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Dan Serfaty | |
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 Serfaty in 2014 | |
| Born | 5 February 1966 Strasbourg, France |
| Occupation(s) | entrepreneur and businessman |
| Known for | co-founded Viadeo |
Dan Serfaty [1] (born February 5, 1966, in Strasbourg, France) is a French entrepreneur and businessman.
He is best known as the former co-founder and CEO of the professional social network Viadeo.
After graduating from HEC Paris Entrepreneurship program in 1987, Serfaty spent 2 years abroad before starting his entrepreneurial life. In 1989, he acquired a company in the tourism sector, which he turned profitable before selling it in 1991.
At the same time, he co-founded a company specializing in the distribution of imported clothing products from Asia, which he sold 10 years later. [2]
In 2000, he founded Agregator, [3] a club dedicated to entrepreneurs, helping them share their experiences, ideas, and contacts with other club members. Uniquely, most of Agregator's members were the CEOs of small companies, financed by venture capital, bringing them liquidity and private equity returns.
The Agregator experience was the context where Dan developed the idea for a business-oriented social network, while working originally on some software that would allow club members to access each other's contacts. [4]
In 2004, with Thierry Lunati, he co-founded Viaduc–the original name of Viadeo–investing part of the first 5 million euros raised for Agregator. In 2006, Viaduc became Viadeo, [5] as the company was aiming toward worldwide development, including launching its English and Italian versions. With over 60 million users worldwide, Viadeo is the second largest professional social network. [6]
In 2007, Viadeo expanded to China with the acquisition of Tianji.com, a local social networking site counting 1.3 million users at that time. Tianji.com rapidly grew its user base, reaching 8 million in 2011.
In January 2016, after a failed attempt to conquer international markets, Dan Serfaty left the company which was taken over by Le Figaro. In the same year, he founded Artur'In.[ citation needed ]
Beginning 2020, Dan became the Co-President of Keren Hayessod France, [7] a charity aiming at reducing the social fracture in Israel. A few months later, Dan also joined the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel [8]
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