The 2010 Sal Buccieri Venture Memorial Impact Award
The Sal Buccieri Memorial Venture Impact Award is presented each year to an
individual in the venture capital and entrepreneurial community who
exemplifies the passion towards seeing early stage entrepreneurial
opportunities succeed and flourish. This individual has clearly impacted
early stage and fast growth venture opportunities by providing the essential
capital, extensive counseling, and necessary vision to allow such companies
to win in today's competitive environment. The recipient of this Award
strives to create a better environment for all so that entrepreneurs achieve
their dreams and attain success.
Josh Kopelman
Managing Partner
First Round Capital
Josh has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the Internet industry since its commercialization. In 1992, while he was a student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Josh co-founded Infonautics Corporation - an Internet information company. In 1996, Infonautics went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Josh founded Half.com in July of 1999, and led it to become one of the largest sellers of used books, movies and music in the world. Half.com was acquired by eBay in July 2000 -- and Josh remained with eBay for three years, running the Half.com business unit and growing eBay's Media marketplace to almost half a billion dollars in annual gross merchandise sales.
In late 2003 Josh helped to found TurnTide, an anti-spam company that created the world's first anti-spam router. TurnTide was acquired by Symantec just six months later.
In addition to being an active angel investor, Josh has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Comcast Interactive Capital - a $350 million venture capital fund affiliated with Comcast Corporation.
Josh is an inventor on eight U.S. Patents for his work in Internet technology. In June 2000, he was awarded Ernst and Young's prestigious "Entrepreneur of the Year" award for the Greater Philadelphia region. Josh has also been recognized as one of the "10 Most Influential People in Philadelphia Technology" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the "76 Smartest Philadelphians" by Philadelphia Magazine and as one of forty individuals under the age of forty who have made the biggest impact on the Philadelphia region by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Josh is often quoted in industry trade journals and national newspapers, has appeared on numerous national television shows, and is a frequent speaker at industry-wide conferences on entrepreneurship, Internet marketing and the future of Internet services.
In 2001 Josh and his wife created the Kopelman Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on angel philanthropy to provide "start-up" grants to social entrepreneurs. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Main Line Health, suburban Philadelphia's most comprehensive healthcare resource, operating four of the region's most-respected hospitals. He also serves on as a member of the advisory boards for Wharton Entrepreneurial Center and the Weiss Tech House at the University of Pennsylvania.
Josh earned a Bachelor of Science degree cum laude in Entrepreneurial Management and Marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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