Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman

American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and writer
Date of Birth: 05.08.1967
Country: USA

Content:
  1. Biography of Reid Hoffman
  2. Early Life and Education
  3. Career

Biography of Reid Hoffman

Reid Garrett Hoffman, an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and writer, is best known as the co-founder of the specialized networking platform LinkedIn, which is focused on establishing business connections and job searching.

Reid Hoffman

Early Life and Education

Reid Garrett Hoffman was born on August 5, 1967, in Stanford, California, to Deanna Ruth Rutter and William Parker Hoffman Jr. He spent his childhood in Berkeley, California, and attended The Putney School, where he learned how to make maple syrup, herd cattle, and studied epistemology. Hoffman graduated from Stanford University in 1990 with a degree in symbolic systems and cognitive science. He later earned a master's degree in philosophy from Oxford University in 1993.

Reid Hoffman

During his college years, Hoffman developed his beliefs and initially wanted to have an "academic" impact on the world. However, he soon realized that it would be easier to achieve a greater influence outside of academia. He understood that books written by scientists might only reach a limited audience, whereas he desired to have a broader impact. This realization led Hoffman to shift his focus towards entrepreneurship and away from academia.

Reid Hoffman

Career

Hoffman embarked on his commercial path by joining Apple Computer in 1994, where he worked on the first attempt to create a social network called eWorld. The project was acquired by AOL in 1996. After working at the Japanese corporation Fujitsu, Hoffman finally founded his own company, SocialNet, in 1997. Initially, SocialNet was an internet dating service that catered not only to romantic relationships but also to people with similar interests, such as finding a golf partner.

Reid Hoffman

Continuing to evolve in the business sphere, Hoffman became one of the board members involved in the creation of PayPal, a debit electronic payment system. In January 2000, he left SocialNet and fully focused on PayPal. Peter Thiel, Hoffman's boss, referred to him as the "chief firefighter" of PayPal, highlighting his role in business development, external relations, and government affairs. When eBay acquired PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion, Hoffman served as the executive vice president.

In December 2002, Hoffman became a co-founder of LinkedIn and launched the platform on May 5, 2003, as one of the first business-oriented social networks. By November 2012, LinkedIn had more than 187 million registered users from 200 countries and territories. According to Forbes magazine, LinkedIn is undoubtedly the most profitable social network for job seekers and business professionals.

In David Kirkpatrick's book "The Facebook Effect," it is mentioned that Hoffman organized the first meeting between Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel. This meeting led to Thiel investing $500,000 in the social network, influencing its further development. In the initial stages of raising funds for Zynga, Hoffman personally invested some capital and became a member of the board of directors of the public company. As of August 2012, Zynga had a market value of $2.48 billion.

Hoffman also worked as a columnist for The Washington Post, where he wrote a column called "Let Startups Bail Us Out" in 2009. He co-authored the business book "The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career" with Ben Casnocha, which was released in the United States on February 14, 2012. By September, over 100,000 copies had been sold, and the book became a bestseller on The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal lists.

In 2012, Hoffman was ranked 17th on Fast Company magazine's list of the "100 Most Creative People in Business."

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