Oliver Muoto
Encyclopedia
Oliver Muoto is a Polish
-born serial entrepreneur
responsible for co-founding several early stage companies including vFlyer
(with Aaron Sperling
), Epicentric
(with Ed Anuff
) and RandomNoise. Muoto served a number of startup advisory boards including those of eGroups
(acquired by Yahoo!
), ActiveTelco (acquired by Tut Systems), Become.com
and MerchantCircle
.
Born to a Nigerian father and Polish mother, he moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1988 to enroll at the University of Southern California
. He received his bachelor's degree
in Industrial and Systems Engineering
and minor in Marketing
from University of Southern California
in 1993 where he was involved in at least two on-campus startups. He moved to Silicon Valley
in 1993 to join Coactive Computing.
In 1998, he began working on a project called PalmPoint with Wired
executive Ed Anuff
. The two had worked previously together in San Francisco for Motion Works International, a Canadian-based multimedia tools developer that had acquired Anuff's previous company. The project eventually led to the founding of Epicentric
, a enterprise software
company that became a leading provider of enterprise portal
software. The company raised over $94M in 4 rounds of funding from investors that included Outlook Ventures, Innovacom Ventures (France Telecom
), JP Morgan, CRC
, ScotiaBank
, Bessemer
, Autodesk
, New Vista Capital, Motorola
and others before it was acquired by Vignette in 2002.
In 2002, Muoto co-founded vFlyer
with Aaron Sperling
, a provider of marketing solutions aimed at helping online sellers and sales professionals syndicate and distribute their product and service listings more effectively on the web.
He also helped launch PayDemocracy, an online micropayments aggregator for small political contributions in 2003 (with Chad Williams), ActiveTelco (acquired by Tut Systems), and TagWorld (acquired by Viacom
/MTV
), a social network
based in Los Angeles, CA. In 2001, Muoto was also granted a key patent (US Patent # 6,327,628) related to enterprise portal
software. He is currently president of Metablocks, social media and web technology solutions provider to the music
and entertainment
industries.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-born serial 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...
responsible for co-founding several early stage companies including vFlyer
Vflyer
vFlyer, Inc., operator of the vFlyer.com website, is a Web 2.0 company founded by Aaron Sperling and Oliver Muoto in 2004 and is based in San Francisco, California...
(with Aaron Sperling
Aaron Sperling
Aaron Sperling is an American businessman and entrepreneur.Sperling was the co-founder of business web-service firm Application Park which was acquired by enterprise software company Epicentric and the co-founder of vFlyer, a classified ad creation, management and submission platform that enables...
), Epicentric
Epicentric
Epicentric, Inc., was an Enterprise software company and a provider of enterprise portal solutions for Global 2000 companies. Made popular by custom portal sites like My Yahoo!, enterprise portals enabled businesses to deliver integrated Web services to their customers , partners and employees...
(with Ed Anuff
Ed Anuff
Ed Anuff is a serial entrepreneur who was most recently Executive Vice President and GM, Platform Products and Services at Six Apart, Ltd. Before joining Six Apart he was co-founder of Widgetbox , a marketplace for widgets, and the company's original CEO...
) and RandomNoise. Muoto served a number of startup advisory boards including those of eGroups
EGroups
eGroups.com was an email list management web site. The site allowed users to create their own mailing lists and allowed others to sign up for membership on the list. The web site provided archives of the messages as well as list management functionality. Each group also had a shared calendar, file...
(acquired by Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
), ActiveTelco (acquired by Tut Systems), 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...
and MerchantCircle
MerchantCircle
MerchantCircle is a Mountain View, California-based start-up company which helps small businesses network with other local businesses and reach local customers through free marketing tools and social media features. Former CEO Ben T. Smith, IV co-founded the company in 2005...
.
Born to a Nigerian father and Polish mother, he moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1988 to enroll at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. He received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Industrial and Systems Engineering
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
and minor in Marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
from University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1993 where he was involved in at least two on-campus startups. He moved to 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...
in 1993 to join Coactive Computing.
In 1998, he began working on a project called PalmPoint with Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
executive Ed Anuff
Ed Anuff
Ed Anuff is a serial entrepreneur who was most recently Executive Vice President and GM, Platform Products and Services at Six Apart, Ltd. Before joining Six Apart he was co-founder of Widgetbox , a marketplace for widgets, and the company's original CEO...
. The two had worked previously together in San Francisco for Motion Works International, a Canadian-based multimedia tools developer that had acquired Anuff's previous company. The project eventually led to the founding of Epicentric
Epicentric
Epicentric, Inc., was an Enterprise software company and a provider of enterprise portal solutions for Global 2000 companies. Made popular by custom portal sites like My Yahoo!, enterprise portals enabled businesses to deliver integrated Web services to their customers , partners and employees...
, a enterprise software
Enterprise software
Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software , is software used in organizations, such as in a business or government, contrary to software chosen by individuals...
company that became a leading provider of enterprise portal
Enterprise portal
An enterprise portal, also known as an enterprise information portal or corporate portal, is a framework for integrating information, people and processes across organizational boundaries. It provides a secure unified access point, often in the form of a web-based user interface, and is designed...
software. The company raised over $94M in 4 rounds of funding from investors that included Outlook Ventures, Innovacom Ventures (France Telecom
France Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
), JP Morgan, CRC
CRC
- Organizations :* California Rehabilitation Center, a state prison in the USA* Cambridge Regional College, a further education college* Cambridge Regional College F.C., a semi-professional football club in England* Canada Research Chair* Capital Research Center...
, ScotiaBank
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia , commonly known as Scotiabank , is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world and offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial,...
, Bessemer
Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners is a private venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley, New York, Massachusetts, Israel, China, and India.Bessemer Venture Partners is the longest-standing venture capital practice in the United States...
, Autodesk
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...
, New Vista Capital, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
and others before it was acquired by Vignette in 2002.
In 2002, Muoto co-founded vFlyer
Vflyer
vFlyer, Inc., operator of the vFlyer.com website, is a Web 2.0 company founded by Aaron Sperling and Oliver Muoto in 2004 and is based in San Francisco, California...
with Aaron Sperling
Aaron Sperling
Aaron Sperling is an American businessman and entrepreneur.Sperling was the co-founder of business web-service firm Application Park which was acquired by enterprise software company Epicentric and the co-founder of vFlyer, a classified ad creation, management and submission platform that enables...
, a provider of marketing solutions aimed at helping online sellers and sales professionals syndicate and distribute their product and service listings more effectively on the web.
He also helped launch PayDemocracy, an online micropayments aggregator for small political contributions in 2003 (with Chad Williams), ActiveTelco (acquired by Tut Systems), and TagWorld (acquired by Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
/MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
), a social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
based in Los Angeles, CA. In 2001, Muoto was also granted a key patent (US Patent # 6,327,628) related to enterprise portal
Enterprise portal
An enterprise portal, also known as an enterprise information portal or corporate portal, is a framework for integrating information, people and processes across organizational boundaries. It provides a secure unified access point, often in the form of a web-based user interface, and is designed...
software. He is currently president of Metablocks, social media and web technology solutions provider to the music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
industries.
External links
- http://www.muoto.com/ Personal website.
- Oliver Muoto has a professional profile on LinkedIn.
- FastCompany Article Portals for the People
- WSJ Article Start-Up Capitalizes on Democracy (with photo)
- CNN Interview PayDemocracy CNN Interview Transcript
- New York Times Article Wanted: A Way to Profit by Simplifying Web Classifieds