Justin Waldron

Justin Waldron (June 18, 1988)[1] is an American internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Zynga, which makes online social and mobile games. Zynga is considered to be the pioneer of the social and mobile gaming industries,[2] responsible for creating many of the microtransaction and viral marketing business models which are now ubiquitous. Within four years of its founding, Zynga grew to $1 billion in annual revenue, faster than any other internet company. In 2011 Zynga held the largest IPO since Google, with a valuation of over $10 billion.[3] Waldron left Zynga in October 2013[4] and is currently an active angel investor and advisor in various other technology companies.

Justin Waldron
Waldron speaking in Helsinki, Finland
Born (1988-06-18) June 18, 1988
Watertown, Connecticut
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Connecticut
OccupationEntrepreneur, Investor
Known forCo-Founder, Zynga
Angel Investor

Zynga's top games include: CityVille, FarmVille, The Pioneer Trail, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, Empires & Allies, and Adventure World.[5]

Early years

Waldron was born and raised in Watertown, Connecticut. He began programming his first video games and websites at 11 years old, shortly after receiving his first computer.[6] His early software projects included hacking AOL,[6] a favorite childhood pastime shared by other notable technology company founders such as Mark Zuckerberg.[7] Waldron also reverse engineered the disassembled MIPS machine code of PlayStation 2 games in his spare time to add his own features.[6]

In high school, Waldron cracked Burger King's coupon code algorithm and launched a website to programmatically create unlimited free sandwich coupon codes for visitors. It became so popular that it resulted in a cease and desist notice from Burger King.[8]

Career

Zynga

In 2007, Justin dropped out of The University of Connecticut and co-founded Zynga at 19 years old.[9] He created Zynga's first title, Zynga Poker, and later led product development and strategy across many teams throughout the company. Waldron also worked on special projects with Zynga's other founders.[10] He lived in Tokyo during Zynga's expansion to Japan.[11]

Other company involvement

Waldron has made early-stage investments, advised, or served on the board of directors for companies such as Sprig, YourMechanic, Gigster, Kik Messenger, Sidecar, and others.[12]

Waldron is a mentor at the Thiel Foundation, using his experience as a college dropout to help young entrepreneurs in the Thiel Fellowship's 20 under 20 program.[13]

References
  1. "CrunchBase: Justin Waldron".
  2. Kesarios, George. "Can Zynga Execute In The Online Gambling Space?". Blog Post. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  3. Pepitone, Julianne (1 July 2011). "Zynga files for $1 billion IPO". CNNMoney. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  4. "Zynga Co-Founder Justin Waldron Leaves the Company".
  5. "FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Website. July 1, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  6. "EcoMUKTI - Justin Waldron". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  7. "Steve Case Confirms Zuckerberg As Former AOL Hacker".
  8. Stephens, Dale (2013). Hacking Your Education. The Penguin Group. ISBN 1101619686.
  9. "Zynga's IPO: made possible by the Zynga Dream Team".
  10. "The Cofounders of Zynga Are Working On a Huge Project".
  11. "What Happened To The Founding Team Behind The Largest IPO Since Google".
  12. "AngelList: Justin Waldron".
  13. "Zynga Co-Founder Departs For Greener Pastures".
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