Aaron Iba

Iba grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts and then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was there that he teamed up with David Greenspan to win the annual Battlecode programming competition in 2003.{{cite web|title=Battlecode Hall of Fame|url=http://www.battlecode.org/info/eternal-glory/#champions|publisher=Battlecode|access-date=2015-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410045243/http://www.battlecode.org/info/eternal-glory/#champions|archive-date=2015-04-10|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Plafke|first=James|title=Battlecode is a competition where AIs fight each other in an RTS|publisher=geek.com|url=http://www.geek.com/news/battlecode-is-a-competition-where-ais-fight-each-other-in-an-rts-1535215/|access-date=2015-04-10|archive-date=2015-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418062334/http://www.geek.com/news/battlecode-is-a-competition-where-ais-fight-each-other-in-an-rts-1535215/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Lin|first=Kathy|title=Team CDG Takes First In Programming Contest|publisher=The Tech|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V125/N1/1_6370.1n.html}} Iba and Greenspan would go on to attend the Y Combinator program, where they created AppJet{{cite web|last=Livingston|first=Jessica|title=AppJet Takes Off|url=http://www.foundersatwork.com/1/post/2007/12/appjet-takes-off.html}} and Etherpad.{{cite podcast|host=Lyle Troxell|title=Etherpad with Aaron Iba|date=6 June 2009|publisher=GeekSpeak|url=http://geekspeak.org/episodes/2009/06/06/}} Iba would go on to become a partner in Y Combinator, and was named "one of the best hackers among the YC alumni".{{cite web|last=Tan|first=Garry|title=Welcome Garry and Aaron|publisher=YCombinator Official Blog|url=http://blog.ycombinator.com/welcome-garry-and-aaron}}{{cite web|last=Tiku|first=Nitasha|title=Are Y Combinator's Newest Ventures Partners Another Sign That the Coder Is King?|date=25 January 2012 |publisher=New York Observer|url=http://observer.com/2012/01/are-y-combinators-newest-ventures-partners-another-sign-that-the-coder-is-king/}}

Iba is also an Angel investor in over 10 companies, including Meteor, PlanGrid, and Light Table.{{cite web|title=Notable Founder Profile|publisher=AngelList|url=https://angel.co/aaroniba}}

{{Main|Etherpad}}

In 2007, Iba co-founded AppJet, a company providing JavaScript development and hosting tools. AppJet received funding from notable investors including Paul Graham, Paul Buchheit, Trevor Blackwell, Mitch Kapor and Scott Banister.{{cite web|last=Mangalindan|first=JP|publisher=Fortune|title=Y Combinator's Paul Graham: Get a co-founder|url=http://fortune.com/2014/02/25/y-combinators-paul-graham-get-a-co-founder/}}

AppJet failed to gain traction with developers, but in 2009 the company used its own tools to launch Etherpad, the first web-based realtime collaborative text editor.{{cite web|last=Arrington|first=Michael|title=Etherpad Shows Google Docs How It's Done|date=19 November 2008 |publisher=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/11/19/etherpad-shows-google-docs-how-its-done/}}{{cite web|last=Walling|first=Steven|publisher=ReadWrite|title=AppJet's EtherPad: The Demo That Ate the Company|date=2 June 2009 |url=http://readwrite.com/2009/06/02/appjet-abandoned-in-favor-of-etherpad}}

In 2009, AppJet was acquired by Google for an undisclosed sum.{{cite web|last=Kincaid|first=Jason|title=Confirmed: Google Acquires AppJet, The Maker Of EtherPad|date=4 December 2009 |publisher=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/04/google-acquires-etherpad/}}{{cite web|last=Vascellaro|first=Jessica|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|title=Apple, Google Rivalry Heats Up|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703514404574588091065805108}}{{cite web|last=Shankland|first=Stephen|publisher=CNET|title=Google acquires EtherPad online collaboration tool|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/google-acquires-etherpad-online-collaboration-tool/}}{{cite web|last=Perez|first=Juan|publisher=InfoWorld|title=Google buys collaboration app to boost Wave|date=4 December 2009 |url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/2629090/collaboration-software/google-buys-collaboration-app-to-boost-wave.html}} The Etherpad technology and team were merged into the Google wave project.{{cite web|last=Bradley|first=Tony|publisher=PCWorld|title=Google Redefines 'Real-Time' Collaboration with AppJet Purchase|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/183805/Google_Redefines_RealTime_Collaboration_with_AppJet_Purchase.html}}

In 2011, Iba became one of 6 full-time partners in Y Combinator, where he oversaw and participated in numerous investments in startup companies.{{cite web|last=Geron|first=Tomio|work=Forbes|title=Clever Raises $3M Seed To Turn On Technology In Schools|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/10/22/clever-raises-3m-seed-to-turn-on-technology-in-schools/}}{{cite web|last=Taft|first=Darryl|publisher=eWeek|title=Open-Source Startup Meteor Gets $11.2M from Andreessen Horowitz|url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/OpenSource-Startup-Meteor-Gets-112M-from-Andreessen-Horowitz-783161}}{{cite web|publisher=Fast Company|title=How Y Combinator's powerful alumni network operates|url=http://infographics.fastcompany.com/magazine/163/y-connector-xl.html}}{{cite book|last=Stross|first=Randall|date=2012|title=The Launch Pad: Inside Y Combinator|isbn=978-1591845294|page=[https://archive.org/details/launchpadinsidey0000stro/page/64 64]|url=https://archive.org/details/launchpadinsidey0000stro/page/64}} In 2013, Iba left Y Combinator to found PayGarden, an alternative payments company borne out of insights he gleaned as an investor in various online merchants.{{cite web|last=Cutler|first=Kim-Mai|publisher=TechCrunch|title=Paygarden's Platform Lets You Finally Redeem Those Unused Gift Cards For Good And More|date=27 November 2013 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/27/paygarden/}}{{cite web|title=Aaron Iba: Executive Profile|publisher=Bloomberg Business|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=85223285}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1983 births

Category:American computer programmers

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni

Category:People from Lexington, Massachusetts