Name Richard Johnson Role Entrepreneur | Education Bucknell University | |
Richard Johnson is an American entrepreneur. As one of the first Silicon Alley pioneers, he started Hotjobs.com in 1996.
Biography
Johnson graduated from Bucknell University, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma. In 1999, Johnson mortgaged his house and all of his assets to raise around $1.5 million to run a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl. HotJobs subsequently became the sixth-most recognized Internet brand in the world, went public and raised over $165 million before the year was over.
By 1998, the company produced $4 million; in 1999, $20 million; and by 2000, more than $100 million. By 2001, the company was one of the few profitable dot-com companies; and by years end, it was acquired by Yahoo! for $468 million. In February 2010, it was announced that Monster.com would acquire HotJobs from Yahoo! for $225 million. HotJobs was shut down in favor of Monster.com, and Yahoo! established a traffic sharing agreement with Monster.com.
After stepping down as CEO in 2001, Johnson has been active on several non-profit boards focusing on those with community and conservation missions. He and his family currently reside in Wilmington, North Carolina.