Jake Winebaum

Jake Winebaum
Born1959 (age 64–65)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder of FamilyFun magazine, Business.com, Brighter.com and
co-founder of eCompanies
SpouseCindy Weston
RelativesStanley Weston
(father-in-law)

Jake Winebaum (born 1959) is an American entrepreneur. Winebaum is the founder of FamilyFun magazine, Business.com, Brighter.com and co-founder of eCompanies and Applied Cognition.

Early life

Winebaum’s father, Sumner, was an advertising executive with Young & Rubicam in New York and Europe; and his mother, Helen (née Auerbach), was a stage and television actress.[1][2] Shortly after his birth in New York City, the family moved to London, Milan and Paris before settling in Exeter, New Hampshire. Winebaum attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College,[3] where he majored in Biology and Creative Writing, graduated cum laude, and also won the Grimes Senior Writing Prize. At Dartmouth, Winebaum played three sports, Soccer, Lacrosse and Alpine Skiing.

Entrepreneurial career

While at Dartmouth in 1980, Winebaum started his first business, Same Day Fish Company. He spent summers throughout high school and college working on fishing boats and started a fish processing and distribution business delivering fish and lobsters to restaurants and supermarkets throughout Northern New England.

He started his professional career at Fortune magazine in 1982. He then moved to Time magazine in 1983, and U.S. News & World Report in 1985 where he was instrumental in the turnaround of the magazine and in the development of the series of special issues, including USNews Best Colleges Archived 2015-08-04 at the Wayback Machine.[4] He and his wife Cindy started FamilyFun magazine with their own funds in 1991.[5] The magazine was an instant hit and was named one of AdWeek’s Hot 5 list of magazines for 1992.[6] Winebaum sold the magazine to the Walt Disney Company in 1992.[7] While at Disney, he founded FamilyPC magazine in 1994. Also in that year, he put together the business plan for The Walt Disney Company’s Internet initiatives which he went on to lead. He was named President of Disney Online in 1995.[8] As president of Disney Online, and later as Chairman of Buena Vista Internet Group, he oversaw all of Disney’s Internet businesses, including Disney.com, ABCNews.com and ESPN.com.[9]

Winebaum left Disney in 1999 to co-found eCompanies, an Internet incubator and venture fund, with EarthLink founder Sky Dayton.[10] It is a privately held company, and while it reportedly struggled for a time when the dot-com bubble burst, it ultimately launched and funded several successful companies.[11][12]

The businesses that came out of eCompanies include LowerMyBills.com, which was purchased by Experian in 2005,[13] JAMDAT Mobile, which went public and was then purchased by Electronic Arts,[14] Boingo Wireless, which went public in 2011, USBX which was purchased by Imperial Capital,[15][failed verification] and Business.com which was purchased by RH Donnelly in 2007.[16][17] Winebaum was CEO of Business.com from 2002 until its sale in 2007.

In January 2010, Winebaum founded Brighter.com.[18][19] Brighter is an online resource that delivers price and reputation transparency and access to tens of thousands of top rated dentists at competitive prices, making quality dental care affordable for millions of Americans.[20][21][22][23][24][25] Cigna acquired Brighter in December 2017 and as part of the transaction Winebaum became Cigna's Chief Digital Officer.[26]

Winebaum co-founded Applied Cognition with Paul Dagum in December 2020 where he serves as Executive Chairman. The company is developing a device and health management platform to treat and prevent age-related decline in cognitive function.

Other activities and awards

Winebaum serves on the board of directors of Vision to Learn and the Wood Island Life Saving Station and was Founding Chairman of Seven Arrows Elementary School.

Jake was named E&Y's 2018 Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in Los Angeles.[27] Jake's expertise and contributions to the Internet industry have been recognized by the Los Angeles Venture Association which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2010,[28] Time magazine, which awarded him a place in the Top 50 Cyber Elite,[29] and Wired Magazine, which named him one of the Wired 25.[30]

Family and leisure

Winebaum remains a competitive athlete in endurance cycling and running events and Masters ski racing. He has competed in the Leadville 100, Transalp Challenge mountain bike races, Tour Transalp, and Everest Challenge road bike races multiple times, and placed 6th in the 2008 National Masters Ski Championships.[31][32] In 1986, he married Cindy Weston, daughter of G.I. Joe inventor Stanley Weston;[33] they have 2 children.

Interviews

References

  1. ^ McDermott, Deborah (July 31, 2019). "Philanthropist Sumner Winebaum dies at 91, leaving a legacy in Seacoast". The Portsmouth Herald.
  2. ^ "Helen A. Winebaum, 90, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 2, 2018". The Portsmouth Herald. October 3, 2018.
  3. ^ "Jake Winebaum". chamber.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  4. ^ Hansell, Saul (1998-12-13). The One Who Waved the Internet Wand. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  5. ^ Levine, Robert (1994-09-04). '90s FAMILY : The Family Hour : Kids take to computers like fish to water. New magazines help tap that interest. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  6. ^ "WINEBAUM NAMED PRESIDENT OF NEW DISNEY ONLINE UNIT". thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  7. ^ Carmody, Deirdre (1992-02-18). THE MEDIA BUSINESS; It's His Baby: Publisher Thrives on Family Fun. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17
  8. ^ Kaplan, Karen (1995-08-24). Get Ready for Happiest Place in Cyberspace : Telecom: Disney says it will launch a family- oriented on-line network, to be headed by former magazines chief. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  9. ^ Bloomberg News (1997-09-03). Disney Names Exec to Oversee Internet Units. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  10. ^ [1] investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  11. ^ Ali, Rafat (2007-07-26). Business.com Sold To RH Donnelley; Beating DJ, NYT and News Corp; Price $345 Million. forbes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  12. ^ Siklos, Richard (2008-05-02). Business.com's winding road . money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  13. ^ Parker, Pamela (2005-05-05). Experian Launches Interactive Division, Buys LowerMyBills.com. clickz.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  14. ^ Hutheesing, Nikhil (2005-12-12). Electronic Arts Jams With Jamdat. forbes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  15. ^ Imperial Capital to acquire USBX
  16. ^ Berman, Dennis (2007-07-26). Master of Domain: Business.com Gets Big Payday, Again. online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  17. ^ Swisher, Kara (2007-07-27). "Checking In With Business.com's Jake Winebaum–After the $345 Million Deal". kara.allthingsd.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  18. ^ Barlow, Tom (2011-05-27). $1,000 For a Dental Crown? Maybe You Should Shop Around. blogs.forbes.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  19. ^ Torabi, Farnoosh (2011-08-11). Dental Expenses: 4 Smart Tricks to Save Money. moneywatch.bnet.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  20. ^ Schonfeld, Erick (2011-05-19). From Business.com To Brighter, Jake Winebaum Introduces A DIY Dental Plan. TechCrunch.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  21. ^ Needleman, Rafe (2011-05-20). Brighter brings dentistry discounts to Web. news.cnet.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  22. ^ Darlin, Damon (2011-05-25). A Brighter Idea for Dentistry. gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  23. ^ Zimmermann, Daniel (2011-06-19). Interview: 'Focus is extremely important in a start-up'. www.dental-tribune.com. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  24. ^ Buck, Claudia (2011-07-10). Personal finance: Here's the drill on dental discounts Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. sacbee.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  25. ^ Empson, Rip (2011-08-15). Brighter Lands $8 Million From Benchmark To Bring Affordable Dental Care To The Masses. Techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  26. ^ "Cigna Corp. Acquires Santa Monica–Based Digital Health Technology Company Brighter Inc. | Los Angeles Business Journal". 15 December 2017.
  27. ^ "Meet the 2018 Greater Los Angeles winners". Archived from the original on 2018-06-26.
  28. ^ "LAVA's 7th Annual Venture Awards Dinner". web.memberclicks.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  29. ^ Time (magazine) time.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  30. ^ WIRED Staff. "The Wired 25". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  31. ^ "2010 Leadville Trail 100 results". competitor.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  32. ^ "25 Nationen starten bei der Jeantex-TOUR-Transalp!". www.radsport-forum.de. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  33. ^ "Cindy Joy Weston Becomes the Bride Of Jacob J. Winebaum, an Executive". The New York Times. May 18, 1986. The wedding of Cindy Joy Weston, the daughter of Stanley Weston of New York and Mrs. Sol Liebster of Great Neck, L.I., to Jacob J. Winebaum, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Winebaum of Exeter, N.H., took place yesterday at the Pierre. Rabbi Chaim Etrog officiated.