Alex Hofmann is a German-American entrepreneur and investor best known as the former president of musical.ly, as well as the founder of the technology company 9count, the parent company of notable social media apps like Summer (formerly Spark) and Wink.[1]
Alex Hofmann | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | German-American |
| Occupation(s) | entrepreneur and investor |
| Known for | musical.ly, live.ly, 9count |
| Awards |
|
| Website | 9count |
Background
editHofmann was born and grew up in Germany.[2][3] Hofmann worked at the enterprise software company SAP, where he held the position of director of marketing and product management in the San Francisco Bay Area.[4][5]
In May 2015, Hofmann joined Musical.ly as the first president of North America, and during his tenure at Musical.ly the global user base grew to over 215 million by the end of May 2017,[1][4] and became a popular social video network among Gen Z users.[6][7][8]
On November 10, 2017, musical.ly was acquired by ByteDance for as much as $1 billion, and merged it later into TikTok on August 2, 2018.[4][9] On January 8, 2018, Hofmann made a post on his LinkedIn profile announcing that he was stepping down from his position as the president of musical.ly.[4][5][5]
9count
editIn 2019, Hofmann along with Joe Viola co-founded 9count, a technology company based in Marina del Rey, California.[10] Since its inception, 9count launched several social apps such as dating apps Summer (formerly Spark), Wink, and Popstream, Juju, and Everland.[1][11]
In September 2022, it was announced that 9count had raised $6 million in a fundraising round. As of May 2022, 9count has raised a total of $21.5 million which increased to $27.5 million in funding by September 2022 from investors including Crosscut, GGV Capital Redpoint, Signia, Greycroft, Progression, I2BF and Waverley Capital.[10] In 2023, 9count was recognized as one of the top 50 startups globally by The Information.[12]
Awards and recognition
editHofmann was recognized in Billboard's 2017 Digital Power Players list, acknowledging his influence in the music and tech industries.[13] In the same year, Hofmann received the WSJ Innovator Award for his contributions to innovation in social media.[14][15]
References
edit- ^ a b c Brown, Abram. "Early TikTok Executive Returns With New App And Sights Set On A Different Industry: Dating". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ Usborne, Simon (2016-12-10). "'It's crazy, for sure': meet the stars of Musical.ly". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ Martins, Chris (2016-10-20). "Musical.ly's Teenage Revolution: How the Trend-Setting Lip-Sync App Is Changing the Music Industry". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ a b c d Spangler, Todd (2018-01-08). "Alex Hofmann, Musical.ly's President of North America, Exits After Bytedance Acquisition". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ a b c Jarvey, Natalie (2018-01-08). "Musical.ly President Departs Following Acquisition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ Friedlander, Emilie (2016-09-28). "Teen-Focused App Musical.ly Is the Music Industry's New Secret Weapon". VICE. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ "The Social Media Platform That Has Gen Z Obsessed". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Rys, Dan (2017-04-28). "Musical.ly, Apple Music Ink New Partnership, With More to Come". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ Salinas, Sara (2018-11-22). "TikTok is the latest app to skyrocket in popularity. Here's why it might have staying power". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ a b Torres, Destiny (2022-09-05). "9count Raises $6 Million in Funding to Improve Its Social and Dating Apps". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ Mangalindan, J. P. "Read the 17-page pitch deck that 9count used to raise $6 million to grow its Gen-Z app studio". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ "The Information 50 Most Promising Startups 2023". The Information.
- ^ Staff, Billboard (2017-08-28). "Revealed: Billboard's 2017 Digital Power Players, Guiding the Future in Music and Tech". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ Rys, Dan (2018-01-08). "Musical.ly North America President Alex Hofmann Leaves the Company". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ "Reese Witherspoon Addresses 'Ugly Truth' About Harassment in Hollywood During Powerful Speech". People.