Whitepages was founded in 1997 by Alex Algard. While studying at Stanford, Algard called information for a friend’s phone number. The number given was incorrect, possibly due to outdated whitepages.
Algard realized that changes could be made more quickly if the old white pages phone books were put online.
Algard paid $900 for the domain name, which emptied his bank account. He worked on the website on weekends. Eventually, the website began earning Algard more money than his job at Goldman Sachs, so he quit and began to work full-time on his website.
Algard incorporated Whitepages.Com in 2000.
The site grew and attracted more advertisers. The company brokered deals with Yellowpages and Superpages, whereby Whitepages earned revenue for sending them referral traffic. By 2005, $15 million in annual revenues was coming from these contracts.
In 2010, Superpages and Yellowpages cut back spending with Whitepages from $33 million to $7 million, causing a substantial decline in revenues and a tense relationship with investors. Algard spent $50 million in cash the company had on-hand and $30 million from a bank loan, to buy out the investors in 2013. He also used his personal house, savings account, and personal belongings as collateral for the loan. Algard began shifting the company’s business model to reduce its reliance on advertising and instead focus on business users and paid subscriptions.
Whitepages and similar services have been criticized because of the danger caused by listing the personal information and physical addresses of unwitting people openly online, and for profiting off the exploitation of personal data.
Whitepages.Com maintains a corporate office in Seattle, Washington.
Whitepages was founded in 1997 by Alex Algard. While studying at Stanford, Algard called information for a friend’s phone number. The number given was incorrect, possibly due to outdated whitepages.
Algard realized that changes could be made more quickly if the old white pages phone books were put online.
Algard paid $900 for the domain name, which emptied his bank account. He worked on the website on weekends. Eventually, the website began earning Algard more money than his job at Goldman Sachs, so he quit and began to work full-time on his website.
History
Algard incorporated Whitepages.Com in 2000.
The site grew and attracted more advertisers. The company brokered deals with Yellowpages and Superpages, whereby Whitepages earned revenue for sending them referral traffic. By 2005, $15 million in annual revenues was coming from these contracts.
In 2010, Superpages and Yellowpages cut back spending with Whitepages from $33 million to $7 million, causing a substantial decline in revenues and a tense relationship with investors. Algard spent $50 million in cash the company had on-hand and $30 million from a bank loan, to buy out the investors in 2013. He also used his personal house, savings account, and personal belongings as collateral for the loan. Algard began shifting the company’s business model to reduce its reliance on advertising and instead focus on business users and paid subscriptions.
Whitepages and similar services have been criticized because of the danger caused by listing the personal information and physical addresses of unwitting people openly online, and for profiting off the exploitation of personal data.
Whitepages.Com maintains a corporate office in Seattle, Washington.
