Kieran O'Neill
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Kieran Lewis O'Neill (born 19 August 1987) is an English entrepreneur best known for founding several Internet companies.
He started one of the first video sharing websites, similar to YouTube, when he was 15 and sold it aged 19 for $1.25M.{{cite news|title=Dotcom student to make millions|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/6720317.stm|accessdate=4 June 2007 | work=BBC News|date=4 June 2007}} He studied management at the University of Bath before dropping out to pursue business interests.{{cite web|title=Tycoons of Tomorrow #4: Kieran O'Neill|url=http://thegatewayonline.com/commercial-awareness/entrepreneurship/tycoons-tomorrow-four-kieran-oneill|website=The Gateway|accessdate=2 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101203858/http://thegatewayonline.com/commercial-awareness/entrepreneurship/tycoons-tomorrow-four-kieran-oneill|archive-date=1 January 2018|url-status=usurped}}
He subsequently co-founded Playfire, the largest social network for video games.{{cite web|title=Playfire: The social network dedicated to gamers|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/09/start/network-gamer|accessdate=17 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304224436/http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/09/start/network-gamer|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} Playfire raised $3.1M in funding from prominent investors including Niklas Zennström (the founder of Skype), Michael Birch (the founder of Bebo), Chris Deering (the former chairman of Sony), William Reeve (the founder of LoveFilm) and others.{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/11/10/confirmed-gamer-social-network-playfire-secures-2-1m-series-a/|title=Confirmed: Gamer social network Playfire secures $2.1m Series A }} The company grew to over to 1 million users{{cite web|title=Playfire Hits A Million Users Of Its Analytics For Gamers|date=24 February 2012 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/02/24/playfire-hits-a-million-users-of-its-analytics-for-gamers/|accessdate=February 24, 2012}} and was subsequently acquired by a games retailer in May 2012.{{cite web|title=Playfire Acquired By European Games Retailer Green Man Gaming|date=9 July 2012 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/09/playfire-acquired-by-european-games-retailer-green-man-gaming/|accessdate=July 9, 2012}}
O'Neill was a co-founder and CEO of fashion startup Thread.com. British Vogue included Thread in their 2012 list of the top 100 fashion websites, saying the service offered personal styling online for free.{{cite news|title=Top 100 fashion websites|newspaper=British Vogue|date=November 2012}} In June 2016, Beringea led a £4 million funding round with participation from existing backer Balderton Capital and a number of angel investors, bringing total funding for Thread to around $16 million.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/01/thread-beringea/|title=Thread, the U.K. personal styling service for men, picks out £4M funding led by Beringea|last=O'Hear|first=Steve|website=TechCrunch|date=June 2016 |access-date=2016-11-16}} Another funding round in October 2018 raised £17m, led by the fashion chain H&M which had also participated in the 2016 funding round.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/15/ai-powered-fashion-sales-company-thread-raises-17-million-funding/|title=AI-powered fashion sales company Thread raises £17 million in funding|last=Cook|first=James|website=The Telegraph|date=16 October 2018|access-date=2020-02-12}} Thread ceased trading and was placed in administration in 2022; at the same time, Marks & Spencer acquired Thread's brand and technology, and hired O'Neill alongside some former Thread staff.{{Cite web |title=Goodbye |url=https://www.thread.com/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=Thread |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Shearsmith |first=Tom |date=2022-11-30 |title=Marks & Spencer acquires IP developed by collapsed fashion marketplace Thread |url=https://www.theindustry.fashion/marks-spencer-acquires-ip-developed-by-collapsed-fashion-marketplace-thread/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=TheIndustry.fashion |language=en-GB}}
O'Neill was born in Bermuda and moved to Winchester, England when he was 14.