Jake Winebaum
Jake Winebaum (born 1959) is an American entrepreneur. Winebaum is the founder of FamilyFun magazine, Business.com, Brighter.com and co-founder of eCompanies and Blue Waters Research.
Early life
Winebaum’s father was an advertising executive with Young & Rubicam in New York and Europe and his mother was a stage and television actress. Shortly after his birth in New York City, the family moved to London, Milan and Paris before settling in Exeter, New Hampshire. Winebaum attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College,[1] where he majored in Biology and Creative Writing, graduated cum laude, and also won the Grimes Senior Writing Prize. At Dartmouth, Winebaum played three sports, Soccer, Lacrosse and Alpine Skiing.
Entrepreneurial career
While at Dartmouth in 1980, Winebaum started his first business, Same Day Fish Company. He spent summers throughout high school and college working on fishing boats and started a fish processing and distribution business delivering fish and lobsters to restaurants and supermarkets throughout Northern New England.
He started his professional career at Fortune magazine in 1982. He then moved to Time magazine in 1983, and U.S. News & World Report in 1985 where he was instrumental in the turnaround of the magazine and in the development of the series of special issues, including USNews Best Colleges.[2] He and his wife Cindy started FamilyFun magazine with their own funds in 1991.[3] The magazine was an instant hit and was named one of AdWeek’s Hot 5 list of magazines for 1992.[4] Winebaum sold the magazine to the Walt Disney Company in 1992.[5] While at Disney, he founded FamilyPC magazine in 1994. Also in that year, he put together the business plan for The Walt Disney Company’s Internet initiatives which he went on to lead. He was named President of Disney Online in 1995.[6] As president of Disney Online, and later as Chairman of Buena Vista Internet Group, he oversaw all of Disney’s Internet businesses, including Disney.com, ABCNews.com and ESPN.com.[7]
Winebaum left Disney in 1999 to co-found eCompanies, an Internet incubator and venture fund, with EarthLink founder Sky Dayton.[8] It is a privately held company, and while it reportedly struggled for a time when the dot-com bubble burst, it ultimately launched and funded several successful companies.[9][10]
The businesses that came out of eCompanies include LowerMyBills.com, which was purchased by Experian in 2005,[11] JAMDAT Mobile, which went public and was then purchased by Electronic Arts,[12] Boingo Wireless, which went public in 2011, USBX which was purchased by Imperial Capital,[13] and Business.com which was purchased by RH Donnelly in 2007.[14][15] Winebaum was CEO of Business.com from 2002 until its sale in 2007.
In January 2010, Winebaum co-founded Internet incubator and investment firm Blue Waters Research with entrepreneur and LowerMyBills founder, Matt Coffin.[16] He currently serves as CEO for one of Blue Waters Research’s startups, Brighter.com.[17] [18] Brighter is an online resource that delivers price and reputation transparency and access to tens of thousands of top rated dentists at competitive prices, making quality dental care affordable for millions of Americans.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]
Other activities and awards
Winebaum serves on the board of directors of Gigya, the California Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness and Sports, and was Founding Chairman of Seven Arrows Elementary School.[25][26]
Jake's expertise and contributions to the Internet industry have been recognized by the Los Angeles Venture Association which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2010,[27] Time magazine, which awarded him a place in the Top 50 Cyber Elite,[28] and Wired Magazine, which named him one of the Wired 25.[29]
Family and leisure
Winebaum remains a competitive athlete in endurance cycling and running events and Masters ski racing. He has competed in the Leadville 100, Transalp Challenge mountain bike races, Tour Transalp, and Everest Challenge road bike races multiple times, and placed 6th in the 2008 National Masters Ski Championships.[30][31] Winebaum is married to Cindy Winebaum and they have 2 children.
Interviews
- Interview with Jake Winebaum, Brighter (2011) With Benjamin F. Kuo
- Kara Visits Business.com’s Jake Winebaum (2007) With Kara Swisher
- Jake Winebaum, CEO, Business.com (2004) With Susan Kuchinskas
- Interview With Jake Winebaum, CEO of Business.com (2007) SocalTech
- Interview With Jake Winebaum, Founder of eCompanies (2000) SocalTech
References
- ↑ http://chamber.com/jake-winebaum. Chamber.com/Jake-Winebaum. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Hansell, Saul (1998-12-13). The One Who Waved the Internet Wand. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Levine, Robert (1994-09-04). '90s FAMILY : The Family Hour : Kids take to computers like fish to water. New magazines help tap that interest. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WINEBAUM+NAMED+PRESIDENT+OF+NEW+DISNEY+ONLINE+UNIT-a017219841. thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Carmody, Deirdre (1992-02-18). THE MEDIA BUSINESS; It's His Baby: Publisher Thrives on Family Fun. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17
- ↑ Kaplan, Karen (1995-08-24). Get Ready for Happiest Place in Cyberspace : Telecom: Disney says it will launch a family- oriented on-line network, to be headed by former magazines chief. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Bloomberg News (1997-09-03). Disney Names Exec to Oversee Internet Units. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=626870&privcapId=27439912&previousCapId=21695&previousTitle=Mayfield%20Fund. investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Ali, Rafat (2007-07-26). Business.com Sold To RH Donnelley; Beating DJ, NYT and News Corp; Price $345 Million. forbes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Siklos, Richard (2008-05-02). Business.com's winding road . money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Parker, Pamela (2005-05-05). Experian Launches Interactive Division, Buys LowerMyBills.com. clickz.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Hutheesing, Nikhil (2005-12-12). Electronic Arts Jams With Jamdat. forbes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Imperial Capital to acquire USBX
- ↑ Berman, Dennis (2007-07-26). Master of Domain: Business.com Gets Big Payday, Again. online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Swisher, Kara (2007-07-27). Checking In With Business.com’s Jake Winebaum–After the $345 Million Deal. kara.allthingsd.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://people.forbes.com/profile/jacob-j-winebaum/151907. people.forbes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ Barlow, Tom (2011-05-27). $1,000 For a Dental Crown? Maybe You Should Shop Around. blogs.forbes.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
- ↑ Torabi, Farnoosh (2011-08-11). Dental Expenses: 4 Smart Tricks to Save Money. moneywatch.bnet.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
- ↑ Schonfeld, Erick (2011-05-19). From Business.com To Brighter, Jake Winebaum Introduces A DIY Dental Plan. TechCrunch.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
- ↑ Needleman, Rafe (2011-05-20). Brighter brings dentistry discounts to Web. news.cnet.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
- ↑ Darlin, Damon (2011-05-25). A Brighter Idea for Dentistry. gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
- ↑ Zimmermann, Daniel (2011-06-19). Interview: 'Focus is extremely important in a start-up'. www.dental-tribune.com. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
- ↑ Buck, Claudia (2011-07-10). Personal finance: Here's the drill on dental discounts. sacbee.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
- ↑ Empson, Rip (2011-08-15). Brighter Lands $8 Million From Benchmark To Bring Affordable Dental Care To The Masses. Techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
- ↑ Otlacan, Otilia (2009-01-27). Business.com Founder & CEO Jake Winebaum Joins Gigya’s Board of Directors. adoperationsonline.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=626870&privcapId=27439912&previousCapId=21695&previousTitle=Mayfield%20Fund. investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://web.memberclicks.com/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=250420&orgId=lav&recurringId=0. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://www.time.com/time/digital/cyberelite/27.html. time.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.11/wired25_pr.html. wired.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://competitor.com/2010/08/sports/singletrack/2010-leadville-trail-100-results_6265. competitor.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ↑ http://www.radsport-forum.de/frame/f32311.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-17.