Alyson Shontell | Business Insider
In 2005, Catherine Cook and her brother David had an idea for a startup. The high schoolers flipped through a yearbook and wanted to make a digital version.
The 15-and-16-year-olds got to work and created MyYearbook. In the 6-year span, the duo raised $17 million in financing, grew the site to 70 million users, and generated 1.2 billion monthly pageviews.
Today, a publicly-traded Latino social network, Quepasa, announced its $100 million acquisition of MyYearbook. The majority of the deal, $82 million, is Quepasa common stock. The other $18 million is cash.
Geoff Cook, MyYearbook’s CEO and sibling of Catherine and David, wrote a letter to his 100+ employees:
“I don’t consider this an exit or the end. I consider it the end of the beginning, and I believe we have a lot more innovative products to create,” he says.
Welcome to retirement Catherine, Geoff and David! Although we’re sure this won’t be the last company they create.
The Cooks aren’t the only entrepreneurial kids who have made tons of money. This guy made $2.5 million by age 21 then blew it all on girls and gambling.
Here Are 10 pre-teens who make millions more than their parents»
Here’s an infographic MyYearbook and Quepasa put together about their acquisition. More than its audience, Quepasa seems to be enthralled with the $33.6 million business MyYearbook has created and its profitability.
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The original version of the story appears here: http://www.businessinsider.com/myyearbook-acquired-by-quepasa-for-100-million-2011-7
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