Guide Note

Yelp is a social network website that accepts user reviews about local merchants (e.g. restaurants, nightclubs, bars, retail stores), professional services, and cultural venues in their community. As of June 2007, the website was receiving over 4.5 million unique visitors per month. ¹

Fast Facts

1. Users of Yelp are also known as Yelpers
2. Launch Date: October 13, 2004
3. Founders: Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons
4. COO: Geoff Donaker
5. Location: San Francisco, CA
6. Employees: Approximately 70
7. Founders were early PayPal employees

Yelp was founded in 2004 by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons. Both were early employees of the online transaction service PayPal. Yelp received $6 million initially, and $10 million more during their second round of funding. In 2008, they received another $15 million in funding which was used to open an office in Manhattan.