Justin Waldron

Justin Waldron

Justin Waldron speaking in Helsinki, Finland
Born June 18, 1988
Watertown, Connecticut
Residence San Francisco
Nationality United States
Occupation Entrepreneur, Investor
Known for Co-Founder, Zynga

Justin Waldron (June 18, 1988)[1] is an American internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Zynga, which makes online social and mobile games. Zynga is considered to be the pioneer of the social gaming industry,[2] which is expected to reach $5.5 billion by 2015. Within four years of its founding, Zynga had grown to a $1 billion company and in 2011 held the largest IPO since Google.[3] Waldron left Zynga in October 2013[4] and is currently an active angel investor and advisor in various other technology companies.

Zynga's top games include: CityVille, FarmVille, The Pioneer Trail, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, Empires & Allies, and Adventure World.[5]

Early years

Waldron was born and raised in Watertown, Connecticut. He began programming his first video games and websites at 11 years old. His early teenage endeavors include running a web development business, hacking AOL, and reverse engineering Playstation 2 games. In highschool, he reverse engineered Burger King's coupon system and created a website to programmatically create unlimited free sandwich coupon codes for visitors. It became so popular that it resulted in a cease and desist notice from Burger King.[6]

Zynga

In 2007, Justin dropped out of The University of Connecticut and co-founded Zynga at 19 years old.[7] He created Zynga's first title, Zynga Poker, and later led product development and strategy across many teams throughout the company. Waldron also worked on special projects with Zynga's other founders.[8] He lived in Tokyo during Zynga's expansion to Japan[9] and currently resides in San Francisco. Waldron is a mentor at the Thiel Foundation, using his experience to help college dropouts in the Thiel Fellowship's 20 under 20 program.

Post-Zynga

Currently, Waldron is an active investor, advisor, and/or serving on the board of directors for technology companies including: Spoonrocket, Sprig, YourMechanic, Delectable, and others.[10]

External links

References

  1. ↑ "CrunchBase: Justin Waldron".
  2. ↑ Kesarios, George. "Can Zynga Execute In The Online Gambling Space?". Blog Post. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Pepitone, Julianne (1 July 2011). "Zynga files for $1 billion IPO". CNNMoney. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "Zynga Co-Founder Justin Waldron Leaves the Company".
  5. ↑ "FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Website. July 1, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  6. ↑ Stephens, Dale (2013). ["https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=0PsNJw-93oAC&pg=PT27&lpg=PT27#v=onepage&q&f=false" Hacking Your Education]. The Penguin Group. ISBN 1101619686.
  7. ↑ "Zynga's IPO: made possible by the Zynga Dream Team".
  8. ↑ "The Cofounders of Zynga Are Working On a Huge Project".
  9. ↑ "What Happened To The Founding Team Behind The Largest IPO Since Google".
  10. ↑ "AngelList: Justin Waldron".