Richard Rosenblatt
Encyclopedia
Richard Rosenblatt is a serial entrepreneur
and the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO
of Demand Media
. He has built, operated, and sold over $1.3 billion of Internet
media companies.
on April 6, 1969. Raised in Southern California by his nuclear physicist dad and professor mom, Rosenblatt went on to earn a B.A.
from UCLA
, and a J.D.
from University of Southern California Law School
(class of 1994). After getting his law degree, Rosenblatt took a job at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, in Los Angeles
, but quit after 6 months citing boredom.
. iMALL's products included a suite of tools to build e-commerce
stores and transact commerce over the internet. Rosenblatt replaced one of the founders, Craig Pickering, as CEO in July 1996 and took on the additional role of Chairman of the Board in January 1997. Rosenblatt oversaw a restructuring and rebuilding of the business. In 1998, iMALL partnered up with First Data Merchant Services (FDMS) in a deal that provided access to roughly 2 million merchants and included a $14 million equity stake in iMALL. In April 1999, Verio, Inc. teamed up with iMALL and First Data to create VerioStore, a product selling e-commerce services. Later that same year, IBM
bought iMALL and First Data’s technology for their e-commerce services. In July 1999, Rosenblatt negotiated the sale of iMALL to Excite@Home
for $565 million. In 1999, iMALL and two of its founders were sued by the Federal Trade Commission
, though Rosenblatt was not among those named in the suit. Rosenblatt became the Sr. VP of e-commerce for Excite@Home for a short period of time.
Following iMALL’s sale, Rosenblatt became the founding investor and vice chairman of Great Domains. The company became a leader in the secondary domain market and was acquired by VeriSign, Inc.
in October 2000 for $100 million.
In August 2000, Rosenblatt became the interim CEO of the ailing DrKoop.com. His participation was part of a larger effort by investors to reconfigure the business into a hybrid online and offline venture that was structured to be less dependent on the erratic flow of advertising dollars. The turn-around was nearly complete when the Internet market collapsed and 9/11 occurred, causing the company to file for bankruptcy
in December 2001.
Rosenblatt became CEO of Superdudes.net, an online gaming community where users created their own Superhero
character and participated in global social networking in 2002.
In February 2004, Rosenblatt became CEO of Intermix Media
(formerly eUniverse, Inc.) where he led the growth of Myspace.com
from an unknown web site to one of the most popular properties on the Internet. In 2005, Intermix was sold to News Corporation
for $649 million, $580 million of which was cash, with an additional $69 million being paid to private shareholder
s. In 2005, former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
filed suit against Intermix. Rosenblatt was not among those named in the suit. Spitzer accused the company of installing advertising software without notifying unsuspecting consumers. Intermix acknowledged this was part of an outdated practice put in place by previous leadership, but insisted the company no longer installed software without first notifying a customer they were doing so. The case against Intermix was later settled for a monetary sum, though there was no admission of guilt. The founder and former CEO of Intermix Media Inc., Brad Greenspan
, was fined $750,000 as part of an agreement with Spitzer to end the investigation against him. In 2006, Greenspan filed suit against Intermix, claiming the executives and directors, Rosenblatt among them, withheld key information to shareholders regarding the potential revenue generated by the sale of Intermix to News Corp. Greenspan specifically said the sale cheated shareholders by not including the growth potential of MySpace.com in the agreed upon sales figure. Critics pointed out that at the time of the sale News Corp’s purchase of Intermix was still considered a financially risky proposition. Further damaging his claims was the fact that Greenspan was asked to step down as CEO when the company had been under investigation by the SEC and the shares had dropped to an embarrassing low. The case was dismissed on Friday, October 6, 2006, when Judge Carolyn Kuhl
determined that shareholders of Intermix Media, Inc. had been lawfully informed prior to voting on the transaction. On August 1, 2008, a judge ordered one count in the class action shareholder suit brought against the Intermix executives could go forward. The case is still pending.
Rosenblatt then co-founded Demand Media with private-equity executive, Shawn Colo. The company launched in May 2006 with $120 million in equity, and announced the acquisitions of eNom, Inc. and eHow.com
. By March 2008, Demand Media raised the total amount of equity to $355 million. Demand Media owns many websites, including eHow and Golflink.com. In January 2008, Demand Media partnered with Lance Armstrong
and his Foundation (LAF)
to build out the daily health, lifestyle and fitness destination, LIVESTRONG.com.
Rosenblatt is Chairman of the Board at iCrossing, Inc. and Demand Media, Inc. He is a member of the Board of Directors of FRS.
In addition to his internet ventures, Rosenblatt is the co-owner of several Southern California nightclubs named Air Conditioned. The first was established in 2002 in San Diego, while the other two are located in Venice
and Santa Monica
.
under UCLA’s MBA program for the course, "New Media: The Convergence of the Poet and the Engineer.” He was also recently named the USC Entrepreneur of the Year 2008.
, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also active with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, LIVESTRONG.
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 the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Demand Media
Demand Media
Demand Media, Inc. is an online media company and content farm that operates online brands such as eHow, and Cracked, and is known for creating online content through its Demand Media Studios division based on a combination of measured consumer demand and predicted ROI...
. He has built, operated, and sold over $1.3 billion of Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
media companies.
Early life
Rosenblatt was born in Woodland Hills, CAWoodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...
on April 6, 1969. Raised in Southern California by his nuclear physicist dad and professor mom, Rosenblatt went on to earn a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, and a J.D.
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...
from University of Southern California Law School
University of Southern California Law School
The University of Southern California Law School , located in Los Angeles, California, is a law school within the University of Southern California...
(class of 1994). After getting his law degree, Rosenblatt took a job at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, but quit after 6 months citing boredom.
Career
In October 1994, Rosenblatt co-founded iMALL and served as head of internet media and web developmentWeb development
Web development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet or an intranet . This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development...
. iMALL's products included a suite of tools to build e-commerce
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
stores and transact commerce over the internet. Rosenblatt replaced one of the founders, Craig Pickering, as CEO in July 1996 and took on the additional role of Chairman of the Board in January 1997. Rosenblatt oversaw a restructuring and rebuilding of the business. In 1998, iMALL partnered up with First Data Merchant Services (FDMS) in a deal that provided access to roughly 2 million merchants and included a $14 million equity stake in iMALL. In April 1999, Verio, Inc. teamed up with iMALL and First Data to create VerioStore, a product selling e-commerce services. Later that same year, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
bought iMALL and First Data’s technology for their e-commerce services. In July 1999, Rosenblatt negotiated the sale of iMALL to Excite@Home
Excite
Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...
for $565 million. In 1999, iMALL and two of its founders were sued by the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
, though Rosenblatt was not among those named in the suit. Rosenblatt became the Sr. VP of e-commerce for Excite@Home for a short period of time.
Following iMALL’s sale, Rosenblatt became the founding investor and vice chairman of Great Domains. The company became a leader in the secondary domain market and was acquired by VeriSign, Inc.
VeriSign
Verisign, Inc. is an American company based in Dulles, Virginia that operates a diverse array of network infrastructure, including two of the Internet's thirteen root nameservers, the authoritative registry for the .com, .net, and .name generic top-level domains and the .cc and .tv country-code...
in October 2000 for $100 million.
In August 2000, Rosenblatt became the interim CEO of the ailing DrKoop.com. His participation was part of a larger effort by investors to reconfigure the business into a hybrid online and offline venture that was structured to be less dependent on the erratic flow of advertising dollars. The turn-around was nearly complete when the Internet market collapsed and 9/11 occurred, causing the company to file for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in December 2001.
Rosenblatt became CEO of Superdudes.net, an online gaming community where users created their own Superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
character and participated in global social networking in 2002.
In February 2004, Rosenblatt became CEO of Intermix Media
Intermix Media
Intermix Media, Inc. was a Los Angeles-based Internet marketing company founded in 1998 that owned the MySpace website...
(formerly eUniverse, Inc.) where he led the growth of Myspace.com
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
from an unknown web site to one of the most popular properties on the Internet. In 2005, Intermix was sold to News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
for $649 million, $580 million of which was cash, with an additional $69 million being paid to private shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
s. In 2005, former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
filed suit against Intermix. Rosenblatt was not among those named in the suit. Spitzer accused the company of installing advertising software without notifying unsuspecting consumers. Intermix acknowledged this was part of an outdated practice put in place by previous leadership, but insisted the company no longer installed software without first notifying a customer they were doing so. The case against Intermix was later settled for a monetary sum, though there was no admission of guilt. The founder and former CEO of Intermix Media Inc., Brad Greenspan
Brad Greenspan
Brad Greenspan is an internet entrepreneur who has been involved in the founding and proliferation of web properties including MySpace. Greenspan founded eUniverse Inc. in 1998, which went public in 1999. The company survived the .com-bust of 2001 and was the incubator that launched MySpace.com in...
, was fined $750,000 as part of an agreement with Spitzer to end the investigation against him. In 2006, Greenspan filed suit against Intermix, claiming the executives and directors, Rosenblatt among them, withheld key information to shareholders regarding the potential revenue generated by the sale of Intermix to News Corp. Greenspan specifically said the sale cheated shareholders by not including the growth potential of MySpace.com in the agreed upon sales figure. Critics pointed out that at the time of the sale News Corp’s purchase of Intermix was still considered a financially risky proposition. Further damaging his claims was the fact that Greenspan was asked to step down as CEO when the company had been under investigation by the SEC and the shares had dropped to an embarrassing low. The case was dismissed on Friday, October 6, 2006, when Judge Carolyn Kuhl
Carolyn Kuhl
Carolyn Barbara Kuhl is a judge on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri.-Background:...
determined that shareholders of Intermix Media, Inc. had been lawfully informed prior to voting on the transaction. On August 1, 2008, a judge ordered one count in the class action shareholder suit brought against the Intermix executives could go forward. The case is still pending.
Rosenblatt then co-founded Demand Media with private-equity executive, Shawn Colo. The company launched in May 2006 with $120 million in equity, and announced the acquisitions of eNom, Inc. and eHow.com
EHow
eHow is an online how-to guide with more than 1 million articles and 170,000 videos offering step-by-step instructions. eHow articles and videos are created by freelancers and cover a wide variety of topics organized into a hierarchy of categories. Any eHow user can leave comments or responses, but...
. By March 2008, Demand Media raised the total amount of equity to $355 million. Demand Media owns many websites, including eHow and Golflink.com. In January 2008, Demand Media partnered with Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
and his Foundation (LAF)
Lance Armstrong Foundation
The Lance Armstrong Foundation is a United States 501 nonprofit organization that provides support for people affected by cancer, founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong. The LAF states that its mission is 'to inspire and empower' cancer sufferers and their families...
to build out the daily health, lifestyle and fitness destination, LIVESTRONG.com.
Rosenblatt is Chairman of the Board at iCrossing, Inc. and Demand Media, Inc. He is a member of the Board of Directors of FRS.
In addition to his internet ventures, Rosenblatt is the co-owner of several Southern California nightclubs named Air Conditioned. The first was established in 2002 in San Diego, while the other two are located in Venice
Venice, Los Angeles, California
Venice is a beachfront district on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, a two-and-a-half mile pedestrian-only promenade that features performers, fortune-tellers, artists, and vendors...
and Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.
Lecturer
Rosenblatt is a co-lecturer with Peter GuberPeter Guber
Howard Peter Guber is an American film producer and executive and Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment...
under UCLA’s MBA program for the course, "New Media: The Convergence of the Poet and the Engineer.” He was also recently named the USC Entrepreneur of the Year 2008.
Philanthropy
Rosenblatt is a Gold Circle Member of the City of Hope Helford Clinical Research HospitalCity of Hope National Medical Center
City of Hope National Medical Center, is a private, not-for-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate medical school located in Duarte, California, United States...
, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also active with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, LIVESTRONG.