Gawker: valleywag, xochi birch

Antilles_Prime

Alaska Miller — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:40:00 EDT

Did you copy an existing popular website and sell it off to a big corporation too dumb to realize what's going on? Twice? Xochi Birch did, first with Ringo and then Bebo. Today's featured commenter, Antilles_Prime, explains the kudos she's earned:

well, at least she admits to it; there is very little "original thought" out there, from academia to business — its all on the shoulder of giants.

I think this also goes to show how an idea can hit a market over and over, but until that market "ecosystem" is ready to grow that idea into a hit, well, you are pounding sand. There were quite a few different variations of social networks way before facebook, zuckerburg just hit the lotto on timing.

theres a lot of smart people out there in the tech world, who work hard and have good strategies —- but just like in life, sometimes the difference is a coin toss.

give her credit for seeing the upside; she kept attacking that niche until it hit.

Bebo founder admits her fortune came from ripoffs

Owen Thomas — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Imitation is the sincerest form of getting rich. MySpace got bought early, on the cheap; Facebook has yet to cash out. Michael and Xochi Birch's sale of Bebo, a social network more popular overseas than in the U.S., to AOL for $850 million has been the best social-network cashout to date. And how did they manage it? Shamelessly copying other sites, Xochi Birch admits to the BBC.

Ringo, their first social site, was an unabashed copy of Friendster. The husband-and-wife team sold that off to Monster, the job-listings site, for a pittance — but a pittance that provided the seed funding for Bebo, which Xochi openly says was inspired by MySpace. Copy early, copy often, sell out. (Photo by Auren Hoffman)

Bebo cofounders buy $29 million cabin on a hill

Jackson West — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Well, it's on a hill, but it sure ain't a cabin. Instead, Bebo cofounding couple Michael Birch and Xochi Birch have purchased a $29 million manse in Pacific heights on the corner of Broadway and Broderick. It looks like the Birches purchased the property from one William Mathes, a managing partner at Behrman Capital. Mathes originally purchased the lot for a mere $3.25 million back in 1998.

Barely legal billionaires insist there's tons more money to be made

Jackson West — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:20:00 EDT

21-year-old billionaires in the making? To tell the truth, the youngest Forbes has come up with in the past decade was Elon Musk at 27. That was back in 1998, with only $22 million. Musk's face is more lined, but he still isn't a billionaire, even after cashing out from PayPal's sale to eBay. Forbes at least has some standards — only reason I can imagine Zuckerberg isn't in the piece is because his share of Facebook's valuation is still mostly theoretical. As for Bebo's Michael and Xochi Birch? They're back to their birthday announcement and e-card concern BirthdayAlarm.com, not content with a cabin in the hills at all. (Photo by Ryan Anson/Bloomberg News/Landov)

You're invited to Michael and Xochi Birch's Bebo farewell party

Jackson West — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:40:00 EDT

Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch cashed out in the nine figures with the social network's $850 million purchase by AOL. According to the invite for their farewell party, they'll be retiring to a humble, quiet cabin (which, in the Bay Area housing market, should set them back a million or two). What they aren't spending their windfall on?

Hot air balloon rides and circus performers. But then it would be difficult to fit either into 1015 Folsom, where the party is being held tomorrow night. As for the rest of Bebo's original employees? They've all left already.

Even Bebo's cofounder thinks AOL's $850 million is a joke

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:38:05 EDT

Poor AOL CEO Randy Falco. He believes that acquiring the social network Bebo for $850 million put AOL in a "leading position" in social networking. Everyone else thinks the buy was a joke — including Bebo cofounder Michael Birch. Asked at an event yesterday about the purchase price, Birch said, "850 million is an interesting number. It's a lot bigger than some numbers and a lot smaller than some numbers. It's not a prime number." Asked how AOL bid itself up to $850 million, Birch said $800 million of it was due Bebo's popularity in Fiji. "Fiji is an up-and-coming market," the Birch told the crowd. Don't wonder why he's so giddy. Birch and his cofounder, his wife Xochi, earned $595 million on the deal.

Bebo founders earn $595 million, enough to buy a haircut

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:00:09 EDT

Michael and Xochi Birch met in a London pub back in 2005. Later, the pair decided to launch a social network from their San Francisco living room. About 40 million people signed up and two years later, AOL plunked down $850 million to buy the site. The Birches, who reportedly owned a 70 percent stake in the company, walk away with $595 million. Our advice for the first few dollars spent, below.

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