Bo Peabody
Encyclopedia
Bo Peabody is an entrepreneur
, venture capital
ist and Internet
executive who co-founded Tripod.com
, one of the earliest dot-coms
, in 1992.
originated in 1992 with two Williams College
classmates, Bo Peabody and Brett Hershey, along with Dick Sabot
, an economics professor at the school. The company was headquartered in Williamstown, Massachusetts
, with Peabody as CEO. Although it would eventually focus on the internet, Tripod also published a magazine, Tools for Life, that was distributed with textbooks, and offered a discount card for students. The company was the eighth-largest site on the Internet when it was sold to Lycos
in 1998 for $58 million.
, Peabody has gone on to found several other companies. Most notably, he co-founded Village Ventures
, a venture capital firm based in Williamstown, Massachusetts
and is currently Managing General Partner.
In 1998, he co-founded Streetmail, renamed Waterfront Media. Later, he co-founded VoodooVox (2000), FullTurn Media (2004) and UplayMe (2006).
Peabody also is an owner of Mezze, Inc, a hospitality group consisting of three restaurants in Western Massachusetts
.
in 1994 and the Academy at Charlemont
in 1990.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
ist and Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
executive who co-founded Tripod.com
Tripod.com
Tripod.com is a web hosting service owned by Lycos. Originally aiming its services to college students and young adults, it was one of several sites trying to build online communities during the dot-com bubble...
, one of the earliest dot-coms
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
, in 1992.
Tripod.com
Tripod.comTripod.com
Tripod.com is a web hosting service owned by Lycos. Originally aiming its services to college students and young adults, it was one of several sites trying to build online communities during the dot-com bubble...
originated in 1992 with two Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
classmates, Bo Peabody and Brett Hershey, along with Dick Sabot
Dick Sabot
Richard "Dick" Sabot was an economist, scholar, farmer, and Internet pioneer who was co-founder of Tripod.com, one of the first and most successful dot-coms, in 1992...
, an economics professor at the school. The company was headquartered in Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...
, with Peabody as CEO. Although it would eventually focus on the internet, Tripod also published a magazine, Tools for Life, that was distributed with textbooks, and offered a discount card for students. The company was the eighth-largest site on the Internet when it was sold to Lycos
Lycos
Lycos, Inc. is a search engine and web portal established in 1994. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, webhosting, social networking, and entertainment websites.-Corporate history:...
in 1998 for $58 million.
Other companies
Following the sale of Tripod.comTripod.com
Tripod.com is a web hosting service owned by Lycos. Originally aiming its services to college students and young adults, it was one of several sites trying to build online communities during the dot-com bubble...
, Peabody has gone on to found several other companies. Most notably, he co-founded Village Ventures
Village Ventures
Village Ventures is a private equity investment firm focusing on seed and early stage venture capital investments. The firm operates in various regions throughout the United States and focuses on two basic sectors: media and financial services....
, a venture capital firm based in Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...
and is currently Managing General Partner.
In 1998, he co-founded Streetmail, renamed Waterfront Media. Later, he co-founded VoodooVox (2000), FullTurn Media (2004) and UplayMe (2006).
Peabody also is an owner of Mezze, Inc, a hospitality group consisting of three restaurants in Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and some or all of the Swift River Valley. The region is always considered to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the...
.
Education
Peabody graduated from Williams CollegeWilliams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
in 1994 and the Academy at Charlemont
Academy at Charlemont
The Academy at Charlemont is a small, private, college-preparatory day school, located on the Deerfield River in Charlemont, Massachusetts, that serves grade 7 through postgraduate. It has approximately 110 students. The school was founded by Eric Grinnell, Dianne Grinnell, David W. McKay, Patricia...
in 1990.