Yelp
Founded in 2004 by former PayPal engineer Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp quickly became the go-to platform for anyone with an opinion and a Wi-Fi connection. The site’s user-generated reviews turned it into a force that could make or break a business with a few keystrokes, all while Yelp quietly collected data and dollars. By 2012, the company went public with an IPO that valued it at $898 million, a figure as impressive as it was scrutinized. Controversies, including allegations of extortion-like practices and manipulated reviews, have clung to Yelp like a stubborn shadow, yet the platform’s influence remains unshaken. Under Stoppelman’s leadership, Yelp expanded into reservations, delivery, and beyond, maintaining its status as a digital kingmaker in the cutthroat world of local business. The legacy? Yelp transformed word-of-mouth into a billion-dollar business, proving that in the age of the internet, everyone’s a critic, and that criticism is very, very profitable.