Auren Raphael Hoffman (born 1974) is an American entrepreneur, CEO of Rapleaf, venture capitalist with The Founders Fund,[1] editor of Summation.net, angel investor, and member of Council on Foreign Relations.[2]
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Hoffman sold his first tech company while still in his 20's.[3] Hoffman is an expert networker and sometimes is referred to as a "catalyst," because often "maps" people to see how they fit into his social network.[4]
Hoffman, CEO of Rapleaf an online reputation management company, ironically once showed up to a meeting in a Ryder truck, and parked blocks away to reduce his chances of being seen.[5] Prior to Rapleaf, Hoffman founded Kyber Systems in his Junior year at UC Berkeley, as a way to pay for school. [6] Later Hoffman founded Bridgepath Inc., which was acquired by Bullhorn Inc.[7] Hoffman is also a founder of BrightRoll.[8] Hoffman is a frequent speaker at events in the technology industry,[9] WSJ Blogs call him "a fixture in the Silicon Valley scene,"[10] and Gawker Media's Valleywag refers to him as "uberconnected."[11]
Hoffman is listed as an adviser or investor in the following companies: 750 Industries, AdRocket, Blip.tv, BrightRoll, Delicious Brands, GoodRec, Grouply, Huddler, LabPixies, Lefora, Mechanical Zoo, Meebo, Merchant Circle, MesmoTV, Offbeat Guides, OtherInbox, Play Megaphone, Proclivity, RateItAll, RichRelevance, SnapTalent, Socializr, Structural Wealth Management, VoxPop.tv, Yotify, & Zoom Systems.[12]
Hoffman was noted by VentureBeat in 2007 as having edited his own Wikipedia profile under a pseudonym. Hoffman responded that he was editing his profile to remove inappropriate comments.[13]
Hoffman is a contributor to the Huffington Post, often on political subjects,[14] as well as Business Week.[15] Hoffman also publishes a blog on the Huffington Post.[16] Hoffman is a Republican and a political contributor.[17] Hoffman is a guest editor for blogs.com where he does the "Top 10 Coolest Blogs on Data," [18] as well as other tech publications.[19] Hoffman is a contributor to Council on Foreign Relations papers. [20]
Hoffman is a son of Amalia Hoffman of Larchmont, N.Y., and Edward M. Hoffman of Montvale, N.J. Amalia Hoffman is an author and illustrator of children’s books, including “The Klezmer Bunch” (Gefen Publishing House, 2009). Edward M. Hoffman works in New York as a software engineer and software consultant to the financial industry.[21]
Hoffman graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Industrial Engineering.[22]
In 2011 Hoffman married United States Attorney Hallie Alexandra Mitchell. Federal judge Barry G. Silverman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Phoenix, Arizona officiated the wedding which was held in in Nashotah, Wisconsin. Mitchell graduated from Princeton and received a law degree from Northwestern.[21]