Joshua Baer

Joshua Baer helps people quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs. He founded and sold four companies by the age of 36, including his first company, SKYLIST, which he founded while a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon in 1996. His most recent startup, OtherInbox, was acquired at the end of 2011 by Return Path, where he serves as Chief Innovation Officer. In addition to technology companies, Josh founded Capital Factory, a tech startup incubator and co-working space in Austin, Texas for others’ startups and teaches a class at the University of Texas for student entrepreneurs. A few years ago, Josh, his wife, and a few friends launched Ignite Austin to promote an inspiring and ongoing exchange of ideas from business, art, technology, government and academia. In 2011, Josh launched Austin Start-up Week to highlight Austin’s emerging tech businesses. He has invested as an angel in more than 50 private companies and is one of the top rated investors on AngelList. In 1998 he co-authored RFC 2369, a technical standard for unsubscribe that has been adopted by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. Josh is on the Board of Directors for WP Engine, Inc. and Greenling Organic Delivery, Inc. A third-generation descendent of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, he is an active supporter of the Jewish Federation. Josh is also a supporter of Austin's live music scene, and in an effort to give back to his alma mater, he recently joined the Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Advisory Board. Josh was recognized as the 2013 Austin Community Leader of the Year and 2011 Austin Under 40 Technology & Science. He holds Computer Science and Information Decision Systems degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. Josh is a member of the 2013 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.