Zynga Poker Programming Language
Waldron speaking in Helsinki, Finland | |
| Born | June 18, 1988 (age 32) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | University of Connecticut |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, Investor |
| Known for | Co-Founder, Zynga Angel Investor |
Justin Waldron (June 18, 1988)[1] is an American internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Zynga, a mobile social gaming company, and Zynga.org, a non-profit organization to promote and facilitate the use of social games for philanthropic initiatives. Waldron served as the SVP of Product at Zynga until 2013.[2] Zynga is considered to be the pioneer of the social gaming industry.[3] In 2011, Zynga held a $1 billion IPO.[4] Waldron is an angel investor in over 50 companies and the founder of a yet to be announced (August 2020) company.[5]
Zynga's most popular games include: FarmVille, CityVille, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, Words with Friends, and CSR Racing 2.[6]
Early life and background[edit]
Waldron was born and raised in Watertown, Connecticut. He began programming his first video games and websites at 11 years old, shortly after receiving his first computer.[7] His early software projects included hacking AOL,[7] a favorite childhood pastime shared by other notable technology company founders such as Mark Zuckerberg.[8] Waldron also reverse engineered the disassembled MIPSmachine code of PlayStation 2 games in his spare time to add his own features.[7]
In high school, Waldron cracked Burger King's coupon code algorithm and launched a website to programmatically create unlimited free sandwich coupon codes for visitors. The website grew quickly in popularity resulting in a cease and desist notice from Burger King.[9]
Poker is a social game at its core. Zynga Poker player has always been a social game. There was a company wide initiative to “embed” social features into in every game portfolio. Our squad was assigned to this initiative to expand on Poker’s current social aspect. Download PokerTH for free. PokerTH is a poker game written in C/Qt. You can play the popular Texas Hold'em poker variant against up to nine computer-opponents or play internet games with people all over the world. Zynga Poker is a free, online Texas Hold ‘Em Poker game. Play for fun with your friends or compete against millions of users every day. With the most variety of tables, Zynga Poker is the best place to practice poker online, whether beginner or expert.
Career[edit]
Zynga[edit]
Zynga Poker Programming Language Tutorial
In 2007, Justin dropped out of The University of Connecticut and co-founded Zynga at 19 years old.[10] He created Zynga's first title, Zynga Poker in 2007. In 2008, Waldron lead the game studio behind YoVille and later lead product strategy across Zynga's studios. Waldron also worked on special projects with Zynga's other founders.[11] He lived in Tokyo during Zynga's expansion to Japan.[12]
Investing[edit]
Waldron has made early-stage investments, advised, or served on the board of directors for companies such as Substack,[13]YourMechanic, Gigster, Kik Messenger, Fat Lama,[14]Decentraland,[15]Asia Innovations Group,[16]Snappr,[17] and over 50 others.[18]
Philanthropy and community service[edit]
Zynga.org[edit]
In October 2009, Waldron and his co-founders started Zynga.org, which is 'committed to transforming the world through virtual social goods.'[19] Zynga.org has since raised more than $20 million[20] for more than 50 international nonprofits[21][22] by occasionally selling virtual goods for charitable causes.[23]
On March 11, 2011, Zynga announced that 100 percent of the proceeds from the purchase of virtual goods from more than seven of its games would go toward Japan's Save the Children Earthquake Emergency Fund.[24][25] During the 2012 holiday season, Zynga.org partnered with Toys for Tots in its largest charitable campaign not related to disaster relief. The campaign raised $745,000, with 100 percent of the purchase price of certain virtual goods going to Toys for Tots.[20]
Thiel Foundation[edit]
Waldron is a mentor at Peter Thiel's Thiel Foundation, using his experience as a college dropout to help young entrepreneurs in the Thiel Fellowship's 20 under 20 program.[26]
Zynga Poker Programming Language Software
References[edit]
- ^'CrunchBase: Justin Waldron'.
- ^'Zynga Co-Founder Justin Waldron Leaves the Company'.
- ^Kesarios, George. 'Can Zynga Execute In The Online Gambling Space?'. Blog Post. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^Pepitone, Julianne (1 July 2011). 'Zynga files for $1 billion IPO'. CNNMoney. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^Fujino, Lisa. 'Across the Gap: Justin Waldron'. Interview. Initial. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^'FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT'. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Website. July 1, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
- ^ abc'EcoMUKTI - Justin Waldron'. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
- ^'Steve Case Confirms Zuckerberg As Former AOL Hacker'.
- ^Stephens, Dale (2013). Hacking Your Education. The Penguin Group. ISBN978-1101619681.
- ^'Zynga's IPO: made possible by the Zynga Dream Team'.
- ^'The Cofounders of Zynga Are Working On a Huge Project'.
- ^'What Happened To The Founding Team Behind The Largest IPO Since Google'.
- ^'Substack raises $2 million to prove newsletters can help media'.
- ^'Fat Lama raises $10m to change the future of ownership'.
- ^'Zynga co-founder Justin Waldron joins the Decentraland Advisory Board!'.
- ^'China streaming app plots bumper IPO'.
- ^'Photography startup Snappr raises $2.5 million from prominent investors as it takes on the $10 billion US market'.
- ^'AngelList: Justin Waldron'.
- ^Web 2 SummitArchived 2010-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Web 2 Summit. Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
- ^ ab'Zynga.org – A Digital Giving Year in Review'. Blog. Zynga. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^Investopedia (2015-06-09). 'Will Zynga's New Strategy Win Back Mobile Gamers?'. Investopedia. Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
- ^'Zynga CEO Don Mattrick to Depart; Founder and Chairman Mark Pincus to Return to Chief Executive Officer Role to Lead Zynga Into Next Chapter Zynga Inc'. Zynga Inc. Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
- ^Zynga Will No Longer Take A Cut Of Charitable DonationsArchived 2018-02-11 at the Wayback Machine. Techcrunch.com (2010-11-16). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
- ^Zynga Enables Donations To Tsunami Relief Through In-Game PurchasesArchived 2017-07-07 at the Wayback Machine. TechCrunch (2011-03-11). Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
- ^Save the Children and Zynga Team Up to Help Japan Disaster Relief EffortsArchived 2011-11-03 at the Wayback Machine. Save The Children (2011-03-12). Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
- ^'Zynga Co-Founder Departs For Greener Pastures'.
External links[edit]
- Justin Waldron Opentalk with Sumit Jain