Dan Serfaty
Encyclopedia
Dan Serfaty Dan Serfaty (born February 5, 1966 in Strasbourg
, France
) is a French entrepreneur
and businessman.
He is best known as the co-founder and CEO of the professional social network Viadeo
.
, France) in 1987, Dan Serfaty spent 2 years abroad before starting his entrepreneurial life. In 1989, he acquired a company in the tourism
sector, which business he turned profitable, before selling it in 1991.
At the same time, he co-founded a company specializing in distributing imported clothing products from Asia
, which he sold 10 years later.
In 2000, he founded Agregator, a club dedicated to entrepreneurs, helping them share their experience, ideas and contacts with other club members, and also a new concept in the financial world: most of Agregator's members were small companies's CEO, financed by venture capital
, bringing them liquidity and private equity returns.
The Agregator experience was the context where Dan developed the idea for a business oriented social network, while working originally on some software that would allow club members to access each others' contacts.
In 2004, with Thierry Lunati, he co-founded Viaduc -the original name of the Viadeo network- ,investing part of the first 5 million euros raised for Agregator.
In 2006, the social network
platform Viaduc became Viadeo, as the company was aiming a worldwide development and launching its English and Italian versions. With over 30 millions users worldwide, Viadeo is the second largest professional social network.
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is a French 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...
and businessman.
He is best known as the co-founder and CEO of the professional social network Viadeo
Viadeo
Viadeo is a Web 2.0 professional social network with over 35 million members worldwide in 2010, and a membership base that was growing by more than one million per month in 2009. Members include business owners, entrepreneurs and managers from a diverse range of enterprises...
.
Biography
After graduating from HEC Paris (Hautes Etudes Commerciales, ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France) in 1987, Dan Serfaty spent 2 years abroad before starting his entrepreneurial life. In 1989, he acquired a company in the tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
sector, which business he turned profitable, before selling it in 1991.
At the same time, he co-founded a company specializing in distributing imported clothing products from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, which he sold 10 years later.
In 2000, he founded Agregator, a club dedicated to entrepreneurs, helping them share their experience, ideas and contacts with other club members, and also a new concept in the financial world: most of Agregator's members were small companies's CEO, financed by 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...
, bringing them liquidity and private equity returns.
The Agregator experience was the context where Dan developed the idea for a business oriented social network, while working originally on some software that would allow club members to access each others' contacts.
In 2004, with Thierry Lunati, he co-founded Viaduc -the original name of the Viadeo network- ,investing part of the first 5 million euros raised for Agregator.
In 2006, the 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...
platform Viaduc became Viadeo, as the company was aiming a worldwide development and launching its English and Italian versions. With over 30 millions users worldwide, Viadeo is the second largest professional social network.
External links
- http://www.viadeo.com/en/profile/dan.serfaty Dan Serfaty on Viadeo