Michael Yang
Encyclopedia
Michael Yang is a Korean American
entrepreneur
in Silicon Valley
, California. He was born in Seoul
, South Korea
and moved to San Jose
, California
on April 2, 1976 with his family when he was 14 years old. After attending UC Berkeley and Columbia University
graduate school, Michael worked for Xerox
, Intergraph
, Televideo
Samsung
and Jazz Multimedia before starting his first venture capital
backed startup
company mySimon
with Yeogirl Yun in April 1998. Michael helped to expand the company to become the largest online price comparison shopping site. As the leading online comparison shopping service, mySimon.com
raised $30 million in venture capital investments and was successfully acquired by CNET
, a media holding company, for $700 million in February, 2000. He then started Become.com
, the next generation online shopping search engine start-up, in January 2004 and raised $37 million in capital from TPG, Transcosmos, EFF and Ron Conway. Become.com became one of the top price comparison shopping sites and profitable in 2008. Michael's story has been written about in publications such as Businessweek, MIT Technology Review, and Christianity Today magazines.
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, California. He was born in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and moved to San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on April 2, 1976 with his family when he was 14 years old. After attending UC Berkeley and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
graduate school, Michael worked for Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
, Intergraph
Intergraph
Intergraph Corporation is an American software development and services company. It provides enterprise engineering and geospatially powered software to businesses, governments, and organizations around the world. Intergraph operates through two divisions: Process, Power & Marine and Security,...
, Televideo
Televideo
TeleVideo Corporation is a U.S. company that achieved its peak of success in the early 1980s producing computer terminals. TeleVideo was founded in 1979 by K. Philip Hwang, a Utah State University graduate born in North Korea who had run a business producing CRT monitors for arcade games since 1975...
Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
and Jazz Multimedia before starting his first venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
backed startup
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
company mySimon
MySimon
mySimon is a comparison shopping website owned by CBS Interactive. The site offers shopping recommendations, buying advice, and side by side price comparisons for various products. The site directs users to other shopping sites such as Amazon.com when searching for products. It is not affiliated...
with Yeogirl Yun in April 1998. Michael helped to expand the company to become the largest online price comparison shopping site. As the leading online comparison shopping service, mySimon.com
MySimon
mySimon is a comparison shopping website owned by CBS Interactive. The site offers shopping recommendations, buying advice, and side by side price comparisons for various products. The site directs users to other shopping sites such as Amazon.com when searching for products. It is not affiliated...
raised $30 million in venture capital investments and was successfully acquired by CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, a media holding company, for $700 million in February, 2000. He then started Become.com
Become.com
Become.com is a product price comparison service and discovery shopping search engine with a mission to help shoppers make ideal buying decisions...
, the next generation online shopping search engine start-up, in January 2004 and raised $37 million in capital from TPG, Transcosmos, EFF and Ron Conway. Become.com became one of the top price comparison shopping sites and profitable in 2008. Michael's story has been written about in publications such as Businessweek, MIT Technology Review, and Christianity Today magazines.