Sean Parker

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Sean Parker (born 3 December 1979) is an American businessman and entrepreneur.

Parker gained early notoriety as a co-founder of Napster Inc. in 1999. An IRC friend of Shawn Fanning, Parker helped convince Fanning to incorporate Napster as a business. He joined Fanning in California and developed the early business strategy of the firm. E-mails and memos written by Parker that suggested the firm was aware that its users were violating copyright laws were key pieces of evidence in the court case that sunk Napster. In 2000, Parker left Napster. In 2001, Parker was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology.

In July 2001, Parker co-founded Plaxo, an online contact service, and served as its president. In 2004, Parker left Plaxo under rumors of being forced out by its venture capital investors and his co-founders. Parker was also the founding president of Internet startup Facebook. Parker quietly left Facebook in late 2005. He is currently a managing partner of the Founders Fund, a venture capital fund based out of San Francisco, and sits on the boards of several private companies.