Josh Linkner

Last updated

Josh Linkner
Josh Linkner Keynote Speaker (cropped).jpg
Linkner in 2014
Born
Joshua Morgan Linkner

(1970-07-28) July 28, 1970 (age 54) [1]
Detroit, Michigan, US
Alma mater University of Florida
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, author
Website joshlinkner.com

Joshua M. "Josh" Linkner (born July 28, 1970) is an American entrepreneur and author. He founded several companies including ePrize, an interactive promotion agency, where he was CEO and chairman. [2] [3] Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Gwendolyn Bounds noted that ePrize is targeted at small businesses that don't have the resources to do this type of marketing themselves but cautioned that the service is not of the pay-per-sale type. [4]

Since 2010 Linkner has been CEO and Managing Partner of Detroit Venture Partners, a venture capital firm helping to rebuild urban areas through technology and entrepreneurship. Detroit Venture Partners' portfolio includes DJ app Rockbot, mobile app developer Detroit Labs, and CAPTCHA replacement company Are You a Human. [5] [6] [7] General partners of Detroit Venture Partners include Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. [8] On September 1, 2014, Linkner became a partner of High Level Marketing, a Michigan-based digital marketing agency. [9] On November 4, 2014, Linkner announced he will step down as CEO of Detroit Venture Partners to focus on a speaker and author career. [10] In January 2024, Linkner signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB). [11]

Biography

Linkner was born to a Jewish family and believes that "being Jewish gives you a leg up....As Jews, we have a rich legacy of resiliency, a rich heritage of overcoming odds, We don’t make excuses." [12] Linkner has published four books, the first Leaning Forward: Surviving/Winning in the Future of Interactive Marketing in 2007, [13] a New York Times best-seller Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity in 2011, in 2014 a New York Times best-seller The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation, and in 2017 Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers. [14] [15] In Disciplined Dreaming he states that the original thought and imagination of jazz performance (in his particular case, playing guitar with his jazz ensemble Guymon Ensley Quintet) are transferable skills for creating value in the business world. [14] : ix  [16] GetAbstract said the book provides "a clear, methodical guide to developing creativity". [17] His third book, The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation, was published May 7, 2014. [18] [19]

He is a regular writer for Fast Company, [20] Inc. Magazine, [21] and Forbes. [22] Linkner was one of the speakers at TEDx Detroit in September 2011. [23]

Josh Linkner at The White House Champion of Change awards, August 18, 2011 Josh Linkner.jpg
Josh Linkner at The White House Champion of Change awards, August 18, 2011

On August 18, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama gave Linkner a Champion of Change award in the youth entrepreneur category. [24] [25] He won an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Realizing Business Potential category for Central Great Lakes Region in 2004. [26]

Linkner studied jazz guitar at Berklee College of Music, [14] : ix  was an Advertising major as an undergraduate at University of Florida, [27] and holds honorary doctorate degrees from Lawrence Technological University [28] and Walsh College. [29] He is also Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Adjunct Professor of Applied Creativity at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. [6] [30]

On August 30, 2013, Linkner wrote a column for the Detroit Free Press suggesting that Labor Day be retired, repurposed, and renamed Appreciation Day, Passion Day, Kindness Day, or Give Back Day. [31]

In an interview with Vanna Le of Forbes magazine, he stated he was optimistic about growth in high technology and innovation in general, with the exception of social media. [32]

In a 2014 article in the New Yorker magazine, Harvard historian Jill Lepore criticized the theory of disruptive innovation as "a theory of change founded on panic, anxiety, and shaky evidence". Lepore postulates that Linkner advises the aspiring disruptive innovators (in which he invests) that "the world is a terrifying place, moving at a devastating pace". She suggests that Linkner's "job appears to be to convince a generation of people who want to do good and do well to learn, instead, remorselessness. Forget rules, obligations, your conscience, loyalty, a sense of the commonweal." [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sculley</span> American businessman

John Sculley III is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of PepsiCo (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc. on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving on October 15, 1993. In 1987, Sculley was named Silicon Valley's top-paid executive, with an annual salary of US$10.2 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Godin</span> American author and dot com business executive

Seth W. Godin, also known as "F. X. Nine", is an American author and a former dot-com business executive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Case</span> American businesswoman (born 1959)

Jean Case is an American businesswoman, author, and philanthropist who is chair of the board of National Geographic, CEO of Case Impact Network, and CEO of the Case Foundation. She is married to AOL co-founder Steve Case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Lefkofsky</span> American billionaire businessman (born 1969)

Eric Paul Lefkofsky is an American billionaire businessman. He is the founder of Tempus, and the co-founder of Groupon, Echo Global Logistics (ECHO), InnerWorkings (INWK), and Mediaocean. As of June 2024, he is also a co-managing partner of Chicago-based venture capital firm Lightbank. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$4.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bart Decrem</span> American entrepreneur

Bart Decrem is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who, most recently, headed the Mobile Games business for The Walt Disney Company between July 2010 and the Fall of 2013. He was born and raised in Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Cohler</span> American venture capitalist

Matt Cohler is an American venture capitalist. He worked as Vice President of Product Management for Facebook until June 2008 and was formerly a general partner at Benchmark. Cohler has been named to the Forbes Midas List of top technology investors and in 2019 was named to the New York Times and CB Insights list of top 10 venture capital investors. Cohler made the Forbes 'America's 40 Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40' list in 2015.

A fashion entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a fashion enterprise, venture or idea, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and outcome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Halligan</span> American businessman

Brian Halligan is an American executive and author. He is the co-founder and executive chairman of software company HubSpot based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is also a senior lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Halligan coined the term "inbound marketing" to describe the type of marketing he advocates.

Alexa von Tobel is the founder and CEO of LearnVest.com, a personal finance website, and the founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital. Von Tobel is the author of the New York Times bestseller Financially Fearless, which came out on December 31, 2013, and the author of Financially Forward, which came out on May 14, 2019. In April 2014, von Tobel was selected as an inaugural member of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, alongside Steve Case, Reid Hoffman, Tory Burch and others. Von Tobel is the host of Inc.'s The Founders Project with Alexa von Tobel podcast.

Lester Gold is an American pawnbroker, reality TV star, author, and media personality. He is known for his role on cable and satellite television truTV's reality series, Hardcore Pawn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Tetrick</span> American social entrepreneur and speaker (born 1980)

Joshua Stephen Tetrick is an American social entrepreneur and speaker. He is currently the CEO of JUST, Inc., a food startup company based in Northern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Stefanovich</span> American business consultant

Andy Stefanovich is an American speaker, bestselling author, and business consultant. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Stefanovich is currently the founding partner of a consulting firm called Life. Previously, he was a partner with Richmond, Virginia-based venture capital firm New Richmond Ventures LLC. Before that, Stefanovich was "chief curator and provocateur" at Prophet, a global business and creative consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Wahl</span> American painter

Erik C. Wahl is an American graffiti artist, speed-painter, author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur based in San Diego. He owns The Wahl Group, a consultancy firm, and has spoken at conventions by Microsoft, Disney, and other corporations. Wahl makes paintings of thinkers, leaders and cultural icons such as Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs, and other celebrities during his presentations.

Salim Ismail is an Indo-Canadian serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, speaker, and technology strategist. He is the Founding Executive Director of Singularity University and lead author of Exponential Organizations. In March 2017 he was named to the board of the XPRIZE Foundation.

Uche Pedro is a Nigerian entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content. Under her leadership, BellaNaija's social footprint has grown through its collective brands - BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings and BellaNaija Style - to be the largest on the African continent with more than 200 million impressions each month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Schatzel</span> American academic administrator and business executive

Kim E. Schatzel is an American academic administrator who is the 19th president of the University of Louisville. She joined Eastern Michigan University in January 2012 as provost and executive vice president of academic and student affairs, and became interim president on July 8, 2015, following the resignation of Susan Martin. Schatzel was previously dean of the college of business at University of Michigan–Dearborn. On November 30, 2022, she was announced as the next president of University of Louisville and began her tenure on February 1, 2023.

Ashwin Srivastava is an Indian venture capitalist who is the cofounder and member of the Board of Idein Ventures, a growth-stage private equity accelerator with operations in India, UAE, and Africa. He has been an entrepreneur since 2010. He is also the co-founder of Great Manager Institute and CEO of Sapio Analytics.

Chris Denson is an American innovation expert, marketer, and humor enthusiast. He is the host of the Innovation Crush podcast and runs an innovations team at Omnicom Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent Freeman</span>

Brent Freeman is a serial entrepreneur who's passionate about using business to generate both financial returns and social impact at the same time. He is an American digital entrepreneur, startup advisor, contributor at Entrepreneur.com and INC.com, Entrepreneur in Residence at early stage venture capital firm Crosscut Ventures in Los Angeles, and Founder / President of Stealth Venture Labs. While still an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, Brent launched a commodities trading firm with offices in Dubai and Los Angeles.

Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC) is a division of Samsung Electronics. It works with entrepreneurs and corporate partners to invest in disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, digital health, mobility, the Internet of Things, and other consumer-facing applications of data-driven technology.

References

  1. ↑ "Linkner, Josh, 1970–". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Interactive Promotions Agency ePrize Leaps to No. 185 Among the 2006 Inc. 500, with Three-Year Sales Growth of 638 Percent". The Free Library. August 23, 2006. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  3. ↑ "ePrize's Linkner to discuss creative solutions at Lawrence Tech May 1". Lawrence Technological University. April 27, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  4. ↑ Gwendolyn Bounds (January 16, 2007). "Making Big-Time Promotions Available, Affordable". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Detroit Venture Partners' DNA". DetroitVenturePartners.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  6. 1 2 Beth Marmarelli (May 23, 2011). "Noted businessman and best-selling author Josh Linkner joins University of Michigan-Dearborn as Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Adjunct Professor of Applied Creativity". University of Michigan-Dearborn. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ "DNA: Josh Linkner". Detroit Venture Partners. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Earvin "Magic" Johnson ... General Partner, Detroit Venture Partners". detroitventurepartners.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Linkner becomes a partner with High Level Marketing". High Level Marketing. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  10. ↑ Henderson, Tom (November 4, 2014). "Linkner steps down as CEO of Detroit Venture Partners". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Washington Speakers Bureau Announces Exclusive Partnership with Innovation Expert Josh Linkner". Pr Newswire. January 18, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Washington Speakers Bureau Announces Exclusive Partnership with Innovation Expert Josh Linkner". PR Newswire. January 28, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  13. ↑ Josh Linkner (November 30, 2007). Leaning Forward: Surviving/Winning in the Future of Interactive Marketing . Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN   978-1-59858-428-8 . Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 Josh Linkner (January 13, 2011). Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-1-118-00171-4 . Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Ihsan. "Best Sellers - The New York Times". The New York Times . Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Guymon Ensley & GEQ Jazz: About Guymon" . Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Why you should read "Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity"". GetAbstract. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  18. ↑ "The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation" . Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  19. ↑ Josh Linkner (May 7, 2014). The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation. Wiley. ISBN   978-1-118-91032-0.
  20. ↑ "Fast Company: John Linkner". Fast Company. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Inc. Magazine: Josh Linkner". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Forbes: Josh Linkner". Forbes. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Josh Linkner at TEDx Detroit September 2011". YouTube . September 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Champions of Change: Youth Entrepreneurs". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved March 8, 2013– via National Archives.
  25. ↑ Jeff T. Wattrick (August 17, 2011). "White House to honor Detroiters Torya Blanchard, Josh Linkner as 'champions of change'". MLive.com. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Search Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame". Ernst & Young. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006. Retrieved March 8, 2013. – search for Linkner
  27. ↑ Josh Linkner (October 4, 2010). "The Long List" . Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  28. ↑ "News – Lawrence Tech". Ltu.edu. May 5, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  29. ↑ "News – Walsh College – Walsh College". Walshcollege.edu. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Josh Linkner". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved March 8, 2013– via National Archives.
  31. ↑ Josh Linkner (August 30, 2013). "Josh Linkner: Should Labor Day be retired?". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  32. ↑ Vanna Le (March 5, 2014). "Detroit Venture's CEO Optimistic About Innovation, But Says Social Media Is 'Over-Hyped'". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  33. ↑ Jill Lepore (June 23, 2014). "The Disruption Machine". the New Yorker . Condé Nast . Retrieved November 18, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.