Inman

Are you LinkedIn to Reid Hoffman?

Reid Hoffman will speak at Real Estate Connect July 28-30 in San Francisco.

Reid Hoffman is really LinkedIn.

The CEO and co-founder of one of the largest Web-based social and professional networks has 532 connections and 32 personal endorsements on the LinkedIn service, which helps professionals find and contact one another through online referrals that connect LinkedIn users to each other.

The service has attracted more than 150,000 users from more than 90 countries and 120 industries since May 2003 and has facilitated some 10,000 referrals to help professionals find jobs, clients and business partners.

LinkedIn is based in Mountain View, Calif., and funded by Sequoia Capital, the venture partners behind such well-known Internet brands as Yahoo!, Google and PayPal.

Hoffman is a veteran entrepreneur with proven experience building and growing profitable Internet businesses. He was a founding board member and EVP of PayPal, an e-commerce service that facilitates secure, private online payments between individuals. PayPal went public in 2002 and was acquired later that year by eBay for $1.5 billion. Before that, he was a co-founder and VP of products of SocialNet, one of the first online social networking ventures. He is also a director of Jumpstart Technologies, Six Apart, Vendio and Grassroots Enterprise.

Here is an Inman News-style look at the man himself:

IN: What are your current or childhood nicknames?

RH: None

IN: Which daily newspaper do you read and which section of the newspaper do you read first?

RH: The front page of The Wall Street Journal.

IN: What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever packed in a suitcase?

RH: Rubber Duck

IN: What kind of music do you listen to?

RH: Techno

IN: What style of home do you live in and when did you buy it?

RH: Three-bedroom classic small family home; post PayPal IPO

IN: Where did you spend your last vacation?

RH: New York, Broadway shows

IN: What professional accomplishment in your life are you most proud of?

RH: Founding LinkedIn

IN: What personal accomplishment in your life are you most proud of?

RH: Helping a friend save his house

IN: How many e-mail addresses do you have?

RH: Eight

IN: What worries keep you awake at night?

RH: Financial management of the markets

IN: What lesson did you learn in the last year?

RH: Be very cautious taking new commitments

IN: What is your favorite technology device or software application?

RH: GPS Navigation Systems

IN: What is your opinion of Inman News?

RH: Good, interesting

IN: What was the best gift you ever received from or gave to someone else?

RH: My first computer

IN: What was your top New Year’s resolution and have you kept it so far?

RH: Exercising, no

IN: Are you a morning person or a night owl?

RH: Night owl

IN: What is your worst vice or bad habit?

RH: Finishing assignments at the last minute

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