There are names just as big as Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, but they don’t resonate as much in our heads. However, if I tell you the name LinkedIn or PayPal, you probably know what it is. Well, behind these two powerful companies is Reid Hoffman. A story marked by the frustration he felt at Apple and which helped him gain momentum to leave his mark in Silicon Valley.
Frustrating beginnings at Apple
Reid Hoffman studied philosophy at Stanford University. And what do these studies have to do with computer science? Well indeed, even though initially I wanted to be a university professordecided to enter the business world, looking for ways to apply his philosophical ideas to technology and business.
This is how the young Reid joined Apple in the 90s. A few years during which Apple was not the admired company it is today. They were going through economic difficulties, competition was waiting for them voraciously andyou were adrift without Steve Jobs in the management team. Working during those years at Apple was not easy.
In 1994 Reid worked on eWorld, a pioneering attempt to create a social network which integrates online services. Although eWorld was innovative, its operation was so limited that it was eventually sold to AOL in 1996. The experience at Apple was frustrating for Hoffmanwho felt that the company culture did not allow him to reach his creative potential. This disappointment led him to leave the company after less than a year, not without learning valuable lessons about the development of digital communities.
PayPal was the first big success
After his brief stint at Apple Reid Hoffman co-founded SocialNet in 1997
Reid Hoffman joins Elon Musk and Peter Thiel’s team
The dream you always wanted to realize has come true with LinkedIn
In 2003, Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn from his living room. The idea was to create a professional social network that would allow people to connect and form working relationships. Today, LinkedIn has become the largest professional network in the worldwith over 300 million users, and has changed the way workers connect. Reid Hoffman didn’t dream of a place where professionals could share their knowledge and help people find jobs. And we can say that he succeeded.
His goal was not to work in business, he wanted to transcend
From his early days at Apple, or even further back when he was studying philosophy, Reid Hoffman made it clear that he didn’t want to be an engineerprogrammer, consultant… he wanted to do something that would mark the world as he saw it. He believed in people and how to connect them through the Internet. His story is a reminder to all: failures can be the first step to success.
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