{{short description|American entrepreneur and venture capitalist}} {{use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Adam Lilling | image = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1970}} | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, US | occupation = Internet entrepreneur; Venture Capitalist | alma_mater = University of Michigan<br/>University of Southern California | boards = Board of directors Movieclips, HelloMusic; board adviser ShareThis, MoviePass, BigFrame, MediaNet | website = {{URL|http://www.launchpad.la/|Official website}} }}
'''Adam Lilling''' (born 1970) is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. The founder of Pentagon CDs and Tapes, an internet music retailer which launched in 1995, Lilling is recognized for his early role in the development of the online music business and e-commerce practices.<ref name=CRN>{{cite web|last=Wright |first=Rob |title=The Young & Restless: Adam Lilling, Pazanga |url=http://newsle.com/article/0/3802002/ |work=November 30, 2000 |publisher=CRN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194950/http://newsle.com/article/0/3802002/ |archive-date=October 29, 2013 }}</ref> He is the co-founder of Launchpad LA, a mentorship program which later became a startup accelerator,<ref name=Techcrunch>{{cite web|last=Suster |first=Mark |title=Launchpad LA Receives VC Funding: $50,000 Per Startup |url=http://newsle.com/article/0/5505808/ |work=November 8, 2007 |publisher=Techcrunch |access-date=22 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184157/http://newsle.com/article/0/5505808/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 }}</ref> and the founder and managing partner of Plus Capital, a venture capital firm.<ref name=Forbes>{{cite web|last=Kozlowski|first=Lori|title=The Power Of Social Capital|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorikozlowski/2013/05/15/the-power-of-social-capital/|date=May 13, 2013|work=Forbes|access-date=22 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="Forbes Changing LA">{{cite web|last=Pozin|first=Ilya|title=12 Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing LA Forever|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2012/07/09/12-entrepreneurs-that-are-changing-la-forever/|date=July 9, 2012|work=Forbes|access-date=22 August 2013}}</ref>
== Early life and education ==
Lilling was born in Brooklyn and raised in Muttontown, New York. He attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor's degree from the School of Business Administration. A lifelong musician, Lilling planned to pursue a career in music composition for film and television; after moving to Los Angeles in 1992, he enrolled in a graduate school program at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. The one-year program, run by Buddy Baker, was taught by prominent composers such as Jerry Goldsmith; Lilling's class of 19 students included Marco Beltrami and Christophe Beck. At the conclusion of the program, rather than work as a composer, Lilling opted to work in the music business.<ref name=Forbes /><ref>{{cite web|title=Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television|url=http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/programs/smptv/|work=2103|publisher=USC Thornton School of Music|access-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901170017/http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/programs/smptv/|archive-date=2013-09-01|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Career ==
In college, Lilling founded Soundtrax, a short-lived company which focused on selling film soundtracks at theaters. Soundtrax was dissolved when Lilling, then 23, was hired by Miles Copeland as the director of marketing for Vending Intelligence, one of Copeland's many companies. Regarded as groundbreaking, Vending Intelligence developed and sold CD vending machines which allowed customers to select and hear a 30-second sample of every CD included in the machine's inventory.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tamaki|first=Julie|title=Vending Machines Dispense CDs for $13.99 in the Slot|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-04-25-me-50197-story.html|work=April 25, 1994|date=April 25, 1994 |publisher=Los Angeles Times|access-date=23 August 2013}}</ref> Vending Intelligence was not successful, and in 1994, Lilling was reassigned to Copeland's label, I.R.S. Records, as the West Coast head of regional marketing and sales.<ref name=VentureBeat>{{cite web|title=VB Profiles: Adam Lilling |url=http://venturebeatprofiles.com/person/adam-lilling/ |work=2013 |publisher=Venture Beat |access-date=23 August 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193532/http://venturebeatprofiles.com/person/adam-lilling/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 }}</ref> In 1995, while still at I.R.S., Lilling started Pentagon, an online cassette and CD retailer, who, among other innovations, distributed the first album offered online prior to its brick-and-mortar release.<ref>{{cite web|last=Haring|first=Bruce|title=Internet gets first crack at new album|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/408663509|work=December 29, 1995|publisher=USA Today|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Covington|first=Richard|title=MEDIA MARKETS : Will Internet Replace Record Shops?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/06/business/worldbusiness/06iht-juke.t.html|work=March 6, 1996|date=March 6, 1996 |publisher=New York Times|access-date=24 August 2013}}</ref> Pentagon was among the earliest internet retailers to offer personalized recommendations, gift packaging, and the ability to pre-order albums for day-of-release shipment; Pentagon also initiated the now-standard practices involving inventory, content, and advertising. Major labels paid for "Featured Artist" placement; chat boards and community areas encouraged dialogue among consumers, and Pentagon's inventory of 150,000 CDs and tapes included independent artists. "Here were bands who were selling tapes out of their trunks after shows, and now they've got international distribution," Lilling said in a 1995 interview with ''Billboard.'' "And people who love music can sample and buy music from bands that haven't been signed yet."<ref name=Gillen>{{cite web|last=Gillen|first=Marilyn|title=Retailer Explores Unique Online Features|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rA4EAAAAMBAJ&q=adam+lilling+billboard&pg=PA72|work=October 28, 1995|date=28 October 1995|publisher=Billboard|access-date=24 August 2013}}</ref> Perceived at the time as a competitor to CD Now and Amazon, Pentagon adhered to a strategy of limited expenses and sustainable growth, and became profitable early in the company's evolution.<ref>{{cite book|last=Katz|first=Michael|title=Left Coast Confidential: Pentagon Singing A Happy Tune|year=1997|publisher=The Street|location=New York|pages=1–2}}</ref> In 1999, Lilling sold the company to the Virgin Entertainment Group, who adopted Pentagon's proprietary e-commerce technology<ref>{{cite book|last=Moore|first=John|title=Pazanga, Inc.|year=2000|publisher=Smart Partner|location=New York|page=43}}</ref> and, in 2000, formed a new venture, Pazanga, which became a premiere worldwide entertainment e-commerce services provider.<ref>{{cite web|last=Portnoy|first=Sandy|title=Pazanga On a Tear|url=http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/18811771/pazanga-on-a-tear.htm|work=October 18, 2000|publisher=CRN|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205011/http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/18811771/pazanga-on-a-tear.htm|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Cirillo|first=Rich|title=Pazanga: From CD E-Tailor to E-commerce Enabler|url=http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/18809415/pazanga-from-cd-e-tailor-to-e-commerce-enabler.htm|work=August 4, 2000|publisher=CRN|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205915/http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/18809415/pazanga-from-cd-e-tailor-to-e-commerce-enabler.htm|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Still, following the dot-com crash,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Martin|first=Bryan|title=Tech Boom 2.0: Lessons Learned From the Dot-Com Crash|url=https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/08/tech-boom-2-0-lessons-learned-from-the-dot-com-crash/|magazine=August 13, 2013|date=August 13, 2013 |publisher=Wired|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref> Pazanga's value dropped dramatically.
In 2004, Lilling co-founded BiggerBoat with Barbara DeLury, who had been Pazanga's CTO.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kuo|first=Benjamin|title=Interview with Adam Lilling and Barbara De Lury|url=http://www.socaltech.com/interview_with_adam_lilling_and_barbara_de_lury__biggerboat/s-0003271.html|work=February 17, 2006|publisher=Social Tech|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref> The first entertainment-specific search engine, BiggerBoat built an advertising platform based on monitoring the media consumption of over 27 million consumers.<ref>{{cite web|title=BiggerBoat Solutions|url=http://biggerboat.com/sol.htm|work=2013|publisher=BiggeBoat|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref> In 2005 BiggerBoat received investment funding; in 2009, Lilling and De Lury bought the company back in order to reestablish ownership of the intellectual property. Edified by the experience, Lilling shifted his focus to venture capital.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vision in Action Conference|url=http://confdemo.entrepreneurassociation.net/index.php/eaceditions/eac2012main/eac2012speaker|work=May 11, 2012|publisher=UCLA Anderson School of Business|access-date=25 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029210852/http://confdemo.entrepreneurassociation.net/index.php/eaceditions/eac2012main/eac2012speaker|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2010, at the invitation of Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures, Lilling co-founded Launchpad LA, an organization designed to guide young Los Angeles-based entrepreneurs through mentorship. By 2011, 19 of the 23 companies incubated via Launchpad LA had received funding and/or been acquired,<ref name=Suster>{{cite web|last=Suster |first=Mark |title=Launchpad LA Receives VC Funding: $50,000 Per Startup |url=http://newsle.com/article/0/5111596/ |work=November 8, 2011 |publisher=Techcrunch |access-date=25 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190125/http://newsle.com/article/0/5111596/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 }}</ref> and in 2012, Lilling was included on the ''Forbes'' list of the "12 entrepreneurs who are changing LA forever."<ref name="Forbes Changing LA" /> Additionally, Lilling invested in BigFrame, MoviePass, advised the boards of AgentAce, The Cradle, MediaNet, Triptrotting, ShareThis, and MediaNet, and was appointed to the board of directors for Chromatik, HelloMusic, and MovieClips (now ZEFR).<ref>{{cite web|last=Carney|first=Michael|title=Plus Capital launches a new fund to prove that "influence" tops "celebrity"|url=http://pandodaily.com/2013/03/08/plus-capital-launches-new-fund-to-prove-that-influence-tops-celebrity/|work=March 8, 2013|publisher=Pando Daily|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref> Featured in ''Variety's'' 2013 list of Venture Capitol Kingmakers and described as a "serial entrepreneur," <ref>{{cite web|last=Kozlowski|first=Lori|title=Venture Capital Kingmakers|url=https://variety.com/gallery/photos-venture-capital-kingmakers/#!1/adam-lilling-plus-capital/|work=August 7, 2013|date=August 7, 2013 |publisher=Variety|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref> Lilling launched Plus Capital, a venture capital fund designed to connect early stage companies with influencers and investors, in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dotan|first=Tom|title=Sowing Startups|url=http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2013/apr/15/sowing-startups/|work=April 15, 2013|date=April 14, 2013 |publisher=Los Angeles Business Journal|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilling, Adam}} Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:American venture capitalists Category:Advisors Category:Ross School of Business alumni