Whurley

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Whurley
Born
William Hurley

(1971-03-30) March 30, 1971 (age 52)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Founder, Chaotic Moon Studios
Founder, Honest Dollar
Founder, Equals
Founder, Strangeworks
Founder, Ecliptic Capital
Years active1994-current
Websitewhurley.com

William Hurley (born March 30, 1971), commonly known as whurley, is an American tech entrepreneur and investor who founded

open source advocate[2] and systems theorist,[3] and is regularly interviewed by the press on technology and related topics.[4]

Early life

Hurley was born in

Temple Junior College, which would be the extent of his college education.[5]

An abbreviation of Hurley's full name, “whurley” was originally Hurley's

open source community.[2][6] He began going by “whurley” professionally in 2002.[5]

Career

Large corporations and start-ups (1994-09)

Whurley moved to

Las Vegas casino's offices in order to perform security audits. This was covered as part of Kevin Mitnick's 2005 nonfiction collection The Art of Intrusion.[11] In 2007, Whurley was hired as chief architect of open source at BMC Software, where he remained until 2009.[9]

Chaotic Moon Studios (2010-14)

In 2010, along with Ben Lamm and Mike Erwin, Whurley founded

News Corp to develop the first iPad-only digital newspaper The Daily, as well as building applications for Microsoft, CBS Sports, Sanrio, Pizza Hut and others.[12] In 2012, Chaotic Moon purchased whurley's old company Symbiot.[12]

In 2011, Whurley and Phil Wheat formed a division to focus on developing new technologies, Chaotic Moon Labs.

Microsoft Kinect-controlled skateboard (which the company named the “Board of Awesomeness”);[13] a skateboard controlled by the user's mind through a Samsung tablet running Windows 8 (the “Board of Imagination”);[13] a shopping cart that follows a shopper around the store (“The Smarter Cart");[14] and a bicycle helmet fitted with seven cameras that begin recording on impact, functioning like an airplane's black box in case of a hit-and-run (the “Helmet of Justice”).[15]

In July 2015, Chaotic Moon was acquired by Accenture, a consulting and technology services company.[16]

Honest Dollar (2014-17)

In 2014, Whurley left Chaotic Moon to co-found Honest Dollar with Henry Yoshida.[17] The Austin-based financial technology company helps set up and maintain employee retirement accounts for small businesses.[18][19] In March 2016, Goldman Sachs announced a deal to acquire Honest Dollar.[20][21] Honest Dollar is now Marcus Invest, part of the suite of products from Marcus by Goldman Sachs.[22]

Equals (2016-present)

In September 2016,

Geneva, Switzerland. Whurley put together a team in Austin to help launch the organization.[23][24][25]

Strangeworks (2018-present)

In March 2018 at SXSW, whurley launched Strangeworks, a startup focused on quantum computing software; whurley is the author of Quantum Computing for Babies. Prior to the launch of Strangeworks, they raised $4 million in a seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company designs and sells software developer tools and a systems management platform for clients in the aerospace, energy, finance and pharmaceutical industries.[26][27]

Ecliptic Capital (2019-present)

In March 2019, whurley and Mike Erwin formed the venture capital firm Ecliptic Capital, a $125 million fund to invest in the Austin tech scene.[28]

Politics

On March 11, 2016, whurley and rapper/producer

South By Southwest in Austin, featuring President Barack Obama and musical guest J. Cole.[29][30]

Publications and patents

Whurley has co-written two books, both published in 1996: FreeHand: Graphics Studio Skills (a tutorial on Adobe FreeHand) and 60 Minute Guide to Shockwave (a tutorial on creating movies for the Internet).

Between 2000 and 2004, whurley was issued 11 patents, mostly related to systems management and security.[31]

In 2009, Whurley regularly wrote a blog on cloud computing for InfoWorld[32] and contributed technology articles to Bloomberg Businessweek.[33]

Community involvement

Whurley co-founded

South By Southwest;[34][35] and iPhoneDevCamp (or “developers camp”), which debuted in 2007 as an assembly of 200-300 developers and enthusiasts who were interested in finding new ways to use and hack Apple's iPhone.[36] It has since expanded to include iOSDevCamp and iPadDevCamp.[37] In the summer of 2013, whurley will be leading the inaugural GlassDevCamp, which will take place in San Francisco and will encourage the development of apps for the Google Glass platform.[38]

In June 2013,

STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The passengers later presented their ideas as part of an innovation conference held during the 39th G8 summit, as well as to the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union.[39][40]

In 2019, Whurley was named the first official ambassador for the CERN & Society Foundation.[41][42] He was named Innovator in Residence at the Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the 2020–21 academic year.[43]

Film

In 2012, Whurley began working in film. He served as an associate producer on Pit Stop, directed by Yen Tan. The feature was an official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.[44][45] That same year, he was executive producer on the short film Sahasi Chori (Brave Girl) (2013), directed by Erin Galey.[46] The film, which explores the sex trafficking industry through the story of a 13-year-old girl from a small village in Nepal who is taken by a con artist to Mumbai’s red light district,[47] was selected for the 2013 South By Southwest ShortCase program[48] and the 2013 Sarasota Film Festival,[49] among others.

Honors and awards

  • Apple Design Award (April 2004)[8]
  • IEEE USA Entrepreneur Achievement Award for Leadership in Entrepreneurial Spirit (2016)[50]

Bibliography

Books

Articles

References

  1. ^ “Whurley’s New Venture, Honest Dollar, Unveiled,” Silicon Hills News, March 13, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Anna Gonzalez, “Who’s Next: William ‘whurley’ Hurley,” CNN, March 23, 2011.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    . Accessed April 13, 2013.
  4. Christian Science Monitor, December 2, 2009; and "Online Applications and the 2010 Elections," C-SPAN
    , April 19, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Russ Capper, “WebXTRA: William 'Whurley' Hurley, Chaotic Moon Studios,” The Business Makers Radio Show, Episode 249, March 13, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Molly Wood, “Buzz Out Loud 1583: Let Whurley, the evil genius, blow your mind (Podcast),” CNET, March 1, 2012.
  7. ^ Brian Gaar, “Austin technologist in Amsterdam to talk innovation,” Austin Statesman, December 7, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Executive Profile - William Hurley, Bloomberg Businessweek. Accessed October 24, 2013.
  9. ^
    CIO
    , November 27, 2007.
  10. ^ Shmulik Shelah, “Systems management start-up Qlusters closes down,” Globes, June 30, 2008.
  11. Wiley Publishing, Inc.
    , 2005, chapter 10, pp. 222-32.
  12. ^ a b c d Jason Ankeny, “Big Claims Aim to Boost Business at Mobile App Startup,” Entrepreneur, August 28, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Bonnie Cha, “Brainwave-controlled skateboard is totally mental,” CNET, February 23, 2012.
  14. ^ Robert McMillan, “Microsoft Kinect Games Grocery Shopping at Texas Whole Foods,” Wired, February 27, 2012.
  15. ^ Adi Robertson, “’Helmet of Justice’ uses seven cameras to make a black box for bicyclists,” The Verge, February 25, 2013.
  16. ^ Sarah Buhr, "Chaotic Moon Sells To Accenture," TechCrunch, July 22, 2015.
  17. ^ Christopher Cainan, "Austin entrepreneurs Hurley and Yoshida combine to form Honest Dollar," Austin Business Journal, November 20, 2014.
  18. Wall Street Journal
    , March 5, 2015.
  19. ^ Ryan Lawler, "With $3M In Funding, Honest Dollar Hopes To Make Retirement Plans Affordable For SMBs," TechCrunch, March 15, 2015.
  20. New York Times
    , March 14, 2016.
  21. ^ Billy Utt, "Whurley Wins SXSW with Acquisition by Goldman Sachs," Austin Inno, March 14, 2016.
  22. ^ "Goldman Has an Investing Robot". Bloomberg.com. 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  23. TheStreet.com
    , September 20, 2016.
  24. ^ Christopher Calnan, "Austin tech CEO partners with UN on global stage for gender equality," Austin Business Journal, September 21, 2016.
  25. Huffington Post
    , September 21, 2016.
  26. PC Magazine
    , March 13, 2018.
  27. ^ "11 Questions for Serial Entrepreneur Whurley who is Launching Strangeworks at SXSW," Silicon Hills News, March 11, 2018.
  28. ^ Cheredar, Tom. "Whurley, Physics, and the Strange Work of Quantum Computing in Austin". austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  29. ^ Adelle Platon, "J. Cole to Perform at President Obama DNC Fundraiser," Billboard, February 25, 2016.
  30. Complex
    , February 24, 2016.
  31. ^ “Open Source Luminary whurley (William Hurley) Joins BMC Software as Architect and Strategist,” bmc.com, March 9, 2007.
  32. ^ For example, whurley (William Hurley), “Does the cloud really need a manifesto?” InfoWorld, April 6, 2009.
  33. ^ For example, William Hurley, “Augmented Reality: Getting Beyond the Hype,” Bloomberg Businessweek, November 3, 2009.
  34. ^ Alolita Sharma, “User-driven Innovation: That’s What It Is All About,” Technetra, July 19, 2007.
  35. GigaOm
    , March 19, 2006.
  36. ^ Ellen Lee, “IPhone fanciers going to camp / Apple’s new gadget is front and center at weekend scrum,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 5, 2007.
  37. ^ “About,” iOSDevCamp. Accessed April 16, 2013.
  38. ^ Todd R. Weiss, "Google Glass DevCamp Event Being Organized to Create More Apps," eWeek, May 9, 2013.
  39. ^ Omar L. Gallaga, "Austin entrepreneur to get 'UnGrounded' on innovation flight," Austin Statesman, June 9, 2013.
  40. Austin Business Journal
    , June 10, 2013.
  41. ^ "CERN & Society Foundation announces its first Ambassador". cern.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  42. ^ Cronin, Mike. "Austin entrepreneur Whurley gains 'ambassador' title". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  43. ^ "A WHURLEY WELCOME FOR THE 2020-21 ACADEMIC YEAR". legatum.mit.edu. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  44. ^ Pit Stop, sundance.org. Accessed April 13, 2013.
  45. New York Times
    , January 19, 2013.
  46. ^ Crew – Brave Girl, bravegirlmovie.com. Accessed April 13, 2013.
  47. ^ Mark Bell, “Sahasi Chori (Brave Girl),” Film Threat, March 14, 2013.
  48. ^ Richard Whittaker, “Austin Film Society Announces SXSW Shortcase,” Austin Chronicle, March 4, 2013.
  49. Bradenton Herald
    , March 31, 2013.
  50. ^ "Entrepreneur Achievement Award". ieeeusa.org. Retrieved 8 May 2020.

External links