Sam Yagan
Born (1977-04-10) April 10, 1977
NationalityAmerican
Educationdegree in Applied Mathematics and Economics and an MBA
Alma materHarvard University
Stanford University
Occupation(s)Co-founder of OkCupid
Co-founder of SparkNotes
Vice-Chairman of Match.com
Former CEO of Shoprunner
Years active1999–present
Spouse
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

Yagan is the son of Syrian immigrants, Al and Dr. Haifa Yagan,[3][4] and 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.[7]

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.[8] Christian Rudder joined shortly after the founding. A year later they sold the company to Barnes & Noble for $30 million.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11]

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).[9]

ShopRunner

Yagan is the former CEO of ShopRunner, an e-commerce network that provides two-day shipping across multiple merchants. He led the sale of the company to FedEx in December 2020.

[12]

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.[13]

Personal life

Sam Yagan is married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Droste Yagan.[14][15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Time 100 - Sam Yagan". Time Magazine. April 18, 2013. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ Pletz, John (April 18, 2013). "Sam I am". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  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. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Faculty Profiles: Danny Yagan". UC Berkeley Department of Economics. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Jessica Droste Yagan — IMPACT ENGINE". Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ Aucoin, Don (August 2007). "Digital Man". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Confessions of a Former Entrepreneur". Inc. Magazine. July–August 2011.
  10. ↑ "Testimony of Sam Yagan". United States Senate Judiciary Committee. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  11. ↑ Casserly, Meghan. "Excelerate Labs". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  12. ↑ Cremades, Alejandro. "This Founder Bounced Back From Startup Failure To Leading A $400M IPO That Transformed Online Dating". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  13. ↑ " "40 under 40". Crain's Chicago Business. 2011. " Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  14. ↑ Kapos, Shia (February 11, 2013). "Married to their high school sweethearts". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Jessica Droste Yagan '95 and Sam Yagan '95 Step Up for IMSA". IMSA360. November 6, 2012. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
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