Greg Isenberg

Greg Isenberg (born February 3, 1989) is a Canadian Internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is best known as a technology startup thought leader and the founder of the Webby award-winning 5by, a video discovery platform acquired by StumbleUpon in 2013 for an undisclosed sum.[1][2][3][4][5]

Greg Isenberg
Born
Gregory Isenberg

(1989-02-03) February 3, 1989
Montreal, Quebec
EducationAttended McGill University
OccupationEntrepreneur, technology innovator

Isenberg was profiled as a "top tech entrepreneur" by Entrepreneur,[6] and has been quoted on tech industry matters by Mashable,[7] LA Times,[8] Adweek,[9] Toronto Standard,[10] and Reuters.[11] He is also a venture partner at Indicator Ventures, an American venture capital firm with investments in TBH (acquired by Facebook) and Unkirn.[12][13]

Isenberg occasionally writes for The New York Observer and AskMen.[14][15]

Life and career

Isenberg was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He started his first company at the age of 13,[16] following in the footsteps of his entrepreneurial parents and grandparents. He attended McGill University as a Computer Science major before dropping out to pursue startups.

Isenberg's first business was Stress Limit, where he ran digital marketing strategies and oversaw the web design rebranding efforts of FedEx, Microsoft, and TechCrunch.[17] On the experience, Isenberg noted, "I learned very early on that to be competitive and do business with people, you first need to build relationships. So that meant flying out [of Montreal] regularly to San Francisco and New York City to meet them in person, tell them what we’re working on, and making them as excited as possible to work with us."[18][19]

Isenberg founded his next startup, 5by, in Montreal with a team of five engineers. 5by is a video concierge app that "sifts through online videos to deliver them to users based on mood, social interests, and time of day."[11][20] It launched publicly at the LAUNCH Conference in San Francisco,[21] and quickly became known as the "Songza of video".[22][23]

Upon its acquisition by StumbleUpon — their first-ever company acquisition[24] — 5by expanded its team to thirteen employees and moved to San Francisco.[1][23] Forbes remarked that, "It might be the fastest start-up to sale company in the social media technology category." StumbleUpon acquired the company with the intent of having it further monetize its mobile video aspirations and to increase revenue from its large user base.[18]

In October 2014, 5by relaunched as a mobile app for chatting about online videos with friends.[24] Partnerships with VICE, Tribeca Film Festival, Defy Media, and Mashable were brokered to bring verticalized content onto the platform. The shift toward social features mirrored StumbleUpon's own efforts with its mobile applications.[25]

Isenberg's social media app Islands, a messaging app for college [26] was bought my WeWork in 2019.[27]

References
  1. "Canadian-Born 5by Wins People's Voice Winner at 2014 Webbys - BetaKit". betakit.com.
  2. Anthony Ha. "In Its First Acquisition, StumbleUpon Buys Video Recommendation Startup 5by". TechCrunch. AOL.
  3. "StumbleUpon Makes First Acquisition: Video Discovery Service 5by". Mashable. 24 September 2013.
  4. "StumbleUpon makes first buy: video recommendation app 5by". CNET. CBS Interactive.
  5. "With Its First Acquisition, StumbleUpon Sets Its Sights On Mobile Video Discovery". Fast Company.
  6. Antonio Neves (2 June 2013). "Top Tech Entrepreneurs Offer Tips on Starting Up". Entrepreneur.
  7. "Quebec's Preoccupation With French Is Limiting Its Startup Scene". Mashable. 30 January 2014.
  8. Los Angeles Times (26 December 2014). "Sony breach fuels email security fears at other companies". latimes.com.
  9. "Video Startups Look to Challenge YouTube's Dominance - Adweek". AdWeek.
  10. Toronto Standard Media Company Limited. "Dispatches from the Valley: Greg Isenberg, founder of 5by". Toronto Standard.
  11. "Apps create video playlists to suit mood and personality". Reuters.
  12. "Indicator Ventures Closes on $4.2M Toward Debut Fund". dowjones.com.
  13. "Indicator Ventures". angel.co.
  14. Greg Isenberg. "Little Lifehacks Guaranteed to Improve Your Existence". Observer.
  15. Greg Isenberg. "Networking As An Entrepreneur". AskMen.
  16. "Greg Isenberg Episode Overview". Hack to Start.
  17. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg
  18. Bruce Rogers. "Will Greg Isenberg's 5by Help StumbleUpon Maintain Its Momentum?". Forbes.
  19. "Greg Isenberg: On Selling 2 Companies at 24 and Building Successful Startups [INTERVIEW] - NextShark". NextShark.
  20. http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-s-hootsuite-competing-for-silicon-valley-talent-1.2529631
  21. "Canadian Angel Greg Isenberg Has Created a 'Songza for Video' and He Wants Millions of Users". techvibes.com.
  22. 5by has been called the Songza of video
  23. "What happens when you combine WhatsApp with YouTube". Digiday.
  24. Sarah Perez. "StumbleUpon's 5by Relaunches As An App For Chatting About Online Videos With Friends". TechCrunch. AOL.
  25. Sarah Perez. "With Its iOS Update, StumbleUpon Becomes A Mobile Chat App". TechCrunch. AOL.
  26. http://mashable.com/2017/08/30/islands-college-campus-messaging-app/
  27. https://medium.com/indicator-ventures/islands-x-wework-24f3e3892a8c
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