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Keith Rabois

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Keith Rabois
Keith Rabois at the 2011 TechCrunch Disrupt
Rabois in 2011
Born(1969-03-17)March 17, 1969(age 55)
Edison, New Jersey,U.S.
EducationStanford University(BA)
Harvard University(JD)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Investor, Lawyer
Known forPayPal,LinkedIn,Square,Opendoor,Yelp,Xoom,YouTube,Yammer,Palantir,Lyft,AirBnB,EventbriteandQuora.
SpouseJacob Helberg

Keith Rabois(born March 17, 1969) is an American technology executive and investor. He is a managing director atKhosla Ventures.He was an early-stage startup investor, and executive, atPayPal,LinkedIn,Slide,andSquare.Rabois invested inYelpand theXoom Corporationprior to each company'sinitial public offering(IPO). For both investments he insisted on being aboard of directorsmember.[1]

Rabois is considered a member of thePayPal Mafia.[2][3][4]Rabois has been involved in investments inYouTube,Palantir Technologies,Lyft,Airbnb,Eventbrite,wish,[5]Relcy[6]andtheorg.[7]

Early life and education

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Rabois was born on March 17, 1969,[citation needed]and raised inEdison, New Jersey.[8]He studied political science as an undergraduate atStanford University,receiving his B.A. in 1991 and a J.D. fromHarvard Law Schoolin 1994.[9][10]While at Stanford, he became acquainted withPeter Thiel,then-editor and co-founder ofThe Stanford Review.Rabois later contributed to the libertarian newspaper.[11]Rabois was one of several students reprimanded for shouting homophobic slurs outside an instructor's home, including the suggestion that the instructor "die of AIDS." Rabois stated that the incident was designed to challenge Stanford's rules on student speech.[12][13][14]Thiel later defended Rabois in his book,The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and Political Intolerance on Campus.[15]

Career

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Postgraduate

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He clerked for theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuitfor a year and worked atSullivan & Cromwellfor nearly four years.[16][10]In 1999, he was an adviser toDan Quayle's presidential campaign.[17]

Information Technology

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PayPal

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Rabois was Executive Vice President, Business Development, Public Affairs, and Policy atPayPalfrom November 2000 to November 2002.[18]

LinkedIn

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Between January 2005 and May 2007, Rabois worked atLinkedInas its vice president for Business and Corporate Development.[18]LinkedIn was founded byReid Hoffman,also a former employee atPayPaland a member of thePayPal Mafia.

Square

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After some unsuccessful ventures, in 2010, Rabois joinedSquare,a company that provides an electronic payment service, as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).[3][18]

Sexual harassment charge
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Rabois left Square in January 2013 due to the threat of a lawsuit over sexual harassment accusations by an employee; Rabois claims that the relationship was consensual. A spokesperson from Square said in a statement that "Keith exercised poor judgment that ultimately undermined his ability to remain an effective leader at Square."[13][19][20][21]

Venture capital

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Khosla Ventures

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In March 2013, Rabois joined venture capital firmKhosla Ventures.Rabois left in 2019.[22][23]In January 2015, Rabois joined theboard of directorsofScribdas an observer after Khosla Ventures led a new investment round in the company.[24]Rabois returned to Khosla Ventures in January 2024 as one of five managing directors.[25]

Founders Fund

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In 2019 Rabois left Khosla Ventures and joinedFounders Fundas a general partner.[26][27][28]

In 2021 while at Founders Fund Rabois co-founded Miami-based OpenStore, a retail-holding startup that acquire brands in theShopifyecosystem.[29]It raised $75 million at a $750 million valuation.[30]

Rabois left Founders Fund in January 2024 to rejoin Khosla Ventures, but continues to represent it on the boards ofRamp,Found, andTrade Republic.[25]

Other ventures

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Opendoor

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In April 2014 Rabois co-foundedOpendoor,a home buying and selling marketplace.[31][32][33]

Alliance of American Football

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In March 2018 Rabois invested in theAlliance of American Football,along with Peter Thiel andPeter Chernin.He sat on the league'sboard of directors.[34]

Politics

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In April 2013, a lobbying group calledFWD.uswas launched, with Rabois listed as one of a major contributor on the group's website.[35]In January 2020, Rabois stated that he would rather vote forDonald TrumpthanBernie Sanders.[36]In 2019 Rabois also stated thatPete Buttigiegwas his top choice for the Democratic ticket.[37][38]

In 2023 Rabois praised theParental Rights in Education Actlaw in Florida.[39][40]

Personal life

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In November 2015 Rabois purchased a house inGlen Park.He planned a renovation that included a new penthouse level, a basketball court, lockers and a sauna, but received pushback from six of his neighbors.[41][42][43][44]

In 2018 Rabois marriedJacob Helberg.The ceremony held inSaint Barthélemywas officiated bySam Altman.[45][46]

In November 2020 it was reported that he moved from California to Miami, Florida.[47]

References

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  1. ^"Xoom: Management: Executive Officers and Directors".2013-01-11.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-09-24.Retrieved2014-07-22.
  2. ^"Meet the PayPal mafia".Archivedfrom the original on 2014-07-28.Retrieved2014-07-22.
  3. ^ab"latimes".24 August 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 2012-01-06.Retrieved2012-01-09.
  4. ^"gigaom".Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-27.Retrieved2012-01-09.
  5. ^"Keith Rabois".Founders Fund.Retrieved31 October2022.
  6. ^Gage, Deborah (2014-07-17)."Relcy Emerges With $9M to Tackle Problem of Mobile Search".Wall Street Journal.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-12-09.
  7. ^Musgrove, Annie (20 February 2020)."The Org collects $8.5 million from Founders Fund and Sequioa to publish organisation charts of companies".Tech.eu.Retrieved31 October2022.
  8. ^"Keith Rabois: Did you really grow up in Edison".Retrieved2014-07-22.
  9. ^Weigel, Moira (December 20, 2021)."The Making of Peter Thiel's Networks".The New Republic.Archivedfrom the original on September 29, 2023.
  10. ^abWeinberg, Cory; Bernard, Zoe (November 18, 2019)."In Keith Rabois' Silicon Valley, Nice Guys Finish Last".The Information.
  11. ^"Masters of Their Domain".Mother Jones.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-06-24.Retrieved2018-07-09.
  12. ^"Officials condemn homophobic incident, no prosecution planned".1992-02-12.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-06-12.Retrieved2016-06-03.
  13. ^ab"Keith Rabois, COO Of Square, Resigns After Relationship With Employee, Harassment Allegations".HuffPost. 2013-01-26.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-10-03.Retrieved2013-09-23.
  14. ^Packer, George (21 November 2011)."No Death, No Taxes: The libertarian futurism of a Silicon Valley billionaire".The New Yorker.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-01-24.Retrieved2011-12-07.
  15. ^Trotter, J. K."The Free Speech Peter Thiel Will Defend:" Faggot! Faggot! Hope You Die of AIDS! "".Gawker.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-03-28.Retrieved2020-03-28.
  16. ^"Lunch Talk with Keith Rabois on a Career in Law, Startups and Venture Capital".Archivedfrom the original on 2016-09-14.Retrieved2017-12-30.
  17. ^Stein, Joel (February 2, 2022)."How Miami became the most important city in America".FT Magazine.
  18. ^abc"Keith Rabois' LinkedIn page".Archivedfrom the original on 2013-10-27.Retrieved2012-01-09.
  19. ^"A note from Keith".2013-01-25. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-01-28.
  20. ^"Interview: Keith Rabois Talks About Sexual Harassment Claim, Becoming a" Distraction "at Square and What's Next".2013-01-25.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-07-26.Retrieved2014-07-22.
  21. ^""Keith Rabois Is Silicon Valley's Hottest Commodity Right Now"".SFGate.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2013.Retrieved24 February2013.
  22. ^"Former Square COO Keith Rabois Joins Khosla Ventures".Forbes.2013-02-26.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-03-04.Retrieved2017-09-02.
  23. ^"Keith Rabois on Khosla Ventures website".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-07-25.
  24. ^Ha, Anthony (2015-01-02)."Scribd Raises $22M For Its Subscription E-Book Service".TechCrunch.
  25. ^abKonrad, Alex (2024-01-09)."Keith Rabois Makes A Surprise Return To Khosla Ventures, Five Years After Joining Founders Fund".Forbes.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-10.
  26. ^"Keith Rabois joins Founders Fund amid transition at the firm".TechCrunch. 20 February 2019.Retrieved2020-10-09.
  27. ^Primack, Dan (20 February 2019)."Scoop: Keith Rabois leaving Khosla Ventures for Founders Fund".Axios.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-08-24.Retrieved2020-10-09.
  28. ^Roof, Katie (2019-02-20)."VC Keith Rabois Bolts From Khosla Ventures to Join Peter Thiel's Founders Fund".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-08-15.Retrieved2020-10-09.
  29. ^Shah, Saqib."PayPal Mafia's Keith Rabois has acquired 40 Shopify sellers in the past year through his startup OpenStore. He's not slowing down despite the recent problems in the aggregator space".Business Insider.Retrieved2022-07-18.
  30. ^Konrad, Alex."OpenStore Raises $75 Million To Acquire More Shopify Sellers, Reaches $750 Million Valuation In Eight Months".Forbes.Retrieved2022-07-18.
  31. ^"Khosla Ventures' Keith Rabois finally launches his real estate startup".2014-04-03.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-27.Retrieved2019-03-27.
  32. ^"Keith Rabois' Homebuying Startup OpenDoor Raises $9.95M From Everyone".TechCrunch. 7 July 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-27.Retrieved2020-10-09.
  33. ^"Here's investor Keith Rabois' bold new home-selling startup: OpenDoor".VentureBeat. 2014-05-29.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-26.Retrieved2020-10-09.
  34. ^Balakrishnan, Sara Salinas, Anita (20 March 2018)."Peter Thiel's venture firm is backing a new football league to rival the NFL".CNBC.Archivedfrom the original on 23 August 2018.Retrieved22 August2018.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  35. ^"Our supporters".FWD.us. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-04-16.Retrieved2013-04-17.
  36. ^Bowles, Nellie; Griffith, Erin (2 March 2020)."NY Times:Silicon Valley Leaders' Plea to Democrats: Anyone but Sanders".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-03-04.Retrieved2020-03-04.
  37. ^Calanacis, Jason (Feb 19, 2019)."E904 Keith Rabois (Khosla/PayPal) advice for anti-VC/anti-hustle climate, Thiel, Trump, Thatcher-PT1".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on May 26, 2020.
  38. ^Calanacis, Jason (Feb 22, 2019)."E905 PT2 Keith Rabois PayPal/FoundersFund: censorship, secondary shares, selling, getting into tech".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2019.
  39. ^Keith Rabois [@rabois] (May 10, 2022)."Sounds like a wise policy to me"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  40. ^Ben Schreckinger (24 May 2023)."DeSantis needs a new Republican lane, Elon Musk might be paving it".Politico.
  41. ^Brinklow, Adam (2017-03-28)."Glen Park residents fume over tech billionaire's plan for three-story addition with basketball court".Curbed SF.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-13.Retrieved2020-09-20.
  42. ^"What Happens When Your Neighbor Is A Venture Capitalist".BuzzFeed News.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-09-19.Retrieved2020-09-20.
  43. ^"Planning Application Glen Park"(PDF).2017.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2 September 2017.Retrieved20 September2020.
  44. ^"Tech Entrepreneur's San Francisco Remodel Upsetting Neighbors".2017-03-29.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-04-02.Retrieved2020-09-20.
  45. ^Schleifer, Theodore (2019-05-07)."How Pete Buttigieg became the new toast of Silicon Valley's wealthiest donors".Vox.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-08-13.Retrieved2020-09-17.
  46. ^"Instagram post by Jacob Helberg".Instagram.12 Jan 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 2021-12-24.Retrieved2020-09-17.
  47. ^Robert Hackett (17 November 2020)."Silicon Valley loses another tech icon".Fortune.Retrieved19 November2020.
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