Eric Lefkofsky
Encyclopedia
Eric Paul Lefkofsky is a U.S.-born serial entrepreneur
. He is currently president of Blue Media, LLC, a Chicago
-based private equity
and consulting firm. In March 2011, Forbes
named him one of 2011's new billionaires.http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/08/world-billionaires-2011-intro.html
; Lefkofsky’s father, Bill, is a structural engineer
, his mother Sandy was a school teacher. He has a brother, Steven, an attorney
practicing in Michigan
, and a sister, Jodi, also a former school teacher. After graduating from Southfield-Lathrup High School
in 1987, Lefkofsky attended the University of Michigan
and graduated with honors in 1991. He continued on at University of Michigan Law School
to receive his Juris Doctor
in 1993.
at the University of Michigan
. After law school, in 1993, he and a college friend, Brad Keywell, borrowed money from relatives to buy an apparel company in Madison, Wisconsin
named Brandon Apparel.
In 1999, Lefkofsky and Keywell created an early Internet company called Starbelly that specialized in promotional products. Starbelly experienced rapid “pre-bubble” Internet growth and was sold to Halo Industries in January, 2000. Lefkofsky joined Halo to become chief operating officer. A little more than a year later, the company went bankrupt. Halo and Starbelly faced multiple lawsuits from shareholders, all of which were resolved by 2004.
After Starbelly, Lefkofsky, co-founded InnerWorkings in the fall of 2001. InnerWorkings provided print procurement services for mid-sized companies and achieved solid year-over-year growth. In August, 2006, InnerWorkings had a successful initial public offering
in the U.S. stock market (nasdaq
: INWK). Lefkofsky is on the board of directors of InnerWorkings.
In February 2005, Lefkofsky and Keywell created a freight logistics company called Echo Global Logistics
. Echo attracted series D financing from New Enterprise Associates
(NEA), one of the largest technology investors in the country, in June 2006. Echo Global Logistics went public on the NASDAQ under the symbol 'ECHO' and is now successfully being traded.
In June 2006, Lefkofsky and Keywell founded MediaBank, a media-buying technology company. MediaBank provides advertising buyers with planning, buying, accounting and analysis software. In June, 2007, MediaBank acquired Datatech, one of the leading media planning and procurement platforms in the advertising industry. In July, 2007, New Enterprise Associates
invested in MediaBank.
In January 2007, Lefkofsky co-founded and provided $1,000,000 in funding for ThePoint.com, an online collective action website started by Andrew Mason. New Enterprise Associates
led an early stage investment round in ThePoint. In late 2008, The Point changed its name to Groupon
.com. In October 2009, Groupon raised $30 million from Accel Partners and New Enterprise Associates
. In April 2010, Digital Sky Technology and Battery Ventures invested $135 million in Groupon at a valuation of $1.35 billion. In August 2010, Forbes
reported that Groupon
is the fastest growing company in history.
In February 2010, Lefkokfsky and Keywell announced a new venture firm called "lightbank" that plans to develop new companies in the Chicago area.
In December 2010, Google
offered a reported $6 billion for Groupon
. The offer was turned down, possibly due to anti-trust and regulatory scrutiny the deal might face.
As of April 2011, Groupon
is reportedly considering an IPO in the fall of 2011 at a valuation between $15 and $20 billion.
In June 2011, Groupon filed to raise as much as $750 Million in an IPO.
In October 2011 with the Groupon IPO now under high scrutiny, Groupon was found to have raised $950 million in private funding in January and then proceeded to payout $810 million to employees and investors. Mr. Lefkofsky and family were paid out $398 million of these funds.
, the Lefkofsky Foundation, for the “purpose of supporting charitable, scientific, and educational organizations and causes around the world.” The foundation has a focus on children. The foundation has helped fund more than 50 organizations to date. When asked about his Jewish faith in a Moment Magazine profile, Lefkofsky responded "I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about being a Jew. I think about how to be a good person, how to build a good business, how to be a good father. I think of myself first as an American and then as a Jew. That said, I am absolutely connected to Judaism."
, a Chicago-based performing arts institution.
In May 2008, Lefkofsky joined the committee to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago, Chicago 2016.
’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
and at the Kellogg School of Management
at Northwestern University
where he taught a course in disruptive business models. Lefkofsky is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, teaching a course on entrepreneurship and building technology-based businesses.
In November, Easton Studio Press published Lefkofsky's Accelerated Disruption, a book about how technology affects business.
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...
. He is currently president of Blue Media, LLC, a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
and consulting firm. In March 2011, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
named him one of 2011's new billionaires.http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/08/world-billionaires-2011-intro.html
Early life
Lefkofsky grew up in Southfield, MichiganSouthfield, Michigan
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.04% is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road...
; Lefkofsky’s father, Bill, is a structural engineer
Structural engineer
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants...
, his mother Sandy was a school teacher. He has a brother, Steven, an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
practicing in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and a sister, Jodi, also a former school teacher. After graduating from Southfield-Lathrup High School
Southfield-Lathrup High School
Southfield-Lathrup High School is a senior high school in Lathrup Village, Michigan, United States. It is the second oldest of three high schools in the Southfield Public Schools district, the oldest being Southfield High School, and the youngest being University High School...
in 1987, Lefkofsky attended the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and graduated with honors in 1991. He continued on at University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
to receive his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1993.
Entrepreneurial ventures
Lefkofsky began his career selling carpetCarpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. After law school, in 1993, he and a college friend, Brad Keywell, borrowed money from relatives to buy an apparel company in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
named Brandon Apparel.
In 1999, Lefkofsky and Keywell created an early Internet company called Starbelly that specialized in promotional products. Starbelly experienced rapid “pre-bubble” Internet growth and was sold to Halo Industries in January, 2000. Lefkofsky joined Halo to become chief operating officer. A little more than a year later, the company went bankrupt. Halo and Starbelly faced multiple lawsuits from shareholders, all of which were resolved by 2004.
After Starbelly, Lefkofsky, co-founded InnerWorkings in the fall of 2001. InnerWorkings provided print procurement services for mid-sized companies and achieved solid year-over-year growth. In August, 2006, InnerWorkings had a successful initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
in the U.S. stock market (nasdaq
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
: INWK). Lefkofsky is on the board of directors of InnerWorkings.
In February 2005, Lefkofsky and Keywell created a freight logistics company called Echo Global Logistics
Echo Global Logistics
Echo Global Logistics, Inc. is a provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services, delivered on a proprietary technology platform, serving the transportation and logistics needs of its clients...
. Echo attracted series D financing from New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates is a global investment firm focused on venture capital and growth equity investments. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA is among the largest venture firms. The firm invests in three broad industry sectors: information technology, healthcare, and...
(NEA), one of the largest technology investors in the country, in June 2006. Echo Global Logistics went public on the NASDAQ under the symbol 'ECHO' and is now successfully being traded.
In June 2006, Lefkofsky and Keywell founded MediaBank, a media-buying technology company. MediaBank provides advertising buyers with planning, buying, accounting and analysis software. In June, 2007, MediaBank acquired Datatech, one of the leading media planning and procurement platforms in the advertising industry. In July, 2007, New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates is a global investment firm focused on venture capital and growth equity investments. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA is among the largest venture firms. The firm invests in three broad industry sectors: information technology, healthcare, and...
invested in MediaBank.
In January 2007, Lefkofsky co-founded and provided $1,000,000 in funding for ThePoint.com, an online collective action website started by Andrew Mason. New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates is a global investment firm focused on venture capital and growth equity investments. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA is among the largest venture firms. The firm invests in three broad industry sectors: information technology, healthcare, and...
led an early stage investment round in ThePoint. In late 2008, The Point changed its name to Groupon
Groupon
Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto...
.com. In October 2009, Groupon raised $30 million from Accel Partners and New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates is a global investment firm focused on venture capital and growth equity investments. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA is among the largest venture firms. The firm invests in three broad industry sectors: information technology, healthcare, and...
. In April 2010, Digital Sky Technology and Battery Ventures invested $135 million in Groupon at a valuation of $1.35 billion. In August 2010, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
reported that Groupon
Groupon
Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto...
is the fastest growing company in history.
In February 2010, Lefkokfsky and Keywell announced a new venture firm called "lightbank" that plans to develop new companies in the Chicago area.
In December 2010, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
offered a reported $6 billion for Groupon
Groupon
Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto...
. The offer was turned down, possibly due to anti-trust and regulatory scrutiny the deal might face.
As of April 2011, Groupon
Groupon
Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto...
is reportedly considering an IPO in the fall of 2011 at a valuation between $15 and $20 billion.
In June 2011, Groupon filed to raise as much as $750 Million in an IPO.
In October 2011 with the Groupon IPO now under high scrutiny, Groupon was found to have raised $950 million in private funding in January and then proceeded to payout $810 million to employees and investors. Mr. Lefkofsky and family were paid out $398 million of these funds.
Philanthropy
In 2006, Eric Lefkofsky and his wife, Elizabeth, formed a charitable trustCharitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
, the Lefkofsky Foundation, for the “purpose of supporting charitable, scientific, and educational organizations and causes around the world.” The foundation has a focus on children. The foundation has helped fund more than 50 organizations to date. When asked about his Jewish faith in a Moment Magazine profile, Lefkofsky responded "I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about being a Jew. I think about how to be a good person, how to build a good business, how to be a good father. I think of myself first as an American and then as a Jew. That said, I am absolutely connected to Judaism."
Community interests
Lefkofsky is on the board of directors at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the board of directors of The Art Institute of Chicago and a Trustee of Steppenwolf Theatre CompanySteppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
, a Chicago-based performing arts institution.
In May 2008, Lefkofsky joined the committee to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago, Chicago 2016.
Teaching and writing
Since his success at InnerWorkings, Lefkofsky began a teaching career at business schools in the Chicago area. He previously taught Applied Technology at DePaul UniversityDePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
The Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business is part of the DePaul University College of Commerce, a business school located in the Chicago Loop, Illinois, USA. The College of Commerce was founded in 1913 and is one of the ten oldest business schools in the United States of America. The...
and at the Kellogg School of Management
Kellogg School of Management
The Kellogg School of Management is the business school of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, downtown Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. Kellogg offers full-time, part-time, and executive programs, as well as partnering programs with schools in China, India, Hong Kong, Israel,...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
where he taught a course in disruptive business models. Lefkofsky is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, teaching a course on entrepreneurship and building technology-based businesses.
In November, Easton Studio Press published Lefkofsky's Accelerated Disruption, a book about how technology affects business.