David Oliver Sacks (born May 25, 1972) is an entrepreneur and investor in internet technology firms. He is co-founder and general partner of Craft Ventures, a venture fund formed in early 2018. Sacks was the original COO and product leader of PayPal (acquired by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion) and Founder/CEO of Yammer (acquired by Microsoft in 2012 for $1.2 billion). Sacks has invested in a number of successful tech companies, including Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, Airbnb and Houzz. In 2016, he led a turnaround effort as interim CEO of Zenefits.
Video David O. Sacks
Early life and education
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Sacks immigrated with his family to the United States when he was 5 years old.
Sacks attended Memphis University School in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned his B.A. in Economics from Stanford University in 1994 and received a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1998.
Maps David O. Sacks
Career
PayPal
In 1999, Sacks left his job as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company to join e-commerce service PayPal as its chief operating officer.
In February 2002, PayPal went public, it was one of the first IPO after the September 11, 2001 attacks (ABCO went Public in November 2001). The stock rose more than 54% that first day and closed at $20.09. In October 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion.
Sacks is a member of the "PayPal Mafia"--a group of founders and early employees of PayPal who went on to found a series of other successful technology companies. They are often credited with inspiring Web 2.0 and for the re-emergence of consumer-focused Internet companies after the dot com bust of 2001.
The Diversity Myth
Sacks is the co-author with Peter Thiel of the 1995 book The Diversity Myth: 'Multiculturalism' and the Politics of Intolerance at Stanford, published by The Independent Institute. The book is critical of political correctness in higher education and the consequent dilution of academic rigor. It "drew a sharp rebuttal from then-Stanford Provost (and later President George W. Bush's National Security Advisor) Condoleezza Rice," with Rice joining Stanford's then president in writing "They (the two former students) concoct a cartoon, not a description of our freshman curriculum" and that Thiel and Sacks' "commentary was demagoguery, pure and simple."
In 2016, Sacks apologized for statements made in the book, "This is college journalism written over 20 years ago. It does not represent who I am or what I believe today. I'm embarrassed by some of my former views and regret writing them."
Thank You for Smoking
Following PayPal's acquisition, Sacks produced and financed the hit movie Thank You For Smoking through his independent production company, Room 9 Entertainment.
Based on Christopher Buckley's acclaimed 1994 novel of the same title and adapted for the screen by director Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking is a satirical look at today's culture of spin. The all-star cast includes Aaron Eckhart, William H. Macy, Sam Elliot, Rob Lowe, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes, Adam Brody, and Robert Duvall.
Thank You for Smoking was nominated for 2 Golden Globes in 2007 for Best Picture and Best Actor in the Comedy/Musical category. The movie also won: Best Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards, Audience Awards at both the Munich and Norwegian Film Festivals, Best First Feature at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay at the Washington DC Film Critics Association Awards and the San Diego Film Critics Association Awards, and Top Films of the Year at the New York Film Critics Online.
Geni.com
In 2006, Sacks founded Geni.com, a genealogy website that enables family members to collaboratively build an online family tree. At Geni, he wanted more visibility into what was going on across the organization, so the team created a productivity tool to help employees share information. In 2008, Sacks and co-founder Adam Pisoni spun this internal communications tool into a standalone company called Yammer. Geni was acquired by MyHeritage in 2012.
Yammer
Yammer launched at TechCrunch50 in September 2008, winning the grand prize. It is among the fastest-growing enterprise software companies in history, exceeding over five million users in just four years. The company raised $142 million in venture funding from top tier firms and is used by more than 300,000 companies worldwide.
In July 2012, Microsoft acquired the enterprise social network for $1.2 billion.
Zenefits
Sacks became an individual investor in Zenefits, making a "major investment," according to VentureBeat, in December 2014. In January 2016, Zenefits' Board asked him to step in as interim CEO amidst a "regulatory crisis." Over the next year, David negotiated a resolution with insurance regulators across the U.S. - receiving praise for "righting the ship.". Sacks also revamped Zenefits' product line with an initiative he named "Z2", shifting it from a freemium model into a SaaS business model. Shortly after, PC Magazine would note Zenefits had become "the best HR software on the market." After a CEO search, Sacks handed the reigns to former Ooyala CEO, Jay Fulcher..
Angel Investor
Sacks has made early-stage investments in numerous startups including Addepar, AirBnB, BitGo, Cherry, Circle Inc, Eventbrite, Facebook, Houzz, Mixpanel, OneLogin, Palantir Technologies, ResearchGate, Scribd, Secret, Slack, SpaceX, SurveyMonkey, ThirdLove, Uber and Wish.
Awards and recognition
- San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40, David Sacks (2012)
- Workforce Management Game Changers Award, David Sacks (2011)
- San Francisco Business Times Bay Area's Most Admired CEOs (2011)
Personal life
On July 7, 2007, Sacks married Jacqueline Tortorice. The couple has two daughters and one son.
References
External links
- David O. Sacks on IMDb
Interviews
- "Corner Office: Fostering a Culture of Dissent". New York Times. July 16, 2011.
- "The Way I Work". Inc Magazine. November 2011.
- "Why The PayPal "Mafia" Was So Great: Yammer CEO David Sacks Explains". Business Insider. November 25, 2011.
- "Meet the Boss". San Francisco Chronicle. February 22, 2012.
- "Game Changers". TIME. March 30, 2012.
- "A Voice to Be Heard". Los Angeles Times. July 1, 2012.
- "VV Show #34 - David O. Sacks, Co-Founder of PayPal and Producer of Thank You For Smoking". Venture Voice.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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