Chris Richmond (entrepreneur)
{{Autobio|date=May 2023}}
{{Short description|American businessman (born 1986)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chris Richmond
| image = Image from iOS 3.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Christopher Richmond
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1986|07|29}}
| birth_place = Oakland, California,{{cite news |last1=Dorset |first1=Catlin |title=30(ish) Under 30(ish) |url=http://www.pacificsandiego.com/misc/pac-entrepreneurs-story.html |access-date=17 July 2018 |work=San Diego Union Tribune |agency=Pacific San Diego |date=29 July 2015}} U.S.
| other_names =
| spouse =
| employer =
| occupation = {{plainlist| *CEO of Snopes
- CEO of TV Tropes
}}
| height =
| website =
}}
Chris Richmond (born July 29, 1986) is an American businessman and entrepreneur.{{cite news |last1=Weiner |first1=Yitzi |title=How I Hacked HULU to get Warner Brothers to Call, With Chris Richmond |url=https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-i-hacked-hulu-to-get-warner-brothers-to-call-with-chris-richmond-3b27bde25983 |work=Medium |publisher=Thrive Global |date=15 February 2018}} He founded a television streaming site called ShareTV.com, co-founded an adtech platform called Proper Media and acquired websites such as TV Tropes, Snopes, and Salon.com.{{cite news |last1=Madrigal |first1=Alexis C. |title=Snopes Faces an Ugly Legal Battle |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/07/the-ugly-dispute-threatening-snopes/534708/ |work=The Atlantic |date=24 July 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Funke |first1=Daniel |title=Snopes has its site back. But the legal battle over its ownership will drag on for months. |url=https://www.poynter.org/news/snopes-has-its-site-back-legal-battle-over-its-ownership-will-drag-months |work=Poynter |agency=Poynter Institute |date=20 March 2018 |language=en}}
Career
Richmond founded his first large website in 2007, called ShareTV.com.{{Cite web|url=http://sharetv.com/about|title=About Us – ShareTV|website=sharetv.com|access-date=2018-05-15}} This became one of the first online distribution partners of HULU and TheWB,{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2013/02/oscar-telecast-to-be-available-online-for-the-first-time-438320/|title=Oscar Telecast To Be Available Online For The First Time|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=2013-02-24|work=Deadline|access-date=2018-05-15|language=en-US}} and was one of first sites to stream the Oscars online.
In 2014, Richmond, along with his business partner Drew Schoentrup, acquired TV Tropes, a wiki geared toward fiction writers.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/01/tv-tropes-the-a/|title=TV Tropes, the all-devouring pop-culture wiki|last=Sterling|first=Bruce|magazine=WIRED|access-date=2018-06-05|language=en-US}} To announce the purchase, Richmond and Schoentrup launched a Kickstarter campaign to ask the members for their help in improving the project. The campaign raised more than $100,000 in donations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tvtropes/the-tv-tropes-revitalization-project|title=The TV Tropes Revitalization Project|website=Kickstarter|date=September 21, 2015 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-15}}
In 2015, Richmond co-founded an adtech platform called Proper Media. Its first official client was Snopes.com, the largest and oldest fact-checking website on the web.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/11/should-facebook-buy-snopes/507359/|title=Should Facebook Buy Snopes?|last=Waddell|first=Kaveh|work=The Atlantic|access-date=2018-06-05|language=en-US}} After a year, Proper Media purchased{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/25/technology/for-fact-checking-website-snopes-a-bigger-role-brings-more-attacks.html|title=For Fact-Checking Website Snopes, a Bigger Role Brings More Attacks|date=2016-12-25|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-06-05|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} a significant stake in Snopes.com. There was a legal dispute{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/7/31/16025460/snopes-legal-battle-lawsuit-proper-media-mikkelson|title=Snopes, the internet's foremost fact-checking website, may die in a messy legal battle|work=Vox|access-date=2018-06-05}} regarding whether Proper Media purchased 50% or 40% of Snopes.com. The dispute started in 2017 and continued until 2022, when Richmond and Schoentrup bought out all other shareholders of Snopes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/disclosures/|title=Disclosures|website=snopes.com|access-date=2018-05-28}}
In 2018, Richmond helped with his 3rd acquisition by acquiring Spoutable.com under Proper Media.{{cite news |last1=Bigelow |first1=Bruce |title=Xconomy: Proper Media Acquires Spoutable, Last Piece of Venture Studio |url=https://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2018/03/12/proper-media-acquires-spoutable-last-piece-of-venture-studio/ |work=Xconomy |date=12 March 2018}} This acquisition added eight employees and nearly doubled the reach of Proper Media.{{cite news |last1=Media |first1=Proper |title=Proper Media Acquires Spoutable.com |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/proper-media-acquires-spoutablecom-300604647.html |work=www.prnewswire.com |agency=PRNewswire |publisher=Proper Media |date=27 February 2018 |language=en}}
In 2019, Richmond and his business partner completed the acquisition of Salon.com for $5 million from Salon Media Group ({{OTCQB|SLNM}}).{{Cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1084332/000143774919017945/slnm20190905_8k.htm|title=slnm20190905_8k.htm|website=www.sec.gov|access-date=2019-11-15}}
In 2021, after 6 years of year over year growth with Richmond as CEO, Proper Media was sold to Sovrn Holdings. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.{{Cite web |title=Publisher-Focused Tech Startup Sovrn Acquires Proper Media {{!}} Built In Colorado |url=https://www.builtincolorado.com/2021/07/16/sovrn-acquires-proper-media-boulder-hiring |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www.builtincolorado.com |language=en}}
In 2022, Richmond took over as CEO of Snopes after completing the transaction with Schoentrup to buy out the other shareholders.{{Cite web |title=Snopes Co-Owners Acquire All Remaining Shares of the Company, Bringing Total Stake to 100% |url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/snopes-co-owners-acquire-remaining-140000348.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=www.yahoo.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Inside Snopes: the rise, fall, and rebirth of an internet icon |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90901113/inside-snopes-the-rise-fall-and-rebirth-of-an-internet-icon |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=www.fastcompany.com |language=en-US}}
In 2023, Richmond and Schoentrup sold Salon.com for an undisclosed sum. Salon was nearing bankruptcy two decades on, when they bought it, in 2019, for $5 million. Nobody was laid off from the newsroom under Richmond and Schoentrup’s tenure.{{Cite news |last=Tattoli |first=Chantel |date=2023-11-08 |title=Online news pioneer 'Salon' is sold for an undisclosed sum (exclusive) |work=FastCompany |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90979276/the-popular-news-site-salon-is-being-sold-to-a-team-of-french-entrepreneurs-exclusive |access-date=2023-11-12}}
Cybersquatting case
Richmond started out at ShareTV.org and was completely unable to obtain the commercial equivalent, ShareTV.com, from a cybersquatter. In 2013, Richmond won a lawsuit for ShareTV.com against the cybersquatter, despite the fact that they owned the domain seven years before ShareTV began its trademark.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedomains.com/2013/11/13/troubling-federal-court-gives-sharetv-com-to-sharetv-org-despite-com-registered-3-years-eailer-7-years-before-tm/|title=Troubling: Federal Court Gives ShareTv.com To ShareTv.Org Despite.Com Registered 3 Years Earlier & 7 Years Before TM|date=2013-11-13|work=TheDomains.com|access-date=2018-05-15|language=en-US}}
Snopes.com lawsuit
As of 2016, Richmond was engaged in a lawsuit against Snopes over whether he and Drew Schoentrup own 50% or 40% of Snopes.{{cite news |last1=Bruno |first1=Bianca |title=Fact-Checker Snopes' Owners Accused of Corporate Subterfuge |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/fact-checker-snopes-owners-accused-corporate-subterfuge/ |agency=Courthouse News Service |date=10 May 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/media/snopes-crowdfunding-proper-media.html|title=Snopes, in Heated Legal Battle, Asks Readers for Money to Survive|date=2017-07-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-15|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} As a result of this dispute, ad revenue was withheld from Snopes.com and its founder David Mikkelson launched a GoFundMe campaign to keep Snopes.com running.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/snopes-and-the-search-for-facts-in-a-post-fact-world/|title=Snopes and the Search for Facts in a Post-Fact World|magazine=WIRED|access-date=2018-05-28|language=en-US}}
References
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{{Sovrn}}
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Category:21st-century American businesspeople