Randy Adams
Encyclopedia
Randy Adams is an American
serial entrepreneur funded by Sequoia Capital
in Menlo Park, California
in the Silicon Valley
, and a founder of seven venture capital backed companies including Will Ferrell
's popular comedy site, Funny or Die
.
He was educated at Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor
before moving on to MIT, where he graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
Adams is credited with managing the team which invented Adobe Acrobat
and PDF, helping Yahoo secure initial financing with Sequoia Capital
Jerry Yang, and creating the first e-commerce web site, the Internet Shopping Network Internet Shopping Network in 1993.
Adams is currently the CEO of Bababoo, Inc., a mobile telecommunications company Bababoo, on the Board of Directors of FunnyOrDie.com, is working with Hollywood celebrities to create their mobile presence in his start-up Celebrity Apps Celebrity Apps, is trying to solve Facebook
spam problem with his start-up UsingProtection.com Using Protection and is consulting with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists on various technology projects. He has lectured at Stanford University
on the art of being an entrepreneur.
His former positions include software architect at NeXT
Inc., CEO, Emerald City Software, Director of Engineering at Adobe Systems
, CEO of Appsoft, Inc., CEO of the Internet Shopping Network, CEO of Navitel, Inc., CEO of NewsNet, CEO of AuctionDrop, Inc., CEO of Searchme
, and member of the board of directors at Yahoo.
He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area
with his wife and seven children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serial entrepreneur funded by Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
in Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
in the 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...
, and a founder of seven venture capital backed companies including Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
's popular comedy site, Funny or Die
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
.
He was educated at Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island...
before moving on to MIT, where he graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
Adams is credited with managing the team which invented Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...
and PDF, helping Yahoo secure initial financing with Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
Jerry Yang, and creating the first e-commerce web site, the Internet Shopping Network Internet Shopping Network in 1993.
Adams is currently the CEO of Bababoo, Inc., a mobile telecommunications company Bababoo, on the Board of Directors of FunnyOrDie.com, is working with Hollywood celebrities to create their mobile presence in his start-up Celebrity Apps Celebrity Apps, is trying to solve Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
spam problem with his start-up UsingProtection.com Using Protection and is consulting with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists on various technology projects. He has lectured at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
on the art of being an entrepreneur.
His former positions include software architect at NeXT
NeXT
Next, Inc. was an American computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that developed and manufactured a series of computer workstations intended for the higher education and business markets...
Inc., CEO, Emerald City Software, Director of Engineering at Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
, CEO of Appsoft, Inc., CEO of the Internet Shopping Network, CEO of Navitel, Inc., CEO of NewsNet, CEO of AuctionDrop, Inc., CEO of Searchme
SearchMe
SearchMe was a visual search engine based in Mountain View, California. It organized search results as snapshots of web pages — an interface similar to that of the iPhone's and iTunes's album selection....
, and member of the board of directors at Yahoo.
He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
with his wife and seven children.