Stephen Oskoui
| Stephen Oskoui | |
|---|---|
| Residence | Austin, Texas |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Employer | Smiley Media |
Stephen Oskoui is the founder of Smiley Media and a libertarian donor.
Personal life and education
Oskoui attended Stanford University until his junior year, leaving college to work for a start-up that eventually failed.[1]
Career
Oskoui founded Smiley Media in 2001 in Palo Alto, California. Smiley Media connects internet advertisers with websites that publish online ads. In 2006, Oskoui moved the company to Austin, Texas, and added several employees.[1] Oskoui was also a major investor in Infoaxe, a search engine.[2]
Political activities
Oskoui, Jeffrey Harmon, Abe Niederhauser, and Ladd Christensen co-founded Endorse Liberty, a Super PAC supporting Ron Paul.[3] Oskoui serves as president of the organization.[4] Oskoui helped convince Peter Thiel, the founder of Paypal, to donate over $2 million to Endorse Liberty.[5] In 2012, Oskoui donated $125,000 and provided $296,000 in in-kind media services.[6]
References
- 1 2 Hawkins, Lori (24 May 2010). "Internet ad firm is expanding in Austin". The Statesman. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ↑ "Infoaxe raises $3M to make online bookmarks obsolete". Reuters. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ↑ Fox, Lauren (9 March 2012). "Paul Super PAC: We Will Continue to Support Paul". US News and World Report. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ↑ Doherty, Brian (24 January 2012). "Ron Paul: A SuperPAC Spends for Him in Florida, and Pursuing an Obama-like Delegate Strategy". Reason. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ↑ Canham, Matt. "Utah-based super PAC supports Paul — not Romney". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ↑ Bravender, Robin (20 February 2012). "PayPal founder Peter Thiel donates $1.7M to Ron Paul PAC". Politico. Retrieved 19 December 2013.