From a farm in Indiana to Seattle's art scene
I grew up on a small farm in northern Indiana, where I learned to fix things, solve problems, and serve my community. Those values carried me to Stanford, where I earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering just as the World Wide Web was being born.
In 1994, I created the world's first online dating site. Two years later, I founded Friend Finder Networks, which grew to serve over 700 million registered users. I've launched about a dozen companies over the years, each guided by the same principle: build things that help people connect. The foundation is my latest project, and in some ways the most personal.
After years of building at full speed, I hit a wall. Burnout and depression nearly broke me. What pulled me back was something I never expected: painting. I challenged myself to create a work of art every day for a year. 365 paintings later, I was a different person.
These days I spend most of my time on art, education, and the creative community here in Seattle.
