Ben R. Neumann (born Bernd Neumann; May 27, 1966 in
Krefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
) was an American
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
,
investor
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
,
film producer and
mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...
, best known for founding early
Internet hosting service
An Internet hosting service is a service that runs servers connected to the Internet, allowing organizations and individuals to serve content or host services connected to the Internet.
A common kind of hosting is web hosting. Most hosting provi ...
Internet Communication
Icom.com, and his subsequent investments into companies such as
iBoost.comGlobat.comand his work in the
motion picture industry. Some of Ben's more recent ventures were the
content delivery network
A content delivery network, or content distribution network (CDN), is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their data centers. The goal is to provide high availability and performance by distributing the service spatially rel ...
s
NetDNA
StackPath is an American edge computing platform provider headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its founding team was led by Lance Crosby, who also co-founded SoftLayer Technologies, acquired by IBM in 2013.
Acquisitions
* MaxCDN ( CDN), 2016
* Sta ...
,
MaxCDN
StackPath is an American edge computing platform provider headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its founding team was led by Lance Crosby, who also co-founded SoftLayer Technologies, acquired by IBM in 2013.
Acquisitions
* MaxCDN ( CDN), 2016
* Sta ...
and
HDDN, which he co-founded together with business partner and protégé Chris Ueland in October 2009. In 2011, through his consulting firm Innovative Currency, Ben ventured outside the technology field and created his unique coaching programs InspireMoreHeroes and MillionairesMentor. He helped others with his innovative way of marketing and creating leads.
Neumann, a former bodyguard, and avid martial artist since second grade, who grew up in
Krefeld, Germany in a
working-class family, immigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in 1994. While working on his martial arts career and after winning several mixed martial arts tournaments, he successfully built and sold his first U.S.-based technology company
Icom.com at the pinnacle of the
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.
Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
in 1998, a move that made him one of the original Internet pioneers. He subsequently began investing into other technology and real estate companies and became involved with film making in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in early 2004, when he was approached by an independent filmmaker. The result of this partnership was ''
Dark World'', starring
Michael Pare
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
and
Theresa Russell
Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her filmography includes over fifty feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films.
Born in San Diego, ...
. Neumann also produced or was involved with other notable films and TV shows, such as ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'', ''
The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...
'', ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...
'', ''
House M.D.'', ''
Only in LA'', ''
You, Me, Love'' and ''
Smile of April''. He continued to invest in local niche companies and became an engaged community activist. In March 2006 Neumann was elected to the Board of th
Studio City Neighborhood Counciland was President of the Council from March 2008 until June 2010.
As a successful immigrant
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
, Neumann has been quoted off-line and online in numerous
ezines,
magazines
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
and
books.
For his achievements in the technology sector he was nominated for
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...
's Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2000 and 2003.
He died in February 2020 after suffering a heart attack.
Mixed Martial Arts Record
References
External links
*
Dark World Official WebsiteBen Neumann's personal weblogMillionaires MentoringNetDNAMaxCDNHDDN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Ben
1966 births
American film producers
Living people
American bloggers
Businesspeople from California
German emigrants to the United States
People from Krefeld