Ted Livingston (Kik)
{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=March 2014}}{{notability|Biographies|date=March 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = 1987
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| native_name =
| occupation = Founder and CEO of Kik Messenger
| net worth =
| children =
| alma_mater = University of Waterloo,
}}
Ted Livingston (born 1987) is founder of Kik Messenger that provides mobile messaging service.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2013/12/06/one-of-the-hottest-companies-in-mobile-interview-with-kiks-ted-livingston/ |title=One Of The Hottest Companies In Mobile: Interview With Kik's Ted Livingston |work=Forbes |date=2014-01-22 |accessdate=2014-02-06}}{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/elld45eemkm/ted-livingston-26/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109072901/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/elld45eemkm/ted-livingston-26/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 9, 2014 |title=Ted Livingston, 26 - In Photos: 2014 30 under 30: Technology |work=Forbes |date= |accessdate=2014-02-06}}
Early life
Livingston was born in Toronto. As a child, Livingston had a passion for building Lego structures and automated machines in his basement. He continues following this interest on the school robotics team.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/03/13/how-ted-livingston-went-from-rim-reject-to-kik-starter.html|title=How Ted Livingston went from RIM Reject to Kik Starter|website=Toronto Star |date=13 March 2016 }}
From 1997 to 2005, Livingston attended the Crescent School, in Toronto.{{cite web|url=https://alumni.crescentschool.org/about-us---alumnus-of-the-year-ted-livingston|title=Ted Livingston '05}}
2005–Present: UWaterloo and Kik
Livingston took a mechatronics bachelor's degree at the University of Waterloo from 2005 to 2009{{cite web|url=https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tedlivingston|title=Ted Livingston}} in order to "pursue his dream of building robots."{{cite web|date=March 13, 2016|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/03/13/how-ted-livingston-went-from-rim-reject-to-kik-starter.html|title=How Ted Livingston went from RIM reject to Kik starter|author=PATTY WINSA|work=Toronto Star}} He participated in the Waterloo co-op program there, with placements at Honda and the City of Toronto government. Livingston eventually landed a co-op position as a system engineering project coordinator at Research in Motion.
In December 2007, eight months into his co-op, Livingston was promoted by Research in Motion to "Technical Product Management Coordinator". In 2008, he turned down a full-time job to return to school at the advice of his manager.
Back at Waterloo, Livingston decided to take part in the Velocity program, a startup-focused community where he founded Kik Messenger instead of completing his degree.
Kik now competes with Facebook and WeChat. At its peak in 2015 it boasted over 275 million registered users,{{cite web|url=http://www.statista.com/statistics/327312/number-of-registered-kik-messenger-users/|title=Number of registered Kik Messenger users worldwide from November 2012 to February 2016 (in millions)}} and it was used by approximately 40 percent of American teens.{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kik-receives-50-million-investment-from-tencent-300130265.html|title=Kik Receives $50 Million Investment From Tencent}} In 2015 Chinese Internet giant Tencent invested $50 million into Kik. {{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/tencent-invests-50-million-in-messaging-app-kik-interactive-1439928079|title=Tencent Invests $50 Million in Messaging App Kik}}
In 2014, Forbes placed him on their "Top 30 under 30" in their technology list.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/elld45eemkm/ted-livingston-26/#4ec42b975953|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109072901/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/elld45eemkm/ted-livingston-26/#4ec42b975953|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2014|title=2014 30 UNDER 30: TECHNOLOGY 20 of 31|work=Forbes}}
In November 2015, Torontolife ranked Livingston at #20 on their "Toronto's 50 Most Influential,".{{cite web|url=http://torontolife.com/city/business/torontos-50-most-influential-20-ted-livingston/|title=Toronto's 50 Most Influential: #20, Ted Livingston|date=19 November 2015 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Ted}}
Category:Canadian chairpersons of corporations
{{Canada-business-bio-stub}}