Shawn Fanning: Entrepreneur

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Shawn Fanning Entrepreneur

• By Ramit Prasad

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Biographical Information

• Born in 1980
• Family lived in poverty
• Raised in Brockton
• Oldest of 4 children

3
Uncle John

• He was one of the most influential people in
  Shawn Fannings life.
• He rewarded Fannings for good grades and working
  hard.
• He continuously encouraged Fanning to work hard.
• He was a role model who Fanning tried to imitate.
• Gave Shawn Fanning a computer while younger and a
  laptop when he went to college.

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The High School Years

• Uncle John paid him 100 for an A
• Fanning was an excellent student and made lots of
  money
• Uncle John introduced him to computers with an
  internet ready Apple512
• Fanning spent a lot of time on the internet as a
  teenager.

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The College Years

• Wanted to go to Carnegie Mellon but was rejected.
• Attended college at Northeastern majoring in
  Computer Science.
• Because of his previous knowledge, Fanning was
  often bored and uninterested in his college work

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End of College

• Fanning began to become extremely interested in
  MP3s from his college roommate.
• Started working on Napster to help people find
  music.
• Dropped out of school in order to pursue the
  development of Napster

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What is Napster?

• First peer-2-peer connection
• Search people across the internet for music
• Download music directly from another person

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Reasons Behind Napster

• Wanted to give people an easier way to search for
  and download mp3s.
• For anyone and everyone who wanted music.
• Was a personal project for him to learn to code
  in a windows based environment.

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A few people who helped with Napster
Jordan and Ali

• John Fanning provided moral support and guidance
  for Shawn Fanning.
• Ali Ayadar, Jordan Mendelson, Jordan Ritter and
  many others helped with the actual programming
  and upkeep of Napster

Jordan Holly
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Napster Lawsuit

• The Recording Industry Association of America is
  suing Napster.
• The RIAA claims that Napster is stealing
  intellectual property
• Napster claims it is legal under the Audio and
  Home recording act of 1992
• This states that it is legal to record and load
  media as long as there is not intent to
  merchandise the materials

Protest against the RIAA
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Current Information

• Napster was sold to Bertelsmann for 5.3 million
  dollars in November of 2002.
• They are currently redesigning and working on the
  software interface in order to comply with the
  regulations imposed on it.
• Shawn moved to Boston and currently is taking a
  break from work. He is focusing on his
  relationship with his friends and family.

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A Few Sources of Information

• http//www.idg.net/idgns/2000/12/12/2000ITPersonal
  ityOfThe.shtml
• http//www.businessweek.com/ebiz/0004/em0412.htm
• http//www.darkridge.com/jpr5/napster.shtml
• http//www.starstruck-mag.com/articles_behindnapst
  er.asp
• http//www.nunews.neu.edu/nu-news/Issues/101800/n4
  .html
• http//www.cnn.com