Dan Serfaty
| Dan Serfaty | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | CEO of Viadeo |
Dan Serfaty [1] (born February 5, 1966 in Strasbourg, France) is a French entrepreneur and businessman.
He is best known as the co-founder and CEO of the professional social network Viadeo.
Biography
After graduating from HEC Paris (Hautes études commerciales, Paris, France) in 1987, Dan Serfaty spent 2 years abroad before starting his entrepreneurial life. In 1989, he acquired a company in the tourism sector, which he turned profitable before selling it in 1991.
At the same time, he co-founded a company specializing in the distribution of imported clothing products from Asia, which he sold 10 years later.[2]
In 2000, he founded Agregator,[3] a club dedicated to entrepreneurs, helping them share their experiences, ideas, and contacts with other club members. Uniquely, most of Agregator's members were the CEOs of small companies, financed by venture capital, bringing them liquidity and private equity returns.
The Agregator experience was the context where Dan developed the idea for a business-oriented social network, while working originally on some software that would allow club members to access each others' contacts.[4]
In 2004, with Thierry Lunati, he co-founded Viaduc–the original name of Viadeo–investing part of the first 5 million euros raised for Agregator. In 2006, Viaduc became Viadeo,[5] as the company was aiming toward worldwide development, including launching its English and Italian versions. With over 60 million users worldwide, Viadeo is the second largest professional social network.[6]
References
- ↑ "Biographie Dan Serfaty". Whoswho.fr. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ↑ "Speakers | EASDP". Eadp.org. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ↑ "JL Watine, Business coach finance d'entreprise: Viadéo, Aggregator: réseau social et club des Entrepreneurs, Dan Serfaty, HEC, l'a fait !". Watine.typepad.com. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ↑ "News on the Social Networking and Social Media Industry: Viadeo, Dan Serfaty, CEO & Founder - Interview". Social Networking Watch. 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ↑ "Viaduc, le LinkedIn français, devient Viadeo". Clubic.com. 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ↑ "Viadeo". Viadeo.com. APVO Corp. 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.