William Legate
William Legate was born in Marietta, Georgia, United States on September 3rd, 1994 and is the Entrepreneur. At the age of 30, William Legate biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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William LeGate (born September 3, 1994) is an American entrepreneur, Thiel Fellow, computer programmer, and campaigner.
LeGate, a self-taught programmer who had been programming in middle school, was brought to the public's notice three years later when The New York Times announced a Thiel Fellowship, a US$100,000 award given to around 20 people under the age of 20, promising to pursue an entrepreneurial career.
He made the applications that have been downloaded more than 7 million times.
Early life
LeGate was born in Atlanta, Georgia, son of a real estate developer father and stay-at-home mother. He was born in Atlanta and a graduate of The Walker School in Marietta, Georgia.
Career
Having taught himself computer programming from online courses at Stanford, starting at the age of 13, LeGate stated in a 2011 interview that he had always had a passion for entrepreneurship. Throughout high school, he created over a dozen iPhone applications which were being used by 1 in 12 American teenagers upon his graduation.
His early success caught the attention of billionaire PayPal co-founder and investor Peter Thiel who awarded LeGate—then aged 18—with a Thiel Fellowship—a $100,000 (USD) grant given annually to around 20 people under 20 years of age on the condition that they drop out of school in order to pursue an entrepreneurial path.
At age 14, LeGate created an iOS app development company called Imagination Research Labs, after teaching himself how to code in Objective C.
Toward the end of his Thiel Fellowship, LeGate began creating the Ponder mobile application, of which he was listed as co-founder and CEO. The New York Post dubbed Ponder the "anti-Kardashian" photo sharing app, with Teen Vogue adding that Ponder is "drama-free. No trolls, bullying, or negativity. Just cool photos & videos."
Tinder co-founders Sean Rad and Justin Mateen both invested in the app, and Justin's brother Tyler Mateen was a co-founder of Ponder.
In February 2021, American anti-gun violence activist David Hogg announced that he and LeGate would start GoodPillow to compete with MyPillow, whose CEO Mike Lindell had spread unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud as a staunch supporter of former President Trump. GoodPillow originally started out as a Twitter joke by LeGate. In April 2021, Hogg announced that he had left the company to focus on his education.
In June 2021 the company tweeted that "the first Good Pillow has arrived from the factory." The company committed themselves to progressive causes, promising to have their pillows made in Texas by workers earning a living wage.
In April 2022, news leaked that GoodPillow and Pillow-Fight had agreed to a merger.
Awards and recognition
- In 2014, Business Insider named LeGate, alongside Marques Brownlee, as the most powerful 20-year-old in tech.
- In 2013, LeGate was listed as one of The 25 Most Impressive Kids Graduating From High School This Year, and soon after as one of The 8 Hottest Teenage Startup Founders In The World Right Now.
- Billionaire PayPal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel granted LeGate a Thiel Fellowship in 2013.
- The Atlanta Business Chronicle listed LeGate as one of their "20 Under 20" youth leaders.
- The New York Times recommended one of LeGate's apps when he was a freshman in high school.