Auren Hoffman is a software engineer who claims to have started and sold three companies: BridgePath Inc. (sold to Bullhorn Inc in 2002), GetRelevant (sold to Lycos in 2002), and Kyber Systems (sold to Human Ingenuity in 1997).

(According to its Wikipedia entry, GetRelevant was actually founded by Mitchel Harad and Rich Roberts.)

Hoffman served as CEO of BridgePath, co-CEO of Kyber Systems with Scott Bonds, and non-employee co-founder of GetRelevant.

Auren Hoffman the founder behind Rapleaf -- a portable reputation system.

Hoffman has been quoted by various news sources:

San Francisco Chronicle, 1/23/05: "The city of San Francisco does very little to help street people get on their feet. The city will spend millions of dollars doing job
training to get somebody an entry-level job at PG&E, which is the closest thing to jail you can find in the job market. Why not issue get-out-of- regulation-free cards to encourage people to start their own businesses, even if it's something as simple as selling their artwork on the sidewalk or selling sodas in the financial district?"

New York Times, 12/4/05: "It's hard to go on a date in San Francisco and not go on a date with a girl who has not been in five triathlons, said Auren Hoffman, 31, the chairman of Stonebrick, a high-tech consulting company. That means that people go to bed early because they wake up at 7 a.m. to go on their run or their ride. The whole social scene changes because of sports."

Hoffman also refers to himself as "MLK Hamilton."

Hoffman is well known as an uber-connector. His consulting work under the "Stonebrick Group" banner was described in a Fortune Small Business Magazine article in April 2005, beginning with the apt question "You mean you don't know Auren Hoffman?" Hoffman is also known for his Silicon Forum business networking events, his "Summation" blog, and for creating the "Silicon Valley 100" group of influencers who receive products to test.

Hoffman San Francisco loft is decorated with pictures of prominent Rebublican politicians, but he makes up for his conservative leanings by being an excellent dancer.

Hoffman graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1996.

Hoffman is an investor in startups such as Meebo, POSTroller, and Socializr, and an advisor to Blip.TV and Merchant Circle.

Fortune Small Business Article