Eric Lefkofsky American entrepreneur Date of Birth: 13.09.1969 Country: USA

Biography of Eric Lefkofsky

Eric Paul Lefkofsky is an American entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of the company Groupon. He is also known as one of the founders of several other organizations, such as Echo Global Logistics, InnerWorkings, Mediaocean, Uptake, and the Chicago venture capital firm Lightbank.

Lefkofsky grew up in a Jewish family in Southfield, Michigan. His father, Bill, was an engineer, and his mother, Sandy, was a school teacher. His brother, Steven, was a lawyer, and his sister, Jodi, followed in their mother's footsteps and became a school teacher.

After graduating from high school, Lefkofsky attended the University of Michigan, where he successfully completed his studies in 1991. He then continued his education at the university's law school and earned a Juris Doctor degree in 1993.

Lefkofsky's entrepreneurial career began while he was still a student. He made money by selling carpets. After obtaining his law degree, Lefkofsky and his friend Brad Keywell used their family's money to purchase an apparel company called Brandon Apparel in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1999, they created one of their first internet companies called Starbelly, which focused on advertising and promotions. The company quickly became successful and was sold to Halo Industries in January 2000. Lefkofsky joined Halo as the Chief Operating Officer, but unfortunately, the company went bankrupt a year later. After legal battles, both Starbelly and Halo came to a successful resolution by 2004.

Following Starbelly, Lefkofsky co-founded InnerWorkings in the fall of 2001. This new project provided print procurement services for small businesses and grew steadily. In the fall of 2006, the company successfully went public on the American stock market. Lefkofsky served on the company's board of directors until October 2012.

In February 2005, Lefkofsky and Keywell established the logistics company Echo Global Logistics. The company received funding from New Enterprise Associates, one of the largest technology investors in the country, in June 2006. Echo Global Logistics also went public and continues to trade successfully. In June 2006, Lefkofsky and Keywell founded MediaBank, a company that focused on media technology and provided advertisers with tools for planning, accounting, analysis, and procurement. In July 2007, MediaBank acquired Datatech, a key platform in the media planning and print procurement industry. In February 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger of MediaBank and Donovan Data Systems to form Mediaocean, valued at approximately $1.5 billion.

In January 2007, Lefkofsky became one of the founders of the internet auction site ThePoint.com, later renamed Groupon.com in 2008. Groupon quickly became the fastest-growing company in history, according to Forbes in August 2010. In December 2010, Google offered to buy Groupon for $6 billion, but the offer was not accepted due to legal and technical considerations. In October 2011, Groupon raised approximately $950 million in private funding. Lefkofsky and his family received $398 million from this funding.

As of November 2011, Groupon's initial public offering (IPO) exceeded the scale of all other U.S. web companies, second only to Google. The company raised $700 million at a price of $20 per share. In August 2013, Lefkofsky officially became the CEO of Groupon.

In July 2014, Lefkofsky became one of the founders of the analytics group Uptake LLC. Like many successful businessmen, Lefkofsky focuses on philanthropy. In 2006, he and his wife, Elizabeth, established a charitable foundation that supports charitable, scientific, and educational organizations worldwide, with a particular focus on projects related to children. The foundation has worked with more than 50 organizations to date, and Lefkofsky has committed to continuing his philanthropic efforts.

In 2013, Lefkofsky and his wife joined The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to commit to giving away the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.