Xochi Birch OBE () is an American

computer programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

and

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 th ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. She is the co-founder of several companies since 1999, most notably the online

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

website

Bebo Bebo ( ) was an American Social networking service, social networking website that originally operated from 2005 until its bankruptcy in 2013 and relaunched in February 2021. The site relaunched several times after its bankruptcy with a number ...

, with her husband Michael Birch. She and Michael also founded several domains, with support from Paul Birch and Morgan Sowden.

Life and career

Xochi and Michael Birch launched Bebo in 2005. By 2007 the site had over 45 million registered users and was the sixth most popular site in the UK, bigger than

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

and

bbc.co.uk BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

. They sold Bebo to AOL in March 2008 for $850 million. Their combined 70% stake yielded a profit of $595 million from the deal. The Bebo franchise quickly declined under its new owners and fell into bankruptcy; in 2013 the couple bought Bebo back for $1 million. Following their sale of Bebo, the two started five separate companies they run in parallel. Their current project is The Battery, an exclusive members club in

, with their vision stated as “to create a culture where inspiration is embraced, diverse communities come together and egos are checked at the door.” Birch is a supporter of the non-profit organization charity:water, having given over $4 million to the organization. For her 40th birthday she asked people to donate to charity:water instead of giving her a gift; the campaign raised more than $20,000. Xochi has repeatedly spoken at the Dublin Web Summit, alongside other industry veterans such as

Kevin Rose Kevin Rose is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk. He also served as production assistant and co-host at TechTV's ''The Screen Savers''. From 2012 to 2015, he was a venture partner at GV. Earl ...

, Kevin Lynch and

Robert Scoble Robert Scoble (born January 18, 1965) is an American blogger, technical evangelist, and author. Scoble is best known for his blog, ''Scobleizer'', which came to prominence during his tenure as a technology evangelist at Microsoft. He later worked ...

Personal life

Birch was raised in California to a father of Mexican heritage. She met British-born Michael in a pub in London while she was studying abroad. In 1994, after they were married, she moved to London and worked as a computer programmer; she quit in 1999 so they could start their own business. For several years she and Michael lived from paycheck to paycheck while they started companies and waited for one to become successful. She and Michael moved back to the Bay Area in 2002. In 2014 she and Michael bought a run-down

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in the small village of

Woolfardisworthy, Torridge Woolfardisworthy is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district in the English county of Devon. The village is accessible via the A39 road, from the village. Name The name of the village is a local curiosity, as its pronunciation (and ...

in North Devon.

Awards

In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, Birch was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) "for services to technology and online services". On 11 February 2016 she received her OBE at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

References

External links

Bebo.com About page for Xochi Birch

Xochi Birch's Bebo Profile

BBC interview with Michael and Xochi Birch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Xochi Businesspeople from California American computer programmers Living people 21st-century American businesspeople Officers of the Order of the British Empire American people of Mexican descent Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American businesswomen