Jon Kraft

Last updated
Jon Kraft
Born
Manhattan, New York City, New York
Education Stanford University (BA)
OccupationBusiness executive
Years active1989-present
Employer(s) Oracle Corporation, Stanford Technology Group, Pandora, CoreObjects Software, Big Stage Entertainment, Thrively, UberMedia, ExoDexa
Known forCo-founding Pandora

Jon Kraft is an American business executive and co-founder and former CEO of Pandora Media, Inc. [1] [2] He also co-founded Thrively, LiftOff, Big Stage Entertainment, and Stanford Technology Group. Kraft has worked for a number of technology companies including, Oracle Corporation, CoreObjects Software, Ubermedia, and Auryn, Inc. [3] He currently serves as the Chairman of Thrively, managing partner of LiftOff LLC, and CEO of MuMo, Inc.

Contents

Early life and education

Kraft grew up on the lower east side of Manhattan, in New York City. [4]

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. [5] : 21  [6]

Career

Oracle Corporation

From 1989 to 1992, he worked for Oracle Corporation as a Senior Technical Analyst. [7]

Stanford Technology Group

In 1993, Kraft started his first company, Stanford Technology Group, which developed analytical software and consulted to Fortune 500 companies on the design and implementation of large database management systems. He served as its vice president until it was acquired by Informix Corporation in 1995. At Informix, Kraft served as the Director of Business Development and Product Marketing for two years. [7]

Pandora Media

In 1999, Jon Kraft, along with Will Glaser and Tim Westergren, founded Pandora Media as Savage Beast Technologies in Oakland, California with the idea of The Music Genome Project. [8] [4] He served as its founding chief executive officer from 2000 to 2002. He, along with the other developers, patented the Music Genome Project: software that uses a mathematical algorithm to organize music and attempt to predict a person's musical taste based on a small musical sampling, [9] This software is covered by United States Patent No. 7,003,515. [5] : 96 

Since Pandora

In 2002, Kraft joined CoreObjects Software and served as the Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing until 2005.

In 2006, he co-founded Big Stage Entertainment, along with Jonathan Strietzel and Jon Snoddy, and served as its Chief Operating Officer from 2006 and 2010. The company was named by Forbes, in 2009, as one of "America’s 20 Most Promising Companies." [10]

In 2010, Kraft co-founded UberMedia, an independent developer of social mobile applications; and, from 2010 to 2012, he served as Chief Operating Officer. [11]

In 2012, he co-founded Thrively. [4]

In 2016, Kraft served as a member of the advisory board at MSM Corporation. [12]

In 2023, he joined ExoDexa as Chief Strategy Officer and head of corporate development. [13]

References

  1. ↑ "Origin Story: The Founding of Pandora Radio". startupgrind.com. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ Frier, Sarah (March 6, 2015). "Etsy's Founder, Written Out of History, Is Not Alone". Bloomberg . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  3. ↑ Lindner, Melanie (September 16, 2009). "America's 20 Most Promising Young Companies". Forbes . Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Dean, Jason (2022-12-16). "Pandora Founder Jon Kraft Shares the Keys to Business Longevity". The Street - C-Suite Advisors. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  5. 1 2 Wasserman, Noam (2012-03-25). The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-1400841936.
  6. ↑ Wasserman, Noam (25 March 2012). The Silicon Valley Startup Dream. Princeton University Press. ISBN   9781400841936 . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Jon Kraft - Executive Profile". Bloomberg . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  8. ↑ Harrison, J.D. (February 6, 2015). "When we were small: Pandora". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Silicon Beach@USC focuses on next-level technology". USC News. October 20, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ "In Depth: Meet America's 20 Most Promising Young Companies". Forbes. December 17, 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Everything you need to know about Chime.in". 19 October 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  12. ↑ Chang, Olivia (April 19, 2016). "One of the Pandora founders has joined the board of this ASX-listed company running a global talent quest". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on May 23, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Pandora Co-Founder and Former CEO - Jon Kraft - and Former Video Game Producer at Riot Games, EA and Blizzard Entertainment - Kevin Caldwell - Join ExoDexa Team to Build Educational Gaming Platform". Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
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