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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.
Sam Yagan | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 10, 1977 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics and an MBA |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Stanford University |
| Occupation(s) | Co-founder of OkCupid Co-founder of SparkNotes Vice-Chairman of Match.com Former CEO of Shoprunner |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse |
Jessica Droste Yagan
(m. 2003) |
| Children | 3 |
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]
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.[13][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.[18] 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.[19]
In 2003, Yagan again teamed up with his Harvard classmates Chris Coyne, Max Krohn, and Christian Rudder to found online dating website OkCupid.[20] Yagan and partners designed OkCupid with a question-and-answer-based system.[21][22] In 2011, Yagan led the sale of OkCupid to Match Group, a subsidiary of IAC, for $90 million.[23] 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.[24] While Yagan was CEO, Match Group started Tinder.[25]
In 2009, Yagan, Kelli Rhee, and Kapil Chaudhary co-founded Excelerate Labs with the financial backing from Sandbox Industries.[26] Excelerate Labs merged with Techstars in 2013.[27]
In 2014, Yagan co-founded Corazon Capital with Steve Farsht.[28]
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.[29][30] He led the sale of the company to FedEx in December 2020.[31] Yagan shut down ShopRunner’s office in San Mateo, California, and established its headquarters in Chicago.[32] He attributed this move to the labor market and ability to recruit.[33]
Board memberships
Yagan has participated on the board for several companies including Grindr,[34] Match Group,[35] Rush University Medical Center,[36] Start Early,[37] Shiftgig,[35] SpotHero,[35] Tinder,[35] and Techstars.[38]
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.[39]
Sam Yagan is married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Droste Yagan.[40][41] They have three children.[42][43] Yagan and his wife started the Yagan Family Foundation.[44]
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