Danny Zappin | |
|---|---|
 Zappin in 2015 | |
| Born | 1975 (age 49–50) Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Occupation(s) | Originally founder of Maker Studios (2009–2013) Founder, president & CEO, Zealot Networks (2014–2016) |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Danny Zappin (born 1975) [1] is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He was originally founder of Maker Studios, and the founder, president and CEO of Zealot Networks.
Danny Zappin was born in Columbus, Ohio. [1] His mother ran a Christian heavy-metal record label. [1] His brother is hip hop artist John Reuben. [2] He spent a few quarters at Ohio State University before moving to Florida. In the mid-1990s, he moved to New York, and then to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actor. [1] He had a small role in the 1999 Spike Lee film Summer of Sam . [3] In 2001, Zappin was convicted of felony drug possession for smuggling Ecstasy. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and released to home confinement in 2004. [1]
Zappin began creating videos for the Internet in the early 2000s, while working for CrapTV, an early online video streaming website. [4] In mid-2005, he began uploading videos to the then new website YouTube under the name Danny Diamond. Along with several other YouTube content creators, he began signing up online talent to create a digital studio for YouTube. [1] [3]
In 2009, Zappin co-founded the YouTube multichannel network and online video producer Maker Studios, serving as its CEO until his resignation in April 2013. [1] [5] [6] Founded in Venice, California, Maker was one of the first content providers on YouTube to reach 1 million views. [1] By the end of 2012, Maker was one of the top five networks on YouTube, with over 2 billion views per month, according to comScore. [7] The idea behind Maker was to create a new type of studio model, a collaborative, creator-friendly multichannel network helping to boost views and better monetize online short-form content. [7] [8] Zappin is considered to be one of the first to recognize the platform's potential for new types of content and talent. [5]
Zappin's legal history came up in the midst of a 2012 dispute between Maker Studios and YouTube celebrity Ray William Johnson over the terms of a new contract. [7] [9]
In June 2013, two months after his resignation, Zappin sued Maker Studios' partners and investors, alleging there was a conspiracy to oust him from the board. [7] [10] Along with three other former Maker executives, he sued Maker for a second time in April 2014, to block a shareholder vote on the acquisition of the company by the Walt Disney Company, shortly after the studio agreed to purchase Maker in a deal worth up to $950 million. [10] The lawsuit was rejected by a California judge and the sale went through. [11] Zappin earned $25 million in the sale. [12]
On October 17, 2013, Zappin announced that he had acquired digital entertainment news website NewMediaRockstars, intending to broaden its coverage of new media. [1] [13]
In the summer of 2014, Zappin raised $25 million from former and current Maker employees, talent and executives, along with his own money, to form Zealot Networks. [5] In an August 2014 press release, Zappin announced the launch of his new digital media company, "a digital-first media company and growth accelerator." [5] [10] By the end of the year, Zealot had raised additional capital from UK broadcaster ITV, the largest commercial television network in the UK. [14] Zealot was based in Venice, California, [15] with Zappin serving as the company's president and CEO. [12]
Zappin stated that the company was a continuation of his work with content creators at multi-channel network Maker Studios. Rather than focusing solely on YouTube talent, Zealot was a multi-company network, made up of a variety of interconnected digital media companies with different areas of expertise working together in an effort to accelerate their collective growth. [16] [17]
By November 2016, the company had raised $26.5 million in venture capital and an additional $30 million in debt financing. It used that money to buy 17 other content generating companies with a combination of cash and equity, including ViralNova for $100 million in 2015. [18] Other acquisitions had included a majority stake in content-licensing company AudioMicro, the parent company AdRev in December 2014 for approximately $20 million, [19] [20] Premier Sports & Entertainment in January 2015, [21] Converge Media Group and Neighbor Agency and Idea Farmer in February 2015, [22] [17] [23] Threshold Interactive in March 2015, [24] and in May 2015, Lord Danger and Hutch Media. [25] [26]
By the end of 2016 the company was in financial trouble, and had asked its executives to forgo being paid and a team of current and former executives offered to buy Zappin out. [18] Zealot's website went down in November 2016. [27]