Evan Beard
{{Short description|American entrepreneur and engineer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Evan Beard
| image =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1986|12|03}}
| birth_place = Annapolis, Maryland
| nationality = American
| alma mater = Duke University{{cite news|author=Scott Kraft|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-29-la-me-angel-investor-20100429-story.html|title=He's start-ups' best friend|newspaper=LA Times|date=2010-04-29}}
}}
Evan Beard is an American entrepreneur, engineer, and co-founder/CEO of Standard Bots, an artificial intelligence robotics startup which has raised $63m from investors including General Catalyst and Amazon and build robots in the United States.{{Cite news |date=2024-07-12 |title=General Catalyst, Amazon Bet $63 Million on AI Robotics Startup |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-12/general-catalyst-amazon-bet-63-million-on-ai-robotics-startup |access-date=2024-07-15 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}} Beard has been recognized on the Forbes "30 under 30" list{{Cite web|title = 30 Under 30 2016: Media|url = https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30-2016/media/|website = Forbes|accessdate = 2016-01-06}} which features the "brightest young entrepreneurs, breakout talents and change agents" and Business Insider's list of the "most inspiring and influential people in New York tech".{{Cite web|title = SILICON ALLEY 100: Meet the most inspiring and influential people in New York tech right now|url = http://www.businessinsider.com/business-insider-2015-silicon-alley-100-2015-9|website = Business Insider|accessdate = 2015-10-19}} He appeared, along with Standard Bot's robots, in the A24 movie Babygirl.{{Cite web |title=Evan Beard {{!}} Actor |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16876161/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Moynihan |first=Lydia |date=2024-10-03 |title=Standard Bots is training robots to 'think' for themselves |url=https://nypost.com/2024/10/03/tech/standard-bots-is-training-robots-to-think-for-themselves/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |language=en-US}} Prior to A Plus, Beard co-founded Etacts and ArmorHub, both acquired by publicly traded companies.{{cite web|author = Liz Gannes|url = http://allthingsd.com/20101221/salesforce-buys-small-contact-management-startup-etacts/|title = Salesforce Buys Small Contact Management Start-Up Etacts|publisher = AllThingsD|date = 2010-12-21}}{{cite web|author = |url = https://techcrunch.com/2012/11/15/armorhubs-web-security-service-scans-for-vulnerabilities-malware-works-for-great-for-startups-as-well-as-your-dad/|title = ArmorHub's Web Security Service Scans For Vulnerabilities & Malware, Works Great For Startups As Well As Your Dad|publisher = TechCrunch|date = 2012-11-15}}
Early life
Beard attended Duke University,{{Cite news|title = He's start-ups' best friend|url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-29-la-me-angel-investor-20100429-story.html|newspaper = Los Angeles Times|date = 2010-04-29|access-date = 2016-02-03|issn = 0458-3035|language = en-US|first = Scott|last = Kraft}} where he studied computer science and graduated with distinction in economics in 2009.{{Cite web|title = Evan Beard {{!}} LinkedIn|url = https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanbeard|website = www.linkedin.com|access-date = 2016-02-03}} While finishing school he wrote a widely distributed iOS app, “Girlfriend Keeper”, which attracted attention from international media, including Good Morning America, the LA Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and local news and radio stations.{{cite web|author = Michelle Maltais|url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/09/dating-and-mating-iphone-apps.html|title = The Business and Culture of Our Digital Lives|work = Los Angeles Times|date = 2009-09-23}}{{cite web|url = http://girlfriendapp.com|publisher = girlfriendapp.com|title = Girlfriend App}} The app asked for details about one's significant other and sent automated emails and text messages expressing affection, such as "it's only 67 days until your birthday, I might get you something green like your eyes".
Career
= Etacts =
In 2009, shortly after graduating college, Beard co-founded Etacts and was admitted to the Y-Combinator seed accelerator.{{cite web|author = Jason Kincaid|url = https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/22/etacts-manage-contacts-email/|title = YC-Funded Etacts Makes Sure You Never Fall Out Of Touch With Your Contacts|publisher = TechCrunch|date = 2010-02-22}} Etacts was a relationship management app that provided a unified view of one's contacts and all emails, calls, and texts with them.{{cite web|author = Tomio Geron|url = https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/05/14/newly-seeded-etacts-seeking-holy-grail-of-the-unified-inbox/|title = Newly Seeded Etacts Seeking Holy Grail Of The Unified Inbox|publisher = Wall Street Journal|date = 2010-05-14}} It allowed setting reminders on one’s contacts to remember to stay in touch with them.{{cite web|url = https://techcrunch.com/2010/03/23/y-combinator-demo-day/|title = Startups And Top Investors Unite At Y Combinator's Tenth Demo Day|publisher = TechCrunch|date = 2010-03-23}}{{cite web|author = Jason Kincaid|url = https://techcrunch.com/2010/03/06/gmail-imap-etacts/|title = Etacts Launches First Implementation of oAuth For Gmail IMAP Accounts|publisher = TechCrunch|date = 2010-03-06}} It also provided a contextual widget within Gmail that automatically showed biographical details next to emails, such as the education and work history of your correspondents.{{cite web|author = Whitson Gordon|url = http://lifehacker.com/5491683/etacts-adds-contact-info-social-networking-and-handy-statistics-to-your-gmail-sidebar|title = Etacts Adds Contact Info, Social Networking, and Handy Statistics to Your Gmail Sidebar|publisher = LifeHacker|date = 2010-03-16}} The company raised $700,000 from prominent angel investors, including Ron Conway and Ashton Kutcher.{{cite web|author = Marshall Kirkpatrick|url = http://readwrite.com/2010/12/21/email_crm_startup_etacts_probably_just_got_acquire|title = The Acquisition of Etacts and Email as a Platform|publisher = ReadWriteWeb|date = 2010-12-21}} In 2010, Etacts was acquired by Salesforce.com,{{cite web|author = Jolie O’Dell|url = http://mashable.com/2010/12/21/salesforce-acquires-etacts/|title = Salesforce Acquires E-mail Contact Management Startup Etacts|publisher = Mashable|date = 2010-12-21}}{{cite web|author = Matthew Lynley|url = https://venturebeat.com/2010/12/21/salesforce-etacts-acquisition/|title = Salesforce nabs another Y Combinator startup in email contact manager Etacts|publisher = VentureBeat|date = 2010-12-21}}{{cite web|author = Leena Rao|url = https://techcrunch.com/2010/12/21/salesforce-buys-email-contact-manager-etacts/|title = Salesforce Buys Email Contact Manager Etacts|publisher = TechCrunch|date = 2010-12-21}} where Beard subsequently worked in engineering as a Senior Member of Technical Staff.
= ArmorHub =
In 2011, Beard co-founded Gridtech Inc which created ArmorHub.com.{{cite web|author = Meg Rayford|url = http://tech.co/secure-your-website-easily-but-thoroughly-with-armorhub-2012-11|title = Secure Your Website Easily, but Thoroughly with ArmorHub|publisher = Tech.co|date = 2012-11-18}} ArmorHub is an app that allows businesses to quickly scan their websites for application-level security vulnerabilities such as SQL Injection and Cross-Site Scripting. ArmorHub was acquired by Spirent Communications, a publicly traded British company.{{cite web|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/01/ca-spirent-communication-idUSnBw015873a+100+BSW20140501|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140724222554/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/01/ca-spirent-communication-idUSnBw015873a+100+BSW20140501|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2014-07-24|title = Spirent Brings New Vulnerability Scanning and Load Testing on a Cloud-Based Platform for Web and Applications Developers|publisher = Reuters|date = 2014-05-01}}
= A Plus =
In 2013, Beard moved to Los Angeles to co-found A Plus with Ashton Kutcher and Kendall Dabaghi.{{cite news |author=Saba Hamedy |date=2015-01-23 |title=Ashton Kutcher launches new online platform called A+ |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-aplus-ashton-kutcher-media-platform-20150123-story.html |newspaper=LA Times}}{{cite web |author=Hope King |date=2015-02-25 |title=Ashton Kutcher wants to pay you to write for him |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/25/technology/social/ashton-kutcher-media-company/ |publisher=CNN}}{{cite web |author=Alyson Shontell |date=2015-03-19 |title=Last year, a blog called A Plus was created in Ashton Kutcher's living room. Now it has 50 million readers and it just raised $3.5 million |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/a-plus-raises-35-million-at-a-30-million-valuation-2015-3 |publisher=BusinessInsider}} A Plus is a technology-focused media company that creates positive journalism for millennials and uses its own technology for content creation, optimization and distribution. After a soft launch in early 2014, A Plus grew to 50 million unique visitors per month and six months after launch was the fastest growing site in comScore’s Mobile Metrix database.{{Cite press release |title=Palisades Media Ventures Partners With A Plus to Launch New Digital Video Offering |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/palisades-media-venture-partners-with-a-plus-to-launch-new-digital-video-offering-300191258.html |website=www.prnewswire.com |access-date=2016-02-03 |first=Palisades Media |last=Ventures}} The site raised $3.5m from investors in 2015 and expects $8 million in revenue in 2016. A Plus started in Kutcher’s living room and moved to New York City in 2014.
References
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