboard Staff . 12 September 2006 . eDonkey Settles With Majors To Tune Of $30m . 13 March 2024 . Billboard.
  19. News: Ciment . Shoshy . 14 February 2020 . The 'grandfather of online dating' reveals the 3 crucial questions that can predict long-term compatibility in a relationship . 13 March 2024 . Business Insider.
  20. News: NPR Staff . 6 September 2014 . Online Dating Stats Reveal A 'Dataclysm' Of Telling Trends . 3 April 2024 . NPR.
  21. News: Elahi . Amina . December 22, 2015 . Sam Yagan set to join Match Group board after IPO . 1 March 2024 . Business Insider . OkCupid and SparkNotes co-founder Yagan is a prominent figure in Chicago’s technology scene. He sold the dating company to Match Group parent IAC in 2011 for $90 million and went on to co-found local accelerator Excelerate Labs, now Techstars Chicago..
  22. News: Elahi . Amina . 22 December 2015 . Sam Yagan set to join Match Group board after IPO . 3 April 2024 . Chicago Tribune.
  23. News: Roberts . Daniel . 25 September 2013 . The nerd king of online dating . 1 March 2024 . Fortune . en . Many of Tinder’s users don’t realize that it is owned by Match; the app came from its R&D lab and launched under Yagan’s guidance..
  24. News: Rao . Leena . 20 March 2010 . Excelerate Labs Brings A Startup Incubator To Chicago . 1 March 2024 . TechCrunch.
  25. News: Harris . Melissa . 1 February 2013 . City's top tech-startup incubator to merge with national competitor . 1 March 2024 . Chicago Tribune . Excelerate Labs, Chicago’s first and most prominent tech startup incubator, is joining TechStars, a Boulder, Colo.-based competitor.
  26. News: Moore . Galen . OkCupid Founder Sam Yagan's Corazon Capital Is Back With a Bigger Fund II . 1 March 2024 . Chicago Inno . 5 October 2016 . The $13 million Corazon I, also led by Yagan and Farsht, was known for bringing in local entrepreneurs as limited partners, including Inventables founder CEO Zach Kaplan...The firm has participated in Series A-sized rounds for several Chicago startups..
  27. News: Elahi . Amina . 12 July 2016 . Former Match CEO Sam Yagan takes the helm at ShopRunner . 1 March 2024 . Chicago Tribune.
  28. News: Del Rey . Jason . 5 October 2018 . Michael Rubin’s ShopRunner plans to acquire the e-commerce startup Spring . 13 March 2024 . Vox . en.
  29. News: Cremades . Alejandro . This Founder Bounced Back From Startup Failure To Leading A $400M IPO That Transformed Online Dating . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011626/https://www.forbes.com/sites/alejandrocremades/2019/02/09/this-founder-bounced-back-from-startup-failure-to-leading-a-400m-ipo-that-transformed-online-dating/ . February 12, 2019 . 10 February 2019 . Forbes.
  30. News: Pletz . John . 26 April 2017 . Yagan moves ShopRunner's Silicon Valley ops to Chicago . 1 March 2024 . Crain’s Chicago Business . The e-commerce software company is shutting down its Silicon Valley office and moving about 30 jobs to Chicago…Employees in San Mateo, Calif., have been offered the chance to relocate to Chicago, and some will continue to work remotely from the West Coast..
  31. News: Pletz . John . 26 April 2017 . Yagan moves ShopRunner's Silicon Valley ops to Chicago . 1 March 2024 . Crain’s Chicago Business . "It's become clear our place in this labor market is so strong and our ability to recruit is more advantageous than in San Mateo," said Yagan, who got his MBA from Stanford University..
  32. Web site: 12 February 2021 . Form S-1 registration statement under the securities act of 1993 Corazon Capital v838 Monoceros Corp . 1 March 2024 . www.sec.gov . Mr. Yagan sits on the board of several private companies, including The Duchossois Group, SpotHero, Brilliant Worldwide, and Grindr..
  33. News: Elahi . Amina . December 22, 2015 . Sam Yagan set to join Match Group board after IPO . 1 March 2024 . Business Insider . Yagan also sits on the board of Tinder, another Match Group-owned dating app, as well as on the boards of local startups including Shiftgig and SpotHero..
  34. Web site: Hospital Leadership at RUSH University Medical Center . 13 March 2024 . www.rush.edu.
  35. Web site: Start Early Board of Directors . 13 March 2024 . Start Early.
  36. News: Moore . Galen . 5 October 2016 . OkCupid Founder Sam Yagan's Corazon Capital Is Back With a Bigger Fund II . 1 March 2024 . Chicago Inno . Yagan is now CEO of Shoprunner. Both he and Farsht are on the board of Techstars Chicago..
  37. News: 40 under 40. Crain's Chicago Business. 2011. April 23, 2013. April 16, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130416133950/http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/40under40-2011#_Yagan". live.
  38. News: Kapos. Shia. Married to their high school sweethearts. 19 April 2014. Crain's Chicago Business. February 11, 2013. October 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221001214709/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130209/ISSUE09/302099976/chicago-execs-who-married-their-high-school-sweethearts. live.
  39. News: Jessica Droste Yagan '95 and Sam Yagan '95 Step Up for IMSA. 19 April 2014. IMSA360. November 6, 2012. April 19, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140419030429/https://sites.imsa.edu/imsa360/2012/11/06/from-small-town/. live.
  40. Web site: Ihejirika . Maudlyne . November 21, 2015 . Sunday Sitdown: Sam Yagan, tech guru, son of Syrian immigrants . Chicago Sun-Times.
  41. Web site: 15 Questions with ...Sam Yagan . October 31, 2024 . CNN Business.
  42. Web site: 9 May 2013 . Yagan Family Foundation - Nonprofit Explorer . 13 March 2024 . ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer . ProPublica . en.

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