Russel Simmons

Russel Simmons

Co-founder and Former CTO of Yelp

🌍 American

1 Connections
1 Organizations
2 Sources
Person
Business
Tech
Political
Family

About

Russel Simmons is an American software engineer and technology entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Yelp. Simmons attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy before studying computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he befriended fellow technology entrepreneur Jeremy Stoppelman. In late 1998, he left graduate studies to join PayPal as an early engineer and lead software architect, contributing to the foundational design of its online payment infrastructure and earning recognition as a member of the PayPal Mafia. Following PayPal's acquisition by eBay in 2002, Simmons joined MRL Ventures, an incubator created by former PayPal CTO Max Levchin. In 2004, Simmons and Stoppelman co-founded Yelp, where Simmons served as Chief Technology Officer and oversaw the development of the platform's social networking and local review engine until 2010. After leaving Yelp, Simmons turned his focus toward educational technology, founding Learnirvana and developing digital learning platforms including Delvin Language.

Intelligence Summary

Category Technology
Type Person
Nationality American
Born November 30, -0001
Total Connections 1
Verified ✓ Yes

Top Connections

Jeremy Stoppelman
1998

Joined PayPal

Joined PayPal as Lead Software Architect after leaving graduate studies at the University of Illinois.

2004

Co-founded Yelp

Co-founded local review platform Yelp alongside Jeremy Stoppelman and served as CTO.

2010

Left Yelp

Stepped down from his role as Chief Technology Officer at Yelp.

2014

Founded Learnirvana

Launched educational technology startup Learnirvana.