Gary Kremen

Gary Alan Kremen (born 1963) is an entrepreneur who founded personals site match.com, and registered several premiere domain names in the early days of the internet, including sex.com, jobs.com, housing.com, and autos.com.Jackson, Ron. [http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2006/march.htm Be Careful what You Wish For: The Continuing Saga of Gary Kremen and Sex.com] DNJournal.com, March, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.] Born in the Chicago area, he graduated Niles West High School in 1981, then graduated with bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Northwestern University in 1985, and a MBA from Stanford University in 1989. [Showley, Roger M. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20040525-9999-1c25sexcom.html Web site founder adjusts to life in Rancho Santa Fe] . "SignOnSanDiego.com", 2004-05-24. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.] [http://www.secinfo.com/duvJ5.6wh.htm Brightcube Inc, 10SB12G, On 7/13/99] SECInfo.com, 1999-07-13. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.]

Kremen launched software firm Los Altos Technology after graduating from Stanford in 1989, and headed the company until investors replaced him with a new CEO in 1993.Angwin, Julia. [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/02/12/BU57PER.DTL&hw=Business+Week+Online&sn=204&sc=271 "Love's labor lost: Online matchmaker still seeks love, money."] "San Francisco Chronicle", via sfgate.com, 1998-02-12. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.]

In 1993, Kremen founded Board of Electric Classifieds, Inc. the first company to bring classified ads to the internet. Funded by private investors in November 1994, it launched online personals service match.com in April 1995. After troubles with venture capitalists, he left match.com in March 1996, remaining on the board of Electric Classifieds. Over Kremen's objections, match.com was sold to Cendant Corporation for $7 million in 1998, and sold by Cendant to Ticketmaster a year and a half later for $50 million, although Kremen's proceeds amounted to $50,000 and a lifetime account on match.com. [O'Brien, Chris. [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/sex_com.html "The Prisoner of Sex.com."] "Wired", via wired.com, August 2003. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.]

From 1995 to 1996, Kremen founded and served as president of NetAngels.com, Inc., an internet profiling and personalization company that suggested web sites to users. He left when NetAngels merged with Boston personalization software firm Firefly Network, Inc. in 1997, [Ginsberg, Steve. [http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/1997/01/20/story6.html?jst=cn_cn_lk "Perfect match: Wheeler-dealer, investment bank aim cash at 'Net."] "San Francisco Business Times", via bizjournals.com, 1997-01-19. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.] and Firefly was sold to Microsoft in 1998 in a reported $40 million deal. [Luening, Erich. [http://news.com.com/Microsoft+to+buy+Firefly/2100-1001_3-210017.html "Microsoft to buy Firefly."] CNET News.com, 1998-04-09. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.]

In 1999, he was listed as an equity-holding officer or director of Brightcube Inc.

Kremen is credited as a primary inventor on a 1995-filed patent for dynamic web pages, US patent number 5706434, [ [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsrchnum.htm&Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&r=1&l=50&f=G&d=PALL&s1=5706434.PN.&OS=PN/5706434&RS=PN/5706434 United States Patent 5706434] United States Patent and Trademark Office, 1998-01-06. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.] which was later sold for over $1,250,000.fact|date=August 2007 as per [http://www.mikeford.com/?m=200702] .

A 2007 New York Times article on "millionaires who don't feel rich" reported that Kremen estimated his net worth at $10 million. [Rivlin, Gary. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/technology/05rich.html?bl&ex=1186545600&en=25418cdecb0dcd13&ei=5087%0A In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich] "New York Times", 2007-08-05. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.]

Kremen currently resides in Rancho Santa Fe, California, and is the founder and acting CEO for residential solar financing start-up [http://www.CleanPowerFinance.Com Clean Power Finance, Inc.]

Sex.com saga

Kremen first registered the domain name "sex.com" in 1994.fact|date=August 2007

In 1996 Stephen M. Cohen, contacted Network Solutions and fraudulently had the domain transferred to his name.fact|date=August 2007

Kremen took the matter to the courts where he struggled to make a case, on limited resources, against Cohen's multi-million dollar pornography empire.

Kremen took the upper hand when two of Cohen's rivals in the pornographic industry, Seth Warshavsky and Ron Levi, helped fund Kremen's case. After a long and complicated legal battle headed up by cyberlawyer Charles Carreon, the domain was eventually returned to its original owner, Kremen.

In the meantime, however, Cohen had profited vastly through the property and Kremen tried to wrest back some of these profits through further court action. He was awarded a judgment of $65 million against Cohen. Kremen also successfully litigated against Network Solutions. [Kozinski, Alex. [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0115899p.pdf United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 01-15899 D.C. No. CV-98-20718-JW Opinion] Findlaw, 2003-07-25. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.]

Cohen fled to Mexico and moved the money offshore.

On October 28th, 2005, the Los Angeles Times reported that Cohen had been arrested in Mexico and turned over to US Authorities. [McCarthy, Kieren. [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/28/sexdotcom_cohen_arrested/ Sex.com thief arrested] "The Register", 2005-10-28. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.]

Kremen sold sex.com in 2006 to Boston-based Escom LLC for $12 million in cash and stock, [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182646,00.html Sex.com Sold for $12M] Foxnews.com, 2006-01-24. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.] and sold sex.net for $454,500 later that year. [Jackson, Ron. [http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2006/domainsales05_23_06.htm Diamond.com Shines Bright After Selling for $7.5 Million in One of the Biggest Domain Deals Ever Reported] DNJournal.com, 2006-05-23. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.]

External links

* [http://www.kremen.com/ Gary Kremen's Home Page]
* [http://www.cleanpowerfinance.com/main/about/management-team/ Gary Kremen's current position as CEO of Clean Power Finance]
* [http://www.sexdotcom.info/pages/articles.htm An archive of articles on the Sex.com case]
* [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.09/scans.html?pg=7 Wired article on Match.Com and Gary Kremen]
* [http://www.forbes.com/business/1997/09/22/feat_side2.html 1997 Forbes Article on Gary Kremen]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,985187,00.html "Sex.com" news article on the court case] - [http://www.guardian.co.uk The Guardian Newspaper]
* [http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=15405&hed=Sex+Sells!+Sex.com+Nabs+%2414M&sector=Industries&subsector=InternetAndServices News article on Kremen's sale]
* [http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2006/march.htm DNJournal: The Continuing Saga of Gary Kremen and Sex.com]
* [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/sex_com.html The Prisoner of Sex.Com]

References