Skip to content

TechRepublic

  • Top Products Lists
  • Developer
  • 5G
  • Security
  • Cloud
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Tech & Work
  • Mobility
  • Big Data
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • CES
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Top Products Lists
  • Developer
  • 5G
  • Security
  • Cloud
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Tech & Work
  • Mobility
  • Big Data
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • CES
  • See All Topics
  • Sponsored
  • Newsletters
  • Forums
  • Resource Library
TechRepublic Premium
Join / Sign In
CXO

Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

By Conner Forrest July 2, 2014, 1:08 PM PDT

Image
1
of 10

jawedkarim.jpg
jawedkarim.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Jawed Karim, YouTube

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Robin Brown/Jawed

Jawed Karim, YouTube

In light of the upcoming celebration of the founders of the US, we thought we would celebrate some forgotten founders. Here are startup founders who are too often overlooked.

Jawed Karim is the third co-founder of YouTube, alongside Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. Karim uploaded the first video to YouTube, and is known to be publicly opposed to its connection to Google+.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Robin Brown/Jawed
chrisdewolfe.jpg
chrisdewolfe.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Chris DeWolfe, Myspace

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Anthony Evergreen

Chris DeWolfe, Myspace

Chris DeWolfe is the former co-founder and CEO of Myspace. He is often overlooked since every user of the site was automatically connected with Tom Anderson, the company’s other co-founder.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Anthony Evergreen
larrysanger.jpg
larrysanger.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Larry Sanger, Wikipedia

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Larry Sanger

Larry Sanger, Wikipedia

Larry Sanger co-founded Wikipedia with Jimmy Wales in 2001. He left the company in 2002 and has since been critical of Wikipedia.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Larry Sanger
davidfilo.jpg
davidfilo.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

David Filo, Yahoo

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Mitchell Aidelbaum

David Filo, Yahoo

David Filo worked on Yahoo with Jerry Yang. In the early days, Yahoo ran his Filo Server Program to serve websites.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Mitchell Aidelbaum
romwayne.jpg
romwayne.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Ronald Wayne, Apple

Image: Wikimedia Commons/ Nightscream

Ronald Wayne, Apple

Ron Wayne is known as the third co-founder of Apple Inc, founding the company on April 1, 1976 with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. He left the company very early on, selling his shares of stock for $800.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/ Nightscream
dustinmoskovitz.jpg
dustinmoskovitz.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Dustin Moskovitz, Facebook

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Dustin Moskovitz

Dustin Moskovitz, Facebook

Dustin Moskovitz was one of the five founders of the social media giant Facebook. He was the company’s first CTO and oversaw many of the technical operations of the site.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Dustin Moskovitz
dylansmith.jpg
dylansmith.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Dylan Smith, Box

Image: Josh Miller/CNET

Dylan Smith, Box

Dylan Smith (left) co-founded Box with Aaron Levie (right) and is the current CFO of the company. While Smith played a key role in the success of the company, he hasn’t received nearly as much the spotlight as much as Levie.

SEE: How Aaron Levie and his childhood friends built Box into a $2 billion business, without stabbing each other in the back

Image: Josh Miller/CNET
shawnfanning.jpg
shawnfanning.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Shawn Fanning, Napster

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Joi Ito

Shawn Fanning, Napster

Shawn Fanning helped develop the P2P file sharing service, Napster. During Napster’s heyday Fanning made it on the cover of Time Magazine, but after the success of the movie The Social Network, Sean Parker became associated with Napster.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Joi Ito
jimmckelvey.jpg
jimmckelvey.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

Jim McKelvey, Square

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Jessica Kopitske

Jim McKelvey, Square

Jim McKelvey co-founded Square with Jack Dorsey after he discovered a need for a mobile payment service when trying to sell a piece of glass art he had created. McKelvey designed the actual Square reader and he currently sits on the board of Square.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Jessica Kopitske
johnjay.jpg
johnjay.jpg
Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

BONUS: John Jay, United States of America

Image: Gilbert Stuart/The National Gallery of Art

BONUS: John Jay, United States of America

In keeping with the US Independence Day theme we mentioned at the beginning of this piece, John Jay is one of the overshadowed “Founding Fathers” of the United States of America. Jay authored some of the Federalist papers and helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Federalist Party and initially tried to abolish slavery in New York in 1777.

Image: Gilbert Stuart/The National Gallery of Art
  • CXO
  • Start-Ups
  • Account Information

    Share with Your Friends

    Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets

    Your email has been sent

Share: Forgotten founders: 10 startup founders history often forgets
Image of Conner Forrest
By Conner Forrest
Conner is a former Senior Editor for TechRepublic. He is now a Senior Research Analyst at 451 Research.
  • Account Information

    Contact Conner Forrest

    Your message has been sent

  • |
  • See all of Conner's content

TechRepublic Premium

  • TechRepublic Premium

    Hiring kit: Community engagement manager

    PURPOSE Recruiting a community engagement manager with the right combination of experience and communication skills will require a comprehensive screening process. This hiring kit from TechRepublic Premium provides a flexible framework your business can use to find, recruit and ultimately hire the right person for the job. From the hiring kit: DETERMINING FACTORS, DESIRABLE PERSONALITY ...

    Published:  March 28, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 29, 2023, 10:12 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Hiring kit: Chief experience officer

    PURPOSE Successful chief experience officers combine excellent communications skills with an intimate knowledge of customer expectations, company operations and industry standards. This hiring kit from TechRepublic Premium provides a workable framework you can use to find, recruit and ultimately hire the best candidate for CXO of your organization. From the hiring kit: DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ...

    Published:  March 28, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 29, 2023, 10:26 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Hiring kit: Automation specialist

    PURPOSE Recruiting an automation specialist with the right combination of technical expertise and experience will require a comprehensive screening process. This Hiring Kit from TechRepublic Premium provides a flexible framework your business can use to find, recruit and ultimately hire the right person for the job. From the hiring kit: DETERMINING FACTORS, DESIRABLE PERSONALITY TRAITS ...

    Published:  March 27, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 28, 2023, 12:48 PM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Hiring kit: Cybersecurity engineer

    PURPOSE Recruiting a cybersecurity engineer with the right combination of technical and industry experience will require a comprehensive screening process. This hiring kit from TechRepublic Premium provides a flexible framework your business can use to find, recruit and ultimately hire the right person for the job. From the hiring kit: DETERMINING FACTORS, DESIRABLE PERSONALITY TRAITS ...

    Published:  March 27, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 28, 2023, 12:18 PM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium

Services

  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
  • Site Map
  • Site Help & Feedback
  • FAQ
  • Advertise
  • Do Not Sell My Information

Explore

  • Downloads
  • TechRepublic Forums
  • Meet the Team
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Resource Library
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • TechRepublic
  • TechRepublic on Twitter
  • TechRepublic on Facebook
  • TechRepublic on LinkedIn
  • TechRepublic on Flipboard
© 2023 TechnologyAdvice. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Property of TechnologyAdvice