Matt Williams (Internet entrepreneur)
 |
Matt Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 21, 1972 |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona |
| Occupation | CEO of Pro.com |
| Known for | CEO of Digg.com, Amazon executive |
Matt Williams (born August 21, 1972 in Dallas, Texas) is an American Internet entrepreneur and the CEO of Pro.com.[1] Previous positions include CEO of Digg.com, executive roles at Amazon, and Entrepreneur-In-Residence at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Williams was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in the Pacific Northwest, attending Shorecrest High School near Seattle, Washington. His parents were both entrepreneurs: his father starting radio stations, including KUBE 93.3 in Seattle[3][unreliable source?] and his mother starting Lake Forest Park Montessori in North Seattle. Williams graduated from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.[4]
Career
[edit]LiveBid.com
[edit]In 1996 Williams and high-school friend Sky Kruse cofounded Seattle-based LiveBid.com, a proprietary software site that partnered with traditional auction houses to stream their events online, allowing Internet bidders to participate in bidding.[5][6] The firm was acquired by Amazon in 1999.[5]
Amazon
[edit]Williams remained at Amazon until 2010, he occupied several executive roles, including General Manager of Payments.[7] He was responsible for early iterations of various web products, including Amazon's Selling on Amazon and WebStore by Amazon.[8]
In 2001, Williams initiated a partnership between Amazon and the Annual Today Show Holiday Drive, a project of the Today Show Charitable Foundation, Inc. The partnership allowed Amazon customers to select and purchase a wish list of toy products for needy children from the site.[9]
Digg.com
[edit]In September 2010, Williams became CEO of social news aggregator Digg.com. He inherited a number of challenges: the technically marred release of site redesign Digg v4 had resulted in a decline in customer usage and an alienation of the site's core audience; at the same time, changes in the internet milieu - most particularly Google's search algorithm - had made Digg's news aggregation model less relevant.[10] After the departure of former CEO Jay Adelson, founder Kevin Rose had run the company, making Williams the company's third CEO within a span of months.[11]
During Williams' tenure, the firm's metrics began to rebound. Site engagement increased significantly: Diggs and time on site by 20%, the total number of comments submitted per day by 50%.[12] Despite this, the company's burn rate remained high, resulting in layoffs of 40% of staff and cuts in operational costs in order to approach cash flow positive in 2011.[12][13]
In July 2012, Williams completed the sale of Digg in three parts: some staff members were transferred to The Washington Post's SocialCode project for $12 million, a suite of patents were sold to LinkedIn for $4 million, and the Digg brand and website was sold to Betaworks for stock plus at least $500,000 cash.[14]
Pro.com
[edit]In mid-2013, Williams became CEO of the Internet startup Pro.com, a home services marketplace where users receive instant price estimates from home professionals and schedule appointments online.[15]
Other activities
[edit]In 2012 Williams became Entrepreneur in Residence at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.[2] Williams is a Member of the Board of Directors for SmartThings.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Former Digg CEO Matt Williams Launches Pro.com To Connect Homeowners With Nearby Contractors". Tech Crunch. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ a b "Amazon vets launch home-improvement site". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Ex-Digg CEO raises $3.5M from Jeff Bezos, Andreessen Horowitz and others for Pro.com, giving you price estimates for home projects". GeekWire. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Judges Announced for 2014 McGuire New Venture Competition and Showcase". McGuire Experience. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ a b "Looking for auction". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Amazon.Com Buying Online Auction Firm -- Deal With Seattle-Based Livebid Expands Services". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Digg Names Amazon.com Manager Matt Williams as Chief Executive". Bloomberg. August 31, 2010. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
- ^ "Amazon: We Want Sellers. An Interview with Matt Williams". EcommerceBytes. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "'Today' launches 13th annual holiday gift drive". today.com.
- ^ "Betaworks Buys Digg Assets and John Borthwick Becomes CEO". All Things D. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Digg's Looking For A New CEO". The Next Web. 8 June 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ a b "Interview With Digg CEO Matt Williams On Future Of Digg". TechCrunch. 21 March 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Digg To Layoff 37% Of Staff, Product Refocus Imminent". TechCrunch. 25 October 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Digg sale splits the company three ways for $16m total". Slash Gear. 13 July 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Pro.com wants to make home repairs easier for consumers". USA Today. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "About SmartThings". Smarthings.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.