James Hong (entrepreneur)
James Hong | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1973 (age 52–53) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, angel investor |
| Known for | Co-founding the website Hot or Not |
James Hong is an American entrepreneur and angel investor, best known as the co-founder of Hot or Not, a photo-rating and dating website that launched in October 2000.[1][2] The site allowed users to upload photographs to be rated on a scale of 1 to 10 and became one of the most visited websites of the early 2000s.[1] YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim has cited Hot or Not as a key inspiration for YouTube's early development.[3]
Early life and education
Hong grew up in Danville, California; his parents emigrated from Taiwan.[4] He studied electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met future co-founder Jim Young.[2][5] After graduating, he worked at Hewlett-Packard in sales engineering and product marketing before leaving in 1997 to pursue an MBA at Berkeley.[5][4]
Career
Hot or Not
Hong co-founded Hot or Not with Jim Young, his former Berkeley roommate, in October 2000.[1][2][6] The concept originated from a disagreement about whether a woman Young had seen at a party was a "perfect ten."[5][7] The site achieved rapid viral growth, reaching nearly two million page views per day within its first week.[1] It also entered NetNielsen's top 25 advertising domains within two months.[1] By mid-2002, more than three million photos had been posted and over two billion votes tabulated.[2] By July 2004, there were 12.3 million photos.[8] By July 2006, Hot or Not had tabulated approximately 13 billion votes.[9]
The site generated revenue through advertising and a subscription-based matchmaking feature called "Meet Me," which charged users $6 per month.[1][4][7] By early 2006, Hot or Not had nearly seven million registered users.[4] The company was bootstrapped without outside investment; Hong still had $50,000 in business school debt when the site launched.[4]
In February 2008, Hong and Young sold Hot or Not to Avid Life Media for a reported $20 million.[1][7][10]
Influence
Hot or Not is recognized as an influential precursor to later social media platforms.[11] Time reported that YouTube's founders initially conceived their site as "a video version of HOTorNOT.com."[3] Co-founder Jawed Karim described Hot or Not as pioneering the concept of user-uploaded content viewable by anyone.[3]
Investments
After the sale, Hong became an angel investor.[1][12]
Other startups
In 2014, he launched Cakey, a child-safe YouTube viewing application he built for his own children after teaching himself iPhone development.[13][14]
Publications
Co-author:
- Lee, Leonard; Loewenstein, George; Ariely, Dan; Hong, James; Young, Jim (2008). "If I'm Not Hot, Are You Hot or Not?: Physical-Attractiveness Evaluations and Dating Preferences as a Function of One's Own Attractiveness". Psychological Science. 19 (7): 669–677. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02141.x. ISSN 0956-7976. OCLC 1375119767. PMID 18727782.
Philanthropy
In October 2005, Hong created 10 Over 100, a website encouraging people to pledge 10 percent of their income above $100,000 to charity.[4][6] He developed the project with Josh Blumenstock, a web engineer at Hot or Not, citing a lack of clear norms for charitable giving among newly wealthy technology workers.[4] By January 2006, more than 648 people from 36 countries had signed up.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Hot or Not's Co-Founders: Where Are They Now?". ABC News. June 2, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Green, Adam (July 1, 2002). "The Hot or Not Guys". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c Cloud, John (December 25, 2006). "The YouTube Gurus". Time. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sarkar, Pia (January 8, 2006). "Modern Tithing / Ten Over 100 provides a handy guideline for charitable giving". SFGate. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c Penenberg, Adam L. (November 11, 2009). "James Hong: 'Whether it was viral or word of mouth, it was always based on the content'". The Independent. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ a b Lee, Jennifer (November 14, 2005). "He Made His Money on a Whim, but Now He's Got a Serious Idea (Published 2005)". Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c Penenberg, Adam L. (August 10, 2012). "James Hong's Pivot From Rating To Dating: The HotOrNot Story". Fast Company. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
- ^ Momphard, David (July 3, 2004). "Hot or Not?". Taipei Times. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
- ^ Livingston, Jessica (2008). "James Hong: Cofounder, HOT or NOT". Founders at Work. Berkeley, CA: Apress. p. 377–385. doi:10.1007/978-1-4302-1077-1_27. ISBN 978-1-4302-1078-8. OCLC 228364453.
- ^ Eldon, Eric (February 12, 2008). "James Hong, on selling HotOrNot". VentureBeat. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ Joho, Jess (September 27, 2020). "HOTorNOT: The forgotten website that shaped the internet". Mashable. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
- ^ Shontell, Alyson; Huspeni, Andrea. "The 50 Early Stage Investors In Silicon Valley You Need To Know". Business Insider. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ Perez, Sarah (November 21, 2014). "Now A Father, Hot Or Not Founder Returns With Cakey, A YouTube App For Kids". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ Gannes, Liz (November 21, 2014). "Hot or Not Creator James Hong Doesn't Care if He Strikes It Rich or Not With New App". Vox. Retrieved December 28, 2025.