Back in 2005, Catherine Cook and her 2 years older brother Dave were spending a good time looking through their school yearbook. This was when technology was booming and this is how the idea of creating an online yearbook was born in their heads. They were just high school students, they had no business experience or knowledge. This is why they shared the idea with their older brother Geoff, who was already a successful Internet entrepreneur, and the founder of EssayEdge.com. The kids managed to convince him not only to help them, but also to invest a quarter of a million in their idea, and to help them start the venture. That’s how the social network site – MyYearbook.com was born.
The new web business happened to be very successful. Especially after MyYearbook.com merged with the quiz site Zendex.com and which nearly doubled its visitors. The business was doing well, with many investors interested in it. The kids wanted to expand even further, and they decided to sell a part of it raising some money. By the year 2006, MyYearbook had raised 4.1 million dollars in venture capital. The site was rated as one of the top sites for youngsters by the Nielsen Net rating company.
The site started providing free study guide aids for its users, in partnership with Cliff Notes. The business now had more than 40 employees and its users had become more than 3 million people from all over the world. Many big advertisers wanted to put their ads on the site, the revenues were growing. There was only one tiny problem ….. Facebook! The giant in social networking was a real threat to the enterprise, which was still gaining momentum. But to be a big name in an industry has some disadvantages, too. And Catherine found a great solution about how to effectively compete with Facebook – focusing on a single niche.
By the year 2011, the Latino social networking site Quepasa made an offer of $100 million for acquiring myYearbook.com. The deal was accepted and the founders cashed in. Just nine years after launch they made some nice millions.
Nowadays MyYearbook.com has changed its name to MeetMe.com. The site has more than 90 million members and it has become a favorite place for many teenagers from all around the globe.
More About Catherine Cook
Cook’s success extends into philanthropy as she has done extensive work for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation serving as Chair of their corporate council. She also participated in programs like IndiaVision2020 with The Aspen Institute, The United Nations Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and various other conferences discussing technology and social media opportunities for youth engagement worldwide ultimately helping to bridge divides across cultures through sustainable economic development activities.
In 2013, Cook became even more well known as she was named one of “America’s Most Promising Leaders” by Fortune Magazine in its annual “40 Under 40” list recognizing men and women nationally who have accomplished great things under the age of 40 in a variety of industries. A businesswoman not content to just sit back, Cook remains actively involved in global issues surrounding education, health care, and poverty reduction, both personally and through her corporate responsibilities. From her office in Mexico City, where she critiques new technologies with an eye toward application within underserved communities around the world – Cook empowers others to make positive changes within their societies through her leadership style focused on human centricity, innovation, and sustainability
Catherine Cook continues making progress toward her many goals for good through various projects such as investing in startup companies eager to make a difference in southeastern countries such as Nicaragua, Peru, or Mexico – countries whose advancements do not usually gain immediate international attention or widespread awareness due to regional conflicts or geographical isolation from global markets. Her outstanding achievements show what can be accomplished through entrepreneurial vision, determination, and effective action plans that are comprehensive enough that they can be repeated again with success. Cook stands out as one of today’s role models for industry professionals who are willing to approach life differently and achieve incredible results based on their innovative ideas and creativity.
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