Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman is an American entrepreneur and author best-known for founding the professional networking service LinkedIn, a platform that has reshaped the way professionals network, enriching and improving opportunities for job-seekers, employers, and professionals all around the world. Hoffman is also a venture capitalist and angel investor, celebrated for his investments in early-stage start-ups, several of which have gone on to become major successes. Among other enterprises, he has invested in the social media behemoth Facebook and the professional networking website YouTube.

Hoffman grew up in Berkeley, California, and attended Stanford University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in philosophy. After graduating, he began a career in the technology industry. He held positions at Apple and Fujitsu before taking a job as a product manager at Microsoft. While at Microsoft, Hoffman saved a million dollars, allowing him to leave the company and pursue his own entrepreneurial ambitions.

Hoffman founded his first business in 1997, a successful early-stage start-up called Socialnet. He quickly realized that his passion was in founding new businesses and investing in talented people. At the turn of the new millennium, Hoffman set his sights on creating a professional networking site and in 2002, he co-founded the networking serviceLinkedIn. Hoffman focused on bolstering the professional networking capabilities of the site to try and attract more users, who he believed would be more interested in using the service if they felt they could trust it and get value from it.

LinkedIn quickly grew in popularity, gaining over 10 million users by 2007. The following year, Hoffman led the company’s initial public offering, which made him a wealthy man and propelled LinkedIn’s growth. LinkedIn now boasts over 600 million users and is the go-to platform for many professionals seeking to expand their network and further their careers.

In addition to his success with LinkedIn, Hoffman is a prolific angel investor and venture capitalist. Since his early days in the technology industry, Hoffman has provided funds and resources to many enterprises, several of which have grown into major success stories. Among them are the aforementioned Facebook, YouTube, Digg, Airbnb, and Mozilla. Hoffman’s success in these investments was highlighted in 2011 when Fortune magazine named him to its “Brain Trust” list of the “top 10 smartest people in technology.”

Hoffman is also well-known for his writing; he has authored two well-received books, “The Start-up of You” and “The Alliance.” In his books, Hoffman shares his knowledge and experience of the entrepreneurial and investment worlds, offering personal stories, reflections and advice on personal and business relationships, goal-setting, and self-improvement.

Overall, Hoffman is an acclaimed and highly successful entrepreneur, author, venture capitalist, and angel investor. Through his personal and business endeavors, he has gone a long way to shape the professional networking landscape, while also inspiring others to take their own paths and strive for success.