Sean Parker
Born	1979 (age 32–33)
Education	Oakton High School, Chantilly High School
Occupation	Board of Directors at Spotify Board of Directors at Yammer[1] Managing Partner at The Founders Fund Co-founder of Plaxo, Napster, Airtime, and Causes Founding President of Facebook
Net worth	US$2.1 billion (2012)[2]

Sean Parker (born 1979) is an American entrepreneur who was a co-founder of the file-sharing computer service Napster and the first president of the social networking Web site Facebook. He also co-founded Plaxo, Causes, and Airtime.^[3][4][5][6] As of March 2012, Parker's net worth was estimated to be $2.1 billion.^[2]

Early life[link]

Parker was born in Herndon, Virginia to Diane Parker, a TV advertising broker, and Bruce Parker, a U.S. government oceanographer.^[7][4][8][3] When Parker was 7, his father taught him how to program on an Atari 800.^[3] Parker’s father, who put his family over his entrepreneurial dreams, told Parker "if you are going to take risks, take them early before you have a family."^[9]

As a teenager, Parker’s hobbies were hacking and programming.^[4] One night, while hacking into the network of a Fortune 500 company, Parker was unable to logout after his father unplugged his computer keyboard.^[4] Because his IP address was exposed, F.B.I. agents tracked down the 16-year-old.^[4] Since Parker was a minor, he was sentenced to community service.^[4]

Education[link]

Parker attended Oakton High School in Fairfax County, Virginia for two years before transferring to Chantilly High School in 1996 for his junior and senior years.^[10] While there, Parker wrote a letter to the school administration and persuaded them to count the time he spent coding in the computer lab as a foreign language class.^[10] As a result, towards the end of Parker’s senior year at Chantilly, he was mostly writing code and starting companies.^[10] He graduated in 1998. While still in high school, he interned for Mark Pincus (the current CEO of Zynga) at Pincus's Washington D.C. startup FreeLoader.^[11] He won the Virginia state computer science fair for developing a Web crawler, and was recruited by the C.I.A..^[3] By his senior year of high school, Parker was earning more than $80,000 a year through various projects, enough to convince his parents to allow him to skip college and pursue a career as an entrepreneur.^[3]

As a child, Parker was an avid reader, which was the beginning of his lifelong autodidacticism.^[4][12] Despite his lack of formal education, Parker is sometimes referred to as a "genius."^{[13][14][15][16][17]} He considers his time at Napster to be his college education, calling it "Napster University," since he became well-versed in ­intellectual property law, corporate ­finance, and entrepreneurship.^[18]

Ventures[link]

Napster[link]

When Parker was 15, he met 14 year-old Shawn Fanning over the internet, where the two bonded over topics like theoretical physics and hacking.^[4][19] A few years later, Fanning and Parker co-founded Napster, a free file-sharing service for music.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]} Parker raised the initial $50,000, and they launched Napster in June 1999.^[27] Within a year, the service had tens of millions of users.^[4] Napster was opposed by recording labels, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the heavy metal band Metallica,^[28] among others. Lawsuits by various industry associations eventually shut down the service.^[29][30][26] Napster has been called the fastest growing business of all time, is credited with revolutionizing the music industry and served as a precursor to iTunes.^{[31][32][33][34][35]}

Plaxo[link]

In November 2002, Parker subsequently launched Plaxo, an online address book and social networking service that integrated with Microsoft Outlook.^[36] Plaxo was one of the first products to build virality into its launch, and that earned it 20 million users.^[37][38] Plaxo was an early social networking tool, which would later influence the growth of companies like LinkedIn, Zynga and Facebook.^[39] Two years after founding Plaxo, Parker was ousted by the company’s financiers, Sequoia Capital and Ram Shriram, in an acrimonious exit that reportedly involved the investors hiring private investigators to follow him.^[40][41]

Facebook[link]

In 2004, Parker saw a site called "Thefacebook" on the computer of his roommate’s girlfriend, who was a student at Stanford.^[4] Parker had experience in the social networking space as an early advisor to Friendster and its founder Jonathan Abrams, for which he was given a small amount of stock in 2003.^[3][42] Parker met with Mark Zuckerberg and a few months later joined the five month old company as its founding president.^[4][42] According to Peter Thiel, Facebook’s first investor, Sean Parker was the first to see potential in the company to be "really big," and that "if Mark ever had any second thoughts, Sean was the one who cut that off."^[4]

As president, Parker brought on Thiel as Facebook’s first investor.^[4] Within the initial round of funding, he negotiated for Zuckerberg to retain three of Facebook’s five board seats.^[4] This gave Zuckerberg control of the company, allowing Facebook the freedom to remain a private company.^[3] Additionally, Parker is said to have championed Facebook’s clean user interface and developed its photo-sharing function.^[43][44] Zuckerberg notes that "Sean was pivotal in helping Facebook transform from a college project into a real company."^[3]

During a party in 2005, police entered and searched a vacation home Parker was renting and found cocaine.^[4] Parker was arrested on suspicion of possession but not charged.^[4] This event was subsequently used by Facebook investors to pressure Parker into resigning as company president.^[45] Even after stepping down, Parker continued to remain involved with Facebook’s growth and met regularly with Zuckerberg.^[46] The event was later dramatized in The Social Network.^[47]

Spotify[link]

While working at The Founders Fund, Parker had been looking to invest in a company that could progress Napster’s music sharing mission legally.^[4] In 2009, a friend showed him Spotify, a Swedish streaming music service, and Parker sent an email to Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder.^[48]

The pair traded emails, and in 2010 Parker invested $15 million in Spotify.^[49][50] Parker, who currently serves on Spotify’s board, negotiated with Warner and Universal, and in July 2011, Spotify announced its U.S. launch.^[25] At Facebook’s f8 conference, Parker announced a partnership between Facebook and Spotify, which allowed users to share their Spotify playlists on their Facebook profiles.^[25][51]

Votizen[link]

In 2010, Parker and The Founders Fund were a part of Votizen's $1.5 million funding round.^[52] Parker now serves on the board of directors for Votizen and he believes "Politics for me is the most obvious area [to be disrupted by the Web]". ^[53]

Airtime[link]

In 2011, Parker reunited with Napster co-founder Shawn Fanning to found Airtime.com. Some of the investors are Ron Conway, Michael Arrington, and Ashton Kutcher.^[54][55] Parker will serve as executive chairman and Fanning as CEO.^[56]

The Founders Fund[link]

In 2006, Parker became managing partner at the Founders Fund, a San Francisco based venture capital fund founded by Peter Thiel.^[57] Founders Fund is focused on investing in early-stage companies, has $500 million in aggregate capital, and has invested in Quantcast, Path, and Knewton.^[58] Parker has carte blanche from Thiel when finding investments.^[59] Parker also hosts The TechFellow Awards, a partnership between TechCrunch and The Founders Fund that annually gives 20 entrepreneurs $100,000 each to invest in startups.^[60][61]

Philanthropy[link]

Parker is an active philanthropist, and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research, anti-malaria groups, charity: water, and marijuana legalization.^[62][63][64] He has spoken out in favor of higher taxes, particularly for the "wealthy and super wealthy," and in favor of higher capital gains taxes.^[64]

Parker is the founder of Causes, a philanthropic service that uses social media to connect charities with their supporters and potential donors and then communicates that connection to the user's network of friends.^[65][66] By 2010, 90 million people had joined Causes, donating a total of $27 million.^[67][68] Originally one of the earliest Facebook applications, Causes now lives at Causes.com and raises more than $20,000 a day for various charitable causes.^[67]

In popular culture[link]

Parker was portrayed by Justin Timberlake in the 2010 film, The Social Network.^[4] The movie is a fictionalized account of Facebook's founding and early days.^[69][70][71] Timberlake was lauded for his performance, which portrayed Parker as a cruel, cocky opportunist.^[3][47]

Although Parker praised David Fincher as a director, many have remarked on the differences between Parker and his portrayal by Timberlake.^{[4][3][72][73]} Former Facebook growth chief Chamath Palihapitiya noted that Parker is "really the exact opposite of his portrayal in the film".^[3] Parker took issue with the movie version of Eduardo Saverin's exit from Facebook (with whom Parker reportedly remains friends), as it ironically paralleled his own exit from Plaxo.^[3] Parker called the character a "morally reprehensible human being," although he noted that "it's hard to complain about being played by a sex symbol."^[12][74]

In 2011, Parker was a guest on Jimmy Fallon, featured on the cover of the Forbes 400 issue, and was profiled in Vanity Fair.^[4][75][76]

Personal life[link]

Parker is primarily based in New York City although he frequently travels to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Stockholm, and London for Spotify, Airtime, and the Founders Fund.^[3] His $20 million townhouse in Manhattan includes an indoor pool, 30-foot bamboo plants, and an entrance hall adorned with actual subway cars.^[77][9][78] He is engaged to Alexandra Lenas, a singer-songwriter.^[7][79]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sean Parker

• Sean Parker on Twitter
• Spotify
• Votizen
• Sean Parker on FoundersFund.com
• Sean Parker at CrunchBase

Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon, 2010
Birth name	James Thomas Fallon, Jr.
Born	(1974-09-19) September 19, 1974 (age 37) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, music, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1990–present
Genres	Satire/political satire/news satire, observational comedy, musical comedy, surreal humor, awkward
Subject(s)	American culture, American politics, pop culture, current events, mass media/news media
Influences	Dana Carvey, Robin Williams
Spouse	Nancy Juvonen (2007–present)
Notable works and roles	Saturday Night Live Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (host, 2009–present)

James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. (born September 19, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC. Prior to that he appeared in several films, and was best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998–2004.

Early life[link]

James Thomas Fallon, Jr., was born in Brooklyn, New York. Jimmy is the son of Gloria and James Fallon, Sr.,^[1] who is a Vietnam War veteran.^[2] His family later settled in Saugerties, New York, while his father worked at IBM in nearby Kingston, New York. He is of Irish descent.^[3] As a child, he and his older sister, Gloria, would reenact the “clean parts” of Saturday Night Live that his parents had taped for him.^[4] Fallon was such a fan of Saturday Night Live that he made a weekly event of watching it in his dormitory during college. In his teens, he impressed his parents with different impersonations, the first being of James Cagney.^[5][6] He was also musically inclined, and started playing guitar at age 13. He would go on to mix comedy and music in contests and shows.^[6]

Education[link]

Fallon attended St. Mary of the Snow, a Roman Catholic parochial school, and Saugerties High School, from which he graduated in 1992. He attended The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. He was a Computer Science major, but switched to Communications in his senior year, dropping out a semester shy of a degree.^[7][8] "I was a Computer Science major. I got out once it got really hard. I made it up to C++. Then I couldn't do the math – it got really confusing. I switched to Communications, which is a ridiculous major – let's be honest," he recalls.^[9] On May 9, 2009, Fallon received a B.A. in Communications and^[10] an honorary doctorate degree from The College of Saint Rose after presenting college officials with his portfolio, which satisfied all requisites for his degree.^[7] In addition to receiving a BA, Fallon spoke at the school's 86th commencement. That night, on Saturday Night Live, he held up his diploma during the closing of the show. Additionally, he showed excerpts from the ceremony on his late night show May 11, 2009.

Career[link]

Stand-up[link]

Fallon gives credit to troll dolls for his big break. He was given a troll doll with a graduation cap in his senior year of high school. His mother heard about an impression contest at Bananas Comedy Club in Poughkeepsie, NY. Fallon came up with a stand-up routine that was a commercial for troll dolls. He would impersonate various celebrities auditioning to be the spokesperson. He won the contest and after college he began to do stand-up tours across the country. When he was in Los Angeles, he took improv classes with The Groundlings.^[5]

Early work[link]

Fallon appeared in the feature film The Scheme (originally entitled The Entrepreneurs). His one line in Father's Day was cut but he can still be seen in the background. In 1998 Fallon appeared briefly on the show Spin City in the second season as a man selling photographs. By late 1998, Fallon was studying at the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles, making $7.50 a set at The Improv Theater, when he was summoned to New York to audition for the long-running late night sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live. Fallon did his impersonations of Jerry Seinfeld,^[11] French Stewart, Pat O'Brien, Chris Rock, Hilary Swank, Gilbert Gottfried, Enrique Iglesias, Adam Sandler, Jeff Foxworthy, Eddie Murphy, Larry the Cable Guy, many of which drew laughter from producer Lorne Michaels, which is generally unheard of. Fallon also did musical impersonations of Bono of U2, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, Alanis Morissette, and Robert Smith of The Cure.^[4]

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Fallon's impersonations helped land him on Saturday Night Live as a featured player in the 1998–1999 season,^[12] and he was promoted to full cast member in the summer of 1999.^[4] Among his signature bits were his song parodies, which he performed when Colin Quinn was doing Update and continued to showcase on special occasions after he had replaced him. He became co-anchor of Weekend Update with Tina Fey with the October 7, 2000 season premiere.^[13] Fallon left SNL in 2004 and began pursuing a film career.

Fallon returned to SNL, hosting the December 17, 2011 episode, having made several cameos in episodes in the years since his departure.^[14]

Recurring characters[link]

• Dave, a young man in the Will Ferrell/Rachel Dratch recurring sketch, "The Lovers", often used as a pawn in Roger and Virginia's matchmaking.
• Jarret (from Jarret's Room), a stoner who hosts his own Internet webcam show.
• Jeffrey's clerk, one of the clerks (the other being a male host for the show) of an upscale department store.
• Joey Mack, an obnoxious radio DJ who mocks his celebrity guests.
• Kip Bloder, brother to Chris Parnell's Wade Bloder.
• The Leather Man, an intense man who owns a shop filled with leather clothes.
• Nick Burns, a sarcastic tech support representative who helps office workers with computer problems (and is almost always exposed as not knowing as much as he should by one of the workers). He frequently used the catchphrase "Moooooove!" when ousting people from their desk so he could fix the problem.
• Pat Sullivan, nicknamed "Sully", one of the Boston Teens, boyfriend of Rachel Dratch's Denise character.
• Patrick Fitzwilliam, a surly Irishman who hosts a show called Top O' The Morning with his friend, William Fitzpatrick (played by Seth Meyers)
• Randy Goldman, from "Wake Up Wakefield", Megan's (Maya Rudolph) crush who does not know she exists.
• Rodney "The Zipper" Calzoun, the MC at the Rialto Grande
• Señor Guadalupe Ramirez, one of the guitar players on the recurring sketch, "The 'How Do You Say, Ah, Yes' Show"
• Wade, one of the members of the boy band 7 Degrees Celsius
• Barry Gibb, in the skit called "The Barry Gibb Talk Show", he hosts along with his brother Robin Gibb (played by Justin Timberlake).
• Carson Daly, whom he impersonated with the catch phrase "I am a massive tool."^[15]
• Pat O'Brien, who "doesn't breathe through his nose ever!"

[edit] Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Fallon succeeded fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Conan O'Brien as the host of NBC's Late Night after O'Brien left the show to prepare to take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009.^[16] The deal for the long-expected succession was confirmed April 24, 2008, with an official announcement made on May 12, 2008 at NBC's upfront presentation.^[17][18] The official press conference was released on Hulu.com.^[19]

The show, titled Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, first aired on March 2, 2009 with guests Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake, Nick Carter, and musical guest Van Morrison. Guests on the show's first week included Tina Fey, Jon Bon Jovi, Cameron Diaz, Donald Trump, and Drew Barrymore.

"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" sometimes features parodies by Fallon impersonating various musicians, and he has been praised for his ability to pull off spot-on impressions. Fallon often changes the lyrics to honour a recent event in popular culture and videos of these performances tend to go viral. In one segment, on May 26, 2011, Fallon impersonated Neil Young, singing along with guests Graham Nash and David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Recent victims include Fallon making parodies of Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam performing "Jeremy (Lin)" in light of the hysteria surrounding New York Knicks shocking standout Jeremy Lin, the Doors singing the theme song to the PBS children's show "Reading Rainbow", Neil Young's version of the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song, and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" with inspiration by Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. First appearing in January 2012, and dubbing himself as "Tebowie", Fallon's impersonation of the famously-religious quarterback went viral. Due to overwhelmingly positive acclaim from the public, Fallon revived the act on March 20, 2012 after the Denver Broncos acquired superstar and future hall of fame quarterback Peyton Manning, and revealed their intentions to trade Tebow. Fallon continues to do impersonations, in some of the show's comedy segments, especially impersonations of famous singers.

To celebrate the second anniversary on March 2, 2011, Ben & Jerry's launched a personalized "Late Night Snack" ice cream. This was immediately parodied on The Colbert Report the next day and the two show hosts engaged in a brief ice cream personality war. Colbert used numerous "fecal matter" jokes to describe the flavor of the ice cream named after Jimmy Fallon.^[20]

On November 21, 2011 U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, who was active in the Republican Presidential Primaries at the time, appeared as a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. As she walked onto the stage, the band played a funk song titled "Lyin' Ass Bitch," without any lyrics. Hours earlier, the band's drummer Questlove had sent a tweet about the song choice: “late night walkon song devotees: you love it when we snark: this next one takes the cake. ask around cause i aint tweeting title.” After a prominent Democratic Congress woman complained, Fallon made a general apology by tweet.^[21] Fallon began his tweet with the words: "I'm honored that @michelebachmann was on our show yesterday and I'm so sorry about the intro mess."^[22] Fallon also used his Twitter account to tease his Roots bandleader Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson that he was "grounded".^[22]