Michael Arrington
{{Short description|Founder and former co-editor of TechCrunch}}
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{{Infobox person
| name = J. Michael Arrington
| image = Mike Arrington, founder of TechCrunch.jpg
| caption = Arrington at the World Economic Forum
| birth_name = Jack Michael ArringtonCalifornia Births, 1905–1995, [http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/calbirths?c=search&first=&last=Arrington&spelling=Exact&4_year=1970&4_month=0&4_day=0&5=&7=&SubmitSearch.x=0&SubmitSearch.y=0&SubmitSearch=Submit Jack M. Arrington]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|03|13}}
| birth_place = Orange, California, U.S.
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| occupation = Blogger, entrepreneur
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| website = TechCrunch
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J. Michael Arrington (born March 13, 1970) is the American founder and former co-editor of TechCrunch, a blog covering the Silicon Valley technology start-up communities and the wider technology field in America and elsewhere. Magazines such as Wired and Forbes have named Arrington one of the most powerful people on the Internet.{{cite magazine|title=In Pictures: The Web Celeb 25 |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/01/23/web-celeb-25-tech-media_cx_de_06webceleb_0123top_slides_11.html |magazine=Forbes |access-date=28 June 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730090051/http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/23/web-celeb-25-tech-media_cx_de_06webceleb_0123top_slides_11.html |archive-date=30 July 2012 |first=David M. |last=Ewalt |url-status=dead }}{{cite magazine|title=TechCrunch Blogger Michael Arrington Can Generate Buzz ... and Cash|date=June 22, 2007 |author=Fred Vogelstein|url=https://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-07/ff_arrington|magazine=Wired|access-date=28 June 2012}}
In 2008, he was selected by TIME Magazine as one of the most influential people in the world.{{cite magazine|last=Huffington|first=Arianna|title=The 2008 TIME 100: Michael Arrington|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733758_1735848,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502081147/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733758_1735848,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 2, 2008|magazine=Time|access-date=28 June 2012|date=12 May 2008}}
Biography
Born in Huntington Beach, California, Arrington grew up in Huntington Beach and Surrey, England. He attended the University of California, Berkeley for his freshman year and graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a major in economics.{{cite web|url= https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2013/12/michael-arrington-jenn-allen-relationship/amp|last=Potter|first=Maximillian|date=October 31, 2013|title=Relationship Status: Call My Lawyer|work=Vanity Fair|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220508035306/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2013/12/michael-arrington-jenn-allen-relationship/amp}} He went on to Stanford Law School and graduated in 1995. He practiced corporate and securities law at O'Melveny & Myers and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
Arrington left the practice of law to join RealNames, which failed after raising $100 million. Arrington was co-founder of Achex, an internet payments company, which was sold to First Data Corp for US$32 million and is now the back end of Western Union online. "I made enough to buy a Porsche. Not much more," he said in 2007.
His other entrepreneurial endeavors include co-founding Zip.ca and Pool.com, acting as chief operating officer for Razorgator, and founding Edgeio. He has also served on the board of directors at the startup Foldera, which was designing a software as a service organizational tool.{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Nick |date=2007-06-29 |title=Foldera Launches Public Beta with V 3.0 {{!}} TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2007/06/29/foldera-launches-public-beta-with-v-30/ |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=TechCrunch}}
He identifies as a libertarian, saying, "I just see government as this thing that stops us from doing things."{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/113117/mark-zuckerbergs-immigration-reform-strategy-necessary-cynicism|title = Mark Zuckerberg's Cynical, Necessary Washington Strategy|last = DePillis|first = Lydia|access-date = 2013-05-07|date = 2013-05-06|magazine = The New Republic}}
File:Chamillionaire and Michael Arrington.jpg]]
In 2013, he was accused of physical abuse by an ex-girlfriend. Arrington sued the woman for defamation and she agreed to retract her accusations against him and apologize.{{cite news|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/27/michael-arrington-drops-suit-after-rape-accuser-recants/?_r=0|title = Michael Arrington Drops Suit After Rape Accuser Recants|last = Wingfield|first = Nick|access-date = 2016-07-27|date = 2014-06-27|newspaper = New York Times}}
TechCrunch
Arrington rose to internet prominence with his Silicon Valley blog, TechCrunch. TechCrunch covers internet startups and news. In early September 2011, Arrington was reported to be no longer employed by TechCrunch but associated with a new investment company, AOL Ventures.{{cite web|author=Henry Blodget|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-arrington-no-longer-works-for-techcrunch-2011-9 |title=ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: Mike Arrington Is Out At TechCrunch |website=Business Insider |date=2011-09-02 |access-date=2012-08-08}} Within days, it was being reported that he was no longer associated with AOL Ventures.[http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/07/exclusive-arrington-out-at-aol-for-real-this-time/ CNNMoney] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926053644/http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/07/exclusive-arrington-out-at-aol-for-real-this-time/ |date=2011-09-26 }}, "Arrington out at AOL (For real this time)" by Dan Primack, September 7, 2011
In October 2012, Arrington returned to writing for the Tech Crunch blog.{{cite web | title=Arrington (Also MG) Returns |author=Jay Kirscht |date=October 23, 2012 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/10/23/getting-the-band-back-together/|publisher=Tech Crunch}}
CrunchFund
In 2011, Arrington founded a venture capital firm called CrunchFund along with M. G. Siegler and Patrick Gallagher.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} In 2014, CrunchFund invested in BlueFly, an online retailer, which was bought, in May 2013, by affiliates of Clearlake Capital for US$13 million.{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/direct-internet-catalogue/bluefly-gets-crunchfund-investment-7444784?src=n/newsAlert/20140212-2 | title=Bluefly Gets CrunchFund Investment | publisher=WWD | date=12 February 2014 | access-date=12 February 2014 | author=Karr, Arnold J.}} As a result of CrunchFund's investment, former BlueFly CEO Melissa Payner returned to BlueFly.{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/direct-internet-catalogue/bluefly-gets-crunchfund-investment-7444784?src=nl/mornReport/20140213 | title=Melissa Payner Rejoins Bluefly as CrunchFund Invests | publisher=WWD | date=13 February 2014 | access-date=13 February 2014 | author=Arnold J. Karr and Rachel Brown}}
CrunchPad
In July 2008, Arrington started a project called the Crunchpad, over a year before the iPad was released. The Crunchpad was meant to be an affordable tablet computer that catered to a niche between desktop computers and laptops. However, disputes arose between Arrington and the developers he had chosen for the Crunchpad. The developers broke off from Arrington and released the device on their own but it received few sales,{{cite web|url=http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/30/legal.docs.show.joojoo.getting.little.interest/ |title=JooJoo tablet gets just 90 pre-orders |access-date=2010-04-02 |date=2010-03-30 |publisher=Electronista (MNM Media, LLC) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402224336/http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/30/legal.docs.show.joojoo.getting.little.interest |archive-date=2010-04-02 |quote=PayPal documents discovered today as part of the ongoing TechCrunch lawsuit against Fusion Garage have revealed that just 90 pre-orders were submitted before the JooJoo tablet began shipping last week. ... The actual honored pre-orders were even lower as 15 of the orders were cancelled and refunded, although this didn't include pre-orders for the last few weeks before the March 25th ship date. |url-status=dead }} and the developers later went bankrupt.{{cite web | url = https://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/fusion-garage-killed-dead-liquidation/ | title = Fusion Garage sinks into liquidation, owes creditors some $40 million | access-date = 2015-11-03 | date = 2012-01-09 | publisher = Engadget }}
Arrington Capital
In November 2017, Michael Arrington announced he was starting a $100 million hedge fund. The fund would be denominated in the cryptocurrency XRP, also known as Ripple. It was reported to be the first fund denominated in a cryptocurrency, rather than US dollars or Euros at the time.{{Cite web|title=Michael Arrington Has a New $100M Hedge Fund That Will Be Valued in Ripple's XRP|url=https://fortune.com/2017/11/28/arrington-xrp/|website=Fortune|language=en|access-date=2020-05-26}} The fund has invested in more than 50 crypto startups.{{Cite web|title=Portfolio|url=http://arringtonxrpcapital.com/companies/|date=2018-03-06|website=Arrington XRP Capital|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-26}}
References
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External links
{{Commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180928001219/https://uncrunched.com/ Michael Arrington Personal Weblog]
- {{C-SPAN|9263743}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrington, Michael}}
Category:American computer businesspeople
Category:American Internet celebrities
Category:American libertarians
Category:American male bloggers
Category:Claremont McKenna College alumni