Josh Abramson | |
---|---|
![]() Abramson in 2021 | |
Born | 1981 (age 42–43) |
Alma mater | University of Richmond |
Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Investor |
Years active | 2006–present |
Known for | CollegeHumor, Vimeo, BustedTees, TeePublic |
Spouse | Gabrielle Borden Finley (m. 2010) |
Website |
twitter |
Josh Abramson (born 1981) is an American entrepreneur [1] and co-founder of the comedy website CollegeHumor. [2] [3] [4] He was one of the principal owners and founders of Connected Ventures, whose properties also included Vimeo and BustedTees, [5] [6] [7] and the co-founder, owner, and CEO of the crowdsourced T-shirt design company TeePublic. [8] [9]
Abramson and Ricky Van Veen co-founded CollegeHumor in 1999 when they were both freshmen in college, [2] [4] [10] Abramson at the University of Richmond [5] and Van Veen at Wake Forest. [4] [11] They began by posting silly photos of themselves as well as jokes, links, and other amusing material they collected from emails circulating among college students. [4] [11] Within three months the site was receiving over 600,000 visitors per month and $8,000 in monthly revenue. [11] In under a year they received a buyout offer from an Internet company called eFront for $9 million, most of which would have been financed with stock shares. Abramson and Van Veen refused the offer and continued to grow the company themselves. [11] In 2001 they added Jake Lodwick, a student at Rochester Institute of Technology, and Zach Klein, a friend of Van Veen's from Wake Forest. [4] [12] By the time the group graduated from college the site had earned more than $100,000 and the partners still owned 100 percent of their business, which at that time was attracting 2 million viewers a month. [11] The group moved the company to San Diego briefly [11] [13] [12] before settling in New York City in 2004, where they set up shop in a 4,800 square-foot loft in TriBeCa. [4] [11] [12]
By 2005 the site was receiving 6-8 million unique visitors each month and was generating over 5 million dollars per year in advertising and T-shirt sales. In 2006 Abramson and company sold 51% of Connected Ventures, CollegeHumor's parent company, whose properties include CollegeHumor, Vimeo and BustedTees, to Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp for a reported $20 million. [6] [7] [14]
Abramson and company created BustedTees in 2004 as a forum to sell T-shirts marketed on CollegeHumor. [3] BustedTees was included in the 2006 sale of Connected Ventures to IAC/InterActiveCorp but in 2011 Abramson bought the company back. [3] [8] [14] BustedTees later spawned TeePublic. It was included in the TeePublic sale in 2018. [15]
Abramson launched TeePublic in March 2013 with the aim of creating a self-sustaining community of T-shirt designers and T-shirt lovers. [8] The T-shirt designs are submitted by artists, designers, and celebrities, and are curated through crowdsourcing. [9]
In October 2018, TeePublic was acquired by Redbubble, a global online marketplace based in Australia, for US$41 million. [16] [17] Victoria personal LAB teamwork with collaboration
Abramson has invested in several early-stage tech companies, including BarkBox, a subscription e-commerce and content company for dog-lovers, AmberJack, a booking platform for fishing trips, ManagedByQ, an office management platform, and Shinesty, a retro clothing company, among others. [18] [19] In 2013 Abramson joined venture capital firm FirstMark Capital, the New York-based firm behind major companies like Pinterest and Shopify, in a venture partner role. [1] [20]
Abramson grew up in Timonium, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. [4] He and fellow CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen were friends since the sixth grade and attended Dulaney High School together. [11] [13]
Abramson resides in New York City. In April 2010, he married Gabrielle Borden Finley. In 2022, he opened a wine bar in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood. [21]
Josh Abramson | |
---|---|
![]() Abramson in 2021 | |
Born | 1981 (age 42–43) |
Alma mater | University of Richmond |
Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Investor |
Years active | 2006–present |
Known for | CollegeHumor, Vimeo, BustedTees, TeePublic |
Spouse | Gabrielle Borden Finley (m. 2010) |
Website |
twitter |
Josh Abramson (born 1981) is an American entrepreneur [1] and co-founder of the comedy website CollegeHumor. [2] [3] [4] He was one of the principal owners and founders of Connected Ventures, whose properties also included Vimeo and BustedTees, [5] [6] [7] and the co-founder, owner, and CEO of the crowdsourced T-shirt design company TeePublic. [8] [9]
Abramson and Ricky Van Veen co-founded CollegeHumor in 1999 when they were both freshmen in college, [2] [4] [10] Abramson at the University of Richmond [5] and Van Veen at Wake Forest. [4] [11] They began by posting silly photos of themselves as well as jokes, links, and other amusing material they collected from emails circulating among college students. [4] [11] Within three months the site was receiving over 600,000 visitors per month and $8,000 in monthly revenue. [11] In under a year they received a buyout offer from an Internet company called eFront for $9 million, most of which would have been financed with stock shares. Abramson and Van Veen refused the offer and continued to grow the company themselves. [11] In 2001 they added Jake Lodwick, a student at Rochester Institute of Technology, and Zach Klein, a friend of Van Veen's from Wake Forest. [4] [12] By the time the group graduated from college the site had earned more than $100,000 and the partners still owned 100 percent of their business, which at that time was attracting 2 million viewers a month. [11] The group moved the company to San Diego briefly [11] [13] [12] before settling in New York City in 2004, where they set up shop in a 4,800 square-foot loft in TriBeCa. [4] [11] [12]
By 2005 the site was receiving 6-8 million unique visitors each month and was generating over 5 million dollars per year in advertising and T-shirt sales. In 2006 Abramson and company sold 51% of Connected Ventures, CollegeHumor's parent company, whose properties include CollegeHumor, Vimeo and BustedTees, to Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp for a reported $20 million. [6] [7] [14]
Abramson and company created BustedTees in 2004 as a forum to sell T-shirts marketed on CollegeHumor. [3] BustedTees was included in the 2006 sale of Connected Ventures to IAC/InterActiveCorp but in 2011 Abramson bought the company back. [3] [8] [14] BustedTees later spawned TeePublic. It was included in the TeePublic sale in 2018. [15]
Abramson launched TeePublic in March 2013 with the aim of creating a self-sustaining community of T-shirt designers and T-shirt lovers. [8] The T-shirt designs are submitted by artists, designers, and celebrities, and are curated through crowdsourcing. [9]
In October 2018, TeePublic was acquired by Redbubble, a global online marketplace based in Australia, for US$41 million. [16] [17] Victoria personal LAB teamwork with collaboration
Abramson has invested in several early-stage tech companies, including BarkBox, a subscription e-commerce and content company for dog-lovers, AmberJack, a booking platform for fishing trips, ManagedByQ, an office management platform, and Shinesty, a retro clothing company, among others. [18] [19] In 2013 Abramson joined venture capital firm FirstMark Capital, the New York-based firm behind major companies like Pinterest and Shopify, in a venture partner role. [1] [20]
Abramson grew up in Timonium, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. [4] He and fellow CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen were friends since the sixth grade and attended Dulaney High School together. [11] [13]
Abramson resides in New York City. In April 2010, he married Gabrielle Borden Finley. In 2022, he opened a wine bar in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood. [21]