Sam Yagan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sam Yagan
Born (1977-04-10) April 10, 1977 (age 44)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard University
Stanford University
OccupationCo-founder of OkCupid
Co-founder of SparkNotes
Vice-Chairman of Match.com
CEO of Shoprunner
Years active1999–present
Spouse(s)
Jessica Droste Yagan
​
​
(m. 2003)​
Parent(s)Al Yagan
Dr. Haifa Yagan

Sam Yagan (born April 10, 1977) is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of OkCupid.[1] In 2013, he was named to TIME Magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World' list.[1] He is the Vice-Chairman of the e-dating site Match.com.[2]

Family and education[]

The son of Syrian immigrants, Al and Dr. Haifa Yagan,[3][4] Sam was instilled with an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. He grew up in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and studied at the Illinois Math and Science Academy and eventually Harvard University. 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.[5] His brother Danny Yagan is an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.[6] His wife Jessica Droste Yagan is the CEO of Impact Engine, an impact investing fund.[citation needed]

Career[]

SparkNotes[]

In 1999, during his senior year at Harvard, Yagan and two of his classmates, Chris Coyne and Max Krohn, started the online study guide SparkNotes.[7] Christian Rudder joined shortly after the founding. A year later they sold the company to Barnes & Noble for $30 million.[8]

eDonkey, Inc.[]

By age 25 Yagan was the president of eDonkey (founded in 2002), a P2P file-sharing network. As the developer of eDonkey, Yagan testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing a need for balance between innovation and intellectual property.[9]

OkCupid[]

In 2003, Yagan again teamed up with his Harvard classmates Chris Coyne and Max Krohn and founded OkCupid.

Excelerate Labs[]

In 2009, Yagan and Troy Henikoff founded Excelerate Labs.[10]

IAC[]

In 2011, Yagan sold his dating website (OkCupid) to IAC for $50 million and in 2012, Yagan became the CEO of Match.com (a subsidiary of IAC).[8]

ShopRunner[]

Yagan is currently CEO of , an e-commerce network that provides two-day shipping across multiple merchants.[11]

Honors and Recognition[]

Time 100[]

In April 2013, Yagan was listed as one of TIME Magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World'.[1]

Fortune Magazine's 40 Under 40[]

In 2014, Yagan was listed as one of Fortune Magazine's "40 Under 40."

Crain's "40 Under 40"[]

In 2011, Yagan was named to Crain's "40 under 40" in Chicago.[12]

Personal life[]

Sam Yagan is married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Droste Yagan.[13][14]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Time 100 - Sam Yagan". Time Magazine. April 18, 2013.
  2. ^ Pletz, John (April 18, 2013). "Sam I am". Crain's Chicago Business.
  3. ^ "Yagan's influence no illusion". The Daily Journal. December 2013.
  4. ^ "Time magazine ranks Bourbonnais' Sam Yagan among 100 most influential people". The Daily Journal. April 2013.
  5. ^ "Executive Profile: Sam Yagan". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg.
  6. ^ "Faculty Profiles: Danny Yagan". UC Berkeley Department of Economics. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  7. ^ Aucoin, Don (August 2007). "Digital Man". Boston Globe.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Confessions of a Former Entrepreneur". Inc. Magazine. July–August 2011.
  9. ^ "Testimony of Sam Yagan". United States Senate Judiciary Committee. Retrieved September 2005. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ Casserly, Meghan. "Excelerate Labs". Forbes. Retrieved Jan 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ Cremades, Alejandro. "This Founder Bounced Back From Startup Failure To Leading A $400M IPO That Transformed Online Dating". Forbes. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  12. ^ " "40 under 40". Crain's Chicago Business. 2011.
  13. ^ Kapos, Shia (February 11, 2013). "Married to their high school sweethearts". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  14. ^ "Jessica Droste Yagan '95 and Sam Yagan '95 Step Up for IMSA". IMSA360. November 6, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2014.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""