Andrew Michael (businessman)
Andrew Michael | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 January 1980 |
| Occupation | entrepreneur |
Andrew Michael (born 10 January 1980) is a British-Cypriot tech entrepreneur and founder of Fasthosts, Livedrive and Bark.com.
Early life and Fasthosts[edit]
Andrew Michael was born in Cyprus,[1] and grew up in Charlton Kings, near Cheltenham, United Kingdom.[2] Aged 17, and as part of an A-level project, Michael started web hosting company, Fasthosts.[3] In 2002, Fasthosts was listed in the Sunday Times as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK, and by 2005 reported a turnover of £20m and a profit of £5m.[4] In 2006 the company was sold to German internet company United Internet for a reported £61m, with Michael owning a 75% share in the company.[5]
Livedrive[edit]
In 2008, Michael founded UK-based cloud storage and cloud backup company Livedrive, which offered customers unlimited online storage.[6] Nicholas Cowell was also an investor in the company.[7] In late 2009 he launched the company in the US.[8]
In 2014 Michael sold Livedrive to J2 Global.[9]
Bark.com[edit]
In 2014 Andrew co-founded Bark.com with Kai Feller. The company enables customers to easily contact local service professionals,[10] avoiding the need to make multiple calls. In March 2015 Nick Hewer signed on as brand ambassador.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "Internet entrepreneur celebrates £61m deal". The Independent. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Internet whizz Andrew is at it again". Gloucester Citizen. 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Internet entrepreneur celebrates £61m deal". The Independent. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Young entrepreneur pockets £61.5m". BBC News. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Made it by 40". The Telegraph. 6 December 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Livedrive.com offers unlimited online storage". TechRadar. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Another Cowell with the X-Factor". Express. 3 January 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Livedrive launches unlimited backup service in the U.S." Venture Beat. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "j2 Global Acquires LiveDrive; j2's Online Backup Annualized Monthly Run-Rate Exceeds $40M". YAHOO! Finance. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Bark.com - Bringing you the best leads for your business". www.bark.com. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Nick Hewer teams up with Bark | Bark Blog". www.bark.com. Retrieved 2 June 2015.