Today's Entrepreneur: Alex Reinlieb

Kristin Karaoglu · September 12, 2014 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/391e

No. 1 mistake: Unwillingness to pivot

Today's Entrepreneur is Alex Reinlieb, Founder and CEO of Plug.dj, an international community where people can enjoy music/videos together in a sociall interacity environment. Reinlieb went to NYU's Stern School of Business for his MBA in Business, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

He also went to University of Michigan and received a BS in Computer Science.

Plug.dj (currently in the top 15 semi-finalist) is competing in the Vator Splash LA startup competition. The top 10 finalists will compete and present live on stage in front of several hundred tech influencers (CEOs, media and investors).

Here's a little about Alex:

I am a(n): Entrepreneur

If you are an entrepreneur, why?  I want to change the world.

My favorite startups: Plug.dj, Foursquare, Airbnb, Twist

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation? The responsibility and feeling of accomplishing goals is the most rewarding aspect. The most frustrating aspect is that it's a roller coaster ride. Although, that can be exciting as well.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make? Unwillingness to pivot

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?
-Act quickly and decisively 
-Be open to change 
-Listen to others but stick with your beliefs

Full bio

After graduating with a Computer Science degree from the University of Michigan, I began my career in NYC as a sales/trader in Equity Derivatives at Lehman Brothers. After two years, with a desire to combine my interests in technology and business, I created a product manager role within Equities, and spent several years managing the development of a variety of financial products. After the collapse of Lehman Brothers, my group was acquired by Barclays Capital and I started business school at NYU Stern with the intention of pivoting my career towards a more entrepreneurial endeavor.

After business school, I was hired as head of business development at Worklight, an enterprise focused mobile app startup, which was purchased by IBM a year later. Shortly after the acquisition, I was recruited to be head of product at Lifebooker, a leading marketplace for the discovery and booking of beauty and health services. 

In 2012, I relocated to LA and joined Steven and Jason in founding Plug.dj, which is dedicated to building positive international communities for sharing and discovering music. Plug.dj is incredibly important to me given my intense passion for music/tech and my life long development as an amateur musician.     

 

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Kristin Karaoglu

Woman of many skills: Database System Engineer; SplashX event producer; Author of Startup Teams

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Plug.dj

Startup/Business

Joined Vator on

Plug.dj's mission is dedicated to growing positive international communities for sharing and discovering music.

We enable people from all around the world to connect via shared interests and socially consume music/videos in realtime.  Our users choose from a wide array of expressive characters, join any number of virtual rooms where they can discover and share music and videos, and communicate with international cohorts.

Our average user spends 2 hrs 30 min on the site per visit while actively engaging in the social consumption of videos and music, gaming mechanics, international chat and social media integration that leaves the user with a positive experience.

In December 2013, we raised $1.25m from Javelin Venture Partners

Here's a few quick highlights of our progress over the past 6 months:

  • Organically grown our community to +3.8m registered users in +190 countries (940k MAU up 54% last 6 months)
  • Average active user engagement +2 hrs 30 min (up from 48 min last 6 months)
  • Retention: 7D: 48%, 30d: 35%
  • Plug.dj is already localized into +20 languages
  • Solid, well-rounded team of 4 engineers, 2 designers/artists, 2 marketing/community, 1 BD/sales (from founding team last 6 months)
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Alex Reinlieb

Joined Vator on

I graduated from the Univ. of Michigan with a B.S. in Computer Science and an MBA from NYU Stern. I'm CEO and Founder at plug.dj, an international community where people can enjoy music and videos together in a socially interactive environment.