Max Levchin

Born in Kyiv, then part of the Ukrainian SSR, to a Ukrainian-Jewish family,{{Cite web |last=Cohan |first=Peter |title=Yelp Chair Max Levchin's Trek from Kiev to San Francisco |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/09/14/yelp-chair-max-levchins-trek-from-kiev-to-san-francisco/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Levchin moved to the United States and settled in Chicago in 1991.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/10345403.stm|title=BBC News – Start-Up Stories: Max Levchin|work=BBC News|date=June 23, 2010|access-date=May 29, 2016}}[http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/one-day-in-silicon-valley-1.305642 Hareetz: "One day in Silicon Valley" by Guy Rolnick] August 3, 2010 |"Levchin, 32, Jewish of course and born in Kyiv, refused to discuss money."[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/business/28invent.html?pagewanted=all New York Times: "After Succeeding, Young Tycoons Try, Try Again" By GARY RIVLIN] October 28, 2007 In an interview with Emily Chang of Bloomberg, Levchin discussed his overcoming adversity as a child. He had respiratory problems and doctors doubted his chance of living. With guidance from his grandmother and his parents he took up the clarinet to expand his lung capacity.{{cite web |url=http://worldheadway.com/max-levchin-how-is-he-so-successful/ |title=Max Levchin, how is he so successful |publisher=worldheadway.com |access-date=January 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618052940/http://worldheadway.com/max-levchin-how-is-he-so-successful/ |archive-date=June 18, 2018 |url-status=dead }} He attended Mather High School, and then the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a bachelor's degree in computer science in 1997.

In the summer of 1995, Levchin and fellow University of Illinois students Luke Nosek and Scott Banister founded SponsorNet New Media.

In 1998, Levchin and Peter Thiel founded Fieldlink, a security company that allowed users to store encrypted data on their PalmPilots and other PDA devices for handheld devices to serve as "digital wallets".{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.paypal-media.com/history|publisher=PayPal|access-date=March 30, 2015}} After changing the company name to Confinity, they developed a popular payment product, calling it PayPal and focusing on digital funds transfer by PDA.{{cite web |url= http://plotkin.com/cnbcs029/ |title= Beam Me Up Some Cash |author=Hal Plotkin |author-link=Hal Plotkin |date= September 8, 1999 |work= CNBC.com|access-date=March 30, 2015}} The company merged with X.com in 2000, and in 2001, the company adopted the name PayPal after its main product. PayPal, Inc. went public in February 2002, and in July 2002 was acquired by eBay. Levchin's 2.3% stake in PayPal was worth approximately $34 million at the time of the acquisition.

Levchin is widely known for his contributions to PayPal's anti-fraud efforts and is also the co-creator of the Gausebeck-Levchin test, one of the first commercial implementations of a CAPTCHA.{{cite web|title=Max Levchin: Online Fraud-Buster|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2002-09-30/max-levchin-online-fraud-buster|publisher=Bloomberg|first=Jane|last=Black|date=30 September 2002|access-date=10 October 2023}}{{cite web|title=The 'PayPal Mafia' formed in the early 2000s, and includes everyone from Elon Musk to the Yelp founders. Here's where the original members have ended up.

|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-mafia-members-careers-elon-musk-peter-thiel-reid-hoffman-2019-11|publisher=Business Insider|first=Tami|last=Brehse|date=24 November 2019|access-date=10 October 2023}}

In 2002, he was named to the MIT Technology Review TR100 as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35, as well as Innovator of the Year.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?TRID=224 |title=2002 Young Innovators Under 35: Max Levchin, 26 |magazine=Technology Review | year=2002 | access-date=August 14, 2011}}

Levchin is one of a group of roughly twenty founders and former employees of PayPal who have become referred to as the "PayPal Mafia", due to their success in founding and investing in tech companies after leaving PayPal.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Times of Startups |date=2019-03-01 |title=Max Levchin, PayPal Cofounder and an Internet Entrepreneur |url=https://timesofstartups.com/famous-entrepreneurs/max-levchin-paypal-cofounder-internet-entrepreneur/ |access-date=2024-03-02 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2014-03-07 |title=Russland stellt ukrainische Bank unter Zwangsverwaltung |url=https://www.diepresse.com/1571479/russland-stellt-ukrainische-bank-unter-zwangsverwaltung |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Die Presse |language=de}}

File:Max Levchin the Guitar Hero.jpg at a conference.]]

In 2004, Levchin founded Slide,[http://www.slide.com Slide – slideshows, slide shows, photo sharing, image hosting, widgets, MySpace codes, web publishing, music – Slide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050827144316/http://slide.com/ |date=August 27, 2005}} a personal media-sharing service for social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook. Slide was sold to Google in August 2010 for $182 million[https://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/google-buys-slide-for-182-million-getting-more-serious-about-social-games/ Google Buys Slide for $182 Million, Getting More Serious about Social Games*]. TechCrunch (August 4, 2010). Retrieved on January 14, 2014. and, on August 25, Levchin joined the company as vice president of engineering.[http://mashable.com/2010/08/26/max-levchin-google/ PayPal and Slide Co-founder Becomes a Google VP of Engineering]. Mashable.com (August 26, 2010). Retrieved on January 14, 2014. On August 26, 2011, Google announced it was shutting down Slide, and that Levchin was leaving the company.{{cite news| url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/google-to-shut-down-slide-apps-as-slide-founder-departs/?ref=technology | work=The New York Times | title=Google to Shut Slide Apps as Slide Founder Departs | date=August 26, 2011}}

In late 2011, Levchin started a company called HVF (standing for "Hard, Valuable, and Fun") that was intended to explore and fund projects and companies in the area of leveraging data, such as data from analog sensors.{{cite web|url = http://hvf.cc/|title = HVF|access-date = May 13, 2013|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121028103324/http://hvf.cc/|archive-date = October 28, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/21/dld13-max-levchin-hvf/|title = Geeking out on data: Max Levchin talks about his HVF project at DLD13|publisher = The Next Web|date = January 2, 2013|access-date = May 13, 2013|last = Wauters|first = Robin}}

In early 2012, the financial technology company Affirm was spun out of HVF, with the goal of building the next-generation credit network. Affirm was created by Levchin, Palantir Technologies co-founder Nathan Gettings, and Jeff Kaditz of First Data. The company is based in San Francisco.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2014/12/10/affirm-ceo-max-levchin-young-people-dislike-banks/20146633/ |title=Max Levchin: Young people 'dislike big banks' |publisher=Usatoday.com |date=December 1, 2014|access-date=April 9, 2015}}

In 2013, HVF launched Glow, a fertility app that helps couples conceive naturally.{{cite web|url=https://www.glowing.com/about|title = Glow – About|publisher = Glow|access-date = August 3, 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://qz.com/111398/the-founder-of-paypal-wants-to-put-a-baby-in-you/|title = The co-founder of PayPal wants to put a baby in you|last = Feltman|first = Rachel|date = August 2, 2013|access-date = August 3, 2013|work = Quartz}}

After Affirm had its initial public offering, Levchin's stake was estimated at about $2.5 billion.{{Cite news |title= Inside The Billion-Dollar Plan To Kill Credit Cards |work= Forbes |date= February 8, 2021 |author= Jeff Kauflin |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/02/08/inside-the-billion-dollar-plan-to-kill-credit-cards/ |access-date= August 4, 2021 }}

Levchin was a key early investor in Yelp, an online social networking and review service that started in 2004. He was the company's largest shareholder, owning more than 7 million shares as of 2012.[https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwindurgy/2012/03/30/who-got-rich-this-week-chief-yelper-levchin-an-ohio-barrel-heiress-and-more/ Who Got Rich This Week: Chief Yelper Levchin, An Ohio Barrel Heiress And More]. Forbes (March 30, 2012). Retrieved on January 14, 2014. Levchin served as chairman of Yelp's board of directors from its founding,[https://archive.today/20130920184841/http://www.yelp-ir.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=250809&p=irol-govBio&ID=219700 Corporate Governance – Biography | Investor Relations | Yelp]. Yelp-ir.com. Retrieved on January 14, 2014. until July 2015.{{cite web|last1=Somerville|first1=Heather|title=Max Levchin steps down from Yelp's board, a sign Affirm is taking off|url=http://www.siliconbeat.com/2015/07/29/max-levchin-steps-down-from-yelps-board-a-sign-affirm-is-taking-off/|website=Silicon Beat|access-date=January 18, 2016|archive-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205225343/http://www.siliconbeat.com/2015/07/29/max-levchin-steps-down-from-yelps-board-a-sign-affirm-is-taking-off/|url-status=dead}} An angel investor in Mixpanel, its founder Suhail Doshi credits Levchin for Mixpanel's survival and subsequent success.{{cite web |title=How a PayPal 'Mafia' member helped this 26-year-old build an $865 million startup |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mixpanel-ceo-suhail-doshi-and-max-levchin-2015-3 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230612182907/https://www.businessinsider.com/mixpanel-ceo-suhail-doshi-and-max-levchin-2015-3 |date=March 2015 |archive-date=12 June 2023 |work=Business Insider |last=Kim |first=Eugene }}

Levchin is an investor in Evernote. He served on the company's board of directors from August 7, 2006, to 2016.{{Cite news| url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060807005223/en/Esther-Dyson-Max-Levchin-Join-EverNote-Board#.VC1Z_fldXm6|title=Esther Dyson, Max Levchin Join EverNote Board of Directors|publisher=Business Wire |date =August 7, 2006}}

In December 2012, Levchin joined Yahoo's board of directors,{{Cite news| url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121213006216/en/Yahoo%21-Appoints-Entrepreneur-Max-Levchin-Board-Directors#.VC1Z7PldXm6|title=Yahoo! Appoints Entrepreneur Max Levchin to Board of Directors|publisher=Business Wire |date =December 13, 2012}} and remained until December 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/max-levchin-resigns-yahoos-board-directors-2217726 |title=Max Levchin Resigns From Yahoo's Board Of Directors |publisher=ibtimes.com |date=December 9, 2015}}

In 2015, Levchin was appointed to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) advisory board for a three-year term, making him the first executive from Silicon Valley to be appointed to the board.{{Cite web|url=http://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-announces-new-members-of-the-consumer-advisory-board-community-bank-advisory-council-and-credit-union-advisory-council/|title = CFPB Announces New Members of the Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, and Credit Union Advisory Council| date=September 18, 2015 }} In 2021, Levchin, after his experience on the advisory board at the CFPB, called for the necessity for the tech industry to engage more with regulators.{{cite news |last1=Detrixhe |first1=John |title=Max Levchin on how Affirm plans to survive the land grab in "buy now pay later" |url=https://qz.com/1995468/affirm-ceo-levchin-is-open-to-regulation-as-travel-spending-rises/ |publisher=Quartz |date=April 17, 2021}}

As of 2021 Levchin had an estimated net worth of US$3 billion.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-25 |title=#1444 Max Levchin |website=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/max-levchin/?sh=5689b01bb681}}

Levchin appeared as a speaker at the 2007 Startup School organized by Y Combinator, where he described his own journey as an entrepreneur and the mistakes he made and lessons he learned.{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2007/03/26/start-up-advice-for-entrepreneurs-from-y-combinator-startup-school/|title = Start-up advice for entrepreneurs, from Y Combinator Startup School|date = March 26, 2007}} Levchin was also featured in "Brilliant Issue" of Portfolio by Condé Nast Publications.{{cite web|url=http://allthingsd.com/20080423/max-levchin-becomes-the-internets-new-wacky-pix-guy/ |title=Max Levchin Becomes the Internet's New Wacky Pix Guy! |publisher=allthingsd.com |date=April 2, 2008|access-date=January 25, 2016}} In 2022 Levchin was interviewed in an NPR podcast called "How I Built This" where he spoke about his early life and business endeavors including his role in PayPal.

Levchin was listed as one of the contributors to FWD.us, a Silicon Valley–based lobbying group spearheaded by Mark Zuckerberg and Joe Green.{{Cite web|title=Zuckerberg And A Team Of Tech All-Stars Launch Political Advocacy Group FWD.us|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/11/fwd-us/|access-date=2020-11-21|website=TechCrunch|date=April 11, 2013 |language=en-US}} The group is intended to concentrate on immigration liberalization for high-skilled immigrants to the United States, improvements to education, and facilitating technological breakthroughs with broad public benefits.{{cite web|url = http://www.fwd.us/our_supporters|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130413230948/http://www.fwd.us/our_supporters|url-status = dead|archive-date = April 13, 2013|title = Our Supporters|publisher = FWD.us|access-date = May 13, 2013}} Levchin also narrated his personal experience as an immigrant in a video released by the group.{{cite web|url = http://www.fwd.us/stories|publisher = FWD.us|title = Stories|access-date = May 13, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130413231013/http://www.fwd.us/stories|archive-date = April 13, 2013|url-status = dead}}

In 2013, amidst the controversy over mass surveillance and NSA espionage activities, Levchin defended the NSA in opposition to views of many other tech entrepreneurs. According to him, the agency was designed to protect the US from terrorism, so even if it oversteps its bounds, the public should support it.[https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/10/nsa-evil/ The NSA Isn’t Evil, It’s Trying To Protect Us, Says PayPal’s Max Levchin]. TechCrunch, September 10, 2013.

Levchin arranged and financed the Levchin Prize which since 2016 rewards advancements in cryptography with a real-world impact.{{cite web |last1=Levchin |first1=Max |title=Establishing the Levchin Prize for Real World Cryptography |url=https://max.levch.in/post/136769831563/establishing-the-levchin-prize-for-real-world |access-date=9 April 2024 |date=2016-01-06}}{{cite news |last1=Chemparathy |first1=Augustine |title=Cryptographers honored with Levchin Prize at Real World Cryptography Conference |url=https://stanforddaily.com/2016/01/06/cryptographers-honored-with-levchin-prize-at-real-world-cryptography-conference/ |access-date=9 April 2024 |work=The Stanford Daily |date=2016-01-06}}{{cite news |title=Affirm CEO Max Levchin Awards First Annual Prize for Advancements in Real-World Cryptography |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160106005630/en/Affirm-CEO-Max-Levchin-Awards-First-Annual-Prize-for-Advancements-in-Real-World-Cryptography |access-date=9 April 2024 |work=BusinessWire |date=2016-01-06}}{{cite news |last1=Etienne |first1=Stefan |title=A prize for "real-world cryptography" was given to programmers behind AES and the Signal app |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/05/a-prize-for-real-world-cryptography-was-given-to-programmers-behind-aes-and-the-signal-app/?guccounter=1 |access-date=9 April 2024 |work=TechCrunch |date=2017-01-06}}

In 2008, Levchin married his longtime girlfriend, Nellie Minkova.[http://upstart.bizjournals.com/news/technology/2008/09/29/mid-day-bytes-aol-max-levchins-wedding-packetvideo-triumphs.html Upstart Business Journal: "Mid-day Bytes: AOL, Max Levchin's Wedding, PacketVideo Triumphs" by Andrea Chalupa] September 29, 2008 He has two children. He lived in San Francisco from 2007 to 2019.{{Cite web |last=Im |first=Jimmy |date=2019-04-15 |title=PayPal co-founder is selling his $7.25 million San Francisco home — take a look inside |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/photos-paypals-max-levchins-san-francisco-home-is-for-sale.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=CNBC |language=en}} In 2019, he listed his home in San Francisco for $7.25 million, which he originally purchased in 2007 for $5.3 million.{{Cite web |last=Im |first=Jimmy |date=2019-04-15 |title=PayPal co-founder is selling his $7.25 million San Francisco home — take a look inside |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/photos-paypals-max-levchins-san-francisco-home-is-for-sale.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=CNBC |language=en}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/business/28invent.html?_r=1&ex=1351224000&en=955d89f1af988cd4&ei=5090 After Succeeding, Young Tycoons Try, Try Again] — New York Times profile on Levchin

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• [http://www.levchin.com/ Personal Website]

{{PayPal Mafia}}

{{Yahoo! Inc.}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Levchin, Max}}

Category:1975 births

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