{{Short description|American media executive}} {{Infobox person | name = Emerson Spartz | image = Emerson_Spartz.png | alt = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1987|2|17}} | birth_place = LaPorte, Indiana, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | parents = Tom and Maggi Spartz | relations = | occupation = Founder of Dose | known_for = MuggleNet, OMG Facts, GivesMeHope | website = {{URL|http://www.emersonspartz.com}} }} '''Emerson James Spartz''' (born February 17, 1987) is the founder of the viral media company Dose and the founder of MuggleNet, a Harry Potter fansite.
==Early life==
Spartz was born in La Porte, Indiana to Tom and Maggi Spartz.<ref name="Moore">{{cite web|last=Moore|first=Ann|title=From Muggle to Media Mogul by Age 25|url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120421/ISSUE01/304219968/from-muggle-to-media-mogul-by-age-25 |date=21 April 2012 |publisher=Crain's|access-date=23 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Marantz">{{cite magazine |last=Marantz |first=Andrew |title=The Virologist |magazine=The New Yorker |date=5 January 2015 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/05/virologist |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> He is the oldest of three brothers.<ref name="Marantz"/> At the age of twelve, Spartz convinced his parents to allow him to drop out of school and homeschool himself. He developed his own curriculum,<ref name="Gilbert">{{cite web|last=Gilbert|first=Trevor|title=How a Self-Taught 12-Year-Old Turned Spartz Media into a Viral Media Titan|date=16 July 2012|url=http://pandodaily.com/2012/07/16/how-a-self-taught-12-year-old-turned-spartz-media-into-a-viral-media-titan/|publisher=PandoDaily|access-date=16 July 2012|archive-date=18 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718191244/http://pandodaily.com/2012/07/16/how-a-self-taught-12-year-old-turned-spartz-media-into-a-viral-media-titan/|url-status=dead}}</ref> which his parents supplemented by requiring him to read four single-page biographies of successful people every day, which were collected from the pages of ''Investor's Business Daily''.<ref name="Marantz"/> Spartz has subsequently attributed some of his entrepreneurial success to reading these short biographies.<ref name="Marantz"/><ref name="Harris">{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Melissa |title=Emerson Spartz talks (quickly) about creating a life without distractions |date=21 October 2014 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-confidential-emerson-spartz-education-1021-biz-20141021-column.html#page=1 |access-date=17 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="Fussman">{{cite web |last=Fussman |first=Cal |title=What I've Learned: Viral Wizard Emerson Spartz |date=6 August 2014 |website=Esquire.com |url=http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a29598/emerson-spartz-interview/ |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>
==Career==
===MuggleNet=== Using the WYSIWYG site-building tool Homestead, Spartz founded MuggleNet, a Harry Potter news website and forum, in 1999, at the age of twelve.<ref name="Marantz"/><ref name="Vittor">{{cite news |last=Vittor |first=Josh |date=22 June 2007 |title=Wild About Harry |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2007-06-22/wild-about-harrybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In fall 2006, while a junior at Notre Dame, Emerson co-authored a book, ''MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7'', which speculated on plot elements of the final Harry Potter book to be released in July 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last=Siegal |first=Lee |title=Children's Books |date=11 February 2007 |newspaper=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/books/review/Siegel.t.html |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> The book remained on the ''New York Times'' Children's Bestseller List for six months, peaking in the number two position and selling 350,000 copies.<ref>{{cite news |last=Raine |first=George |title=Potter spin-off a hit for tiny Berkeley publisher |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=7 July 2007 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Potter-spin-off-a-hit-for-tiny-Berkeley-publisher-2582854.php |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buckley |first=Madeline |title=ND Junior Writes Bestselling Harry Potter Book |date=2 October 2007 |url=http://ndsmcobserver.com/2007/10/nd-junior-writes-bestselling-harry-potter-book/ |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In June 2007, Spartz went on a tour with Ben Schoen, another MuggleNet staff member, to promote their work.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Planet Provides Web Hosting for Harry Potter Site |url=http://www.tophosts.com/the-planet-provides-web-hosting-for-harry-potter-site |date=2 July 2007 |access-date=17 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217001704/http://www.tophosts.com/the-planet-provides-web-hosting-for-harry-potter-site |archive-date=17 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2009, Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen wrote another book, ''MuggleNet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views From The #1 Fan Site''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Volume 93 Issue 3 by The Fordham Ram - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/the_ram_online/docs/volume_93_issue_3 |website=issuu.com |date=9 February 2011 |page=4}}</ref>
By 2007, Spartz was receiving a six-figure income for running MuggleNet and had recruited six paid and 120 volunteer staff to the site.<ref name="Vittor"/><ref name="Brady">{{cite news |last=Brady |first=Diane |title=The Twisted Economics of Harry Potter |date=1 July 2007 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2007-07-01/the-twisted-economics-of-harry-potter |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Teigen">{{cite magazine |last=Teigen |first=Megan |title=Mugglenet founder chooses Notre Dame over Hogwarts |magazine=Notre Dame Magazine |date=Autumn 2005 |url=http://magazine.nd.edu/news/10303-mugglenet-founder-chooses-notre-dame-over-hogwarts/ |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Chapla">{{cite web |last=Chapla |first=Shannon |title=Senior "Web wizard" takes Harry Potter to the Middle East |date=22 July 2008 |url=http://news.nd.edu/news/9562-senior-ldquoweb-wizardrdquo-takes-harry-potter-to-the-middle-east/ |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In 2015, he stated, "As I became less motivated by my passion for the books, I got obsessed with the entrepreneurial side of [MuggleNet], the game of maximizing patterns and seeing how big my reach could get."<ref name="Marantz"/> Spartz sold MuggleNet and severed his relationship with the magical brand soon after. MuggleNet became an independent brand in 2020. They work closely with their business partner, Topix Media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/mugglenet/videos/were-back/612298069502255/|title=We're Back!|access-date=Aug 10, 2020|via=www.facebook.com}}</ref>
===Dose=== In 2009, Spartz launched Spartz Media, now called Dose, a company that originally crowdsourced viral web content across thirty websites.<ref name="Moore"/><ref name="Marantz"/> In May 2009, Spartz and Gaby Montero founded GivesMeHope, a website where contributors share answers to the question "what gives you hope?" in the form of anonymous anecdotes.<ref name="GMH About Us">{{cite web |author1-last=Spartz |author1-first=Emerson |author2-last=Montero |author2-first=Gaby |website=GivesMeHope |url=http://www.givesmehope.com/aboutus |title=About GMH |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816082809/http://www.givesmehope.com/aboutus |archive-date=2011-08-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Anjarwalla |first=Tas |title=8 feel-good websites to brighten your day |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/08/02/8.sites.brighten.day/index.html?_s=PM:TECH |publisher=CNN |date=2 Aug 2010 |access-date=17 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809143212/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-02/tech/8.sites.brighten.day_1_uplifting-stories-sites-happy-news?_s=PM%3ATECH |archive-date=9 August 2012 }}</ref> The site was created in response to FMyLife.<ref name="GMH About Us" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Matt |website=Esquire |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/endorsement/gives-me-hope-060109#ixzz0iZqVlDQD/ |title=GivesMeHope.com: When Bankruptcy, Plane Crashes, and Mondays Get You Down |date=1 June 2009 |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>
In January 2010, Spartz launched OMG Facts.<ref name="Emerson Video Unpluggd">{{cite web |last=Jahn |first=Tim |date=10 June 2011 |title=From Interviewing JK Rowling To Inspiring Millions Every Month – with Emerson Spartz |url=http://www.entrepreneursunpluggd.com/blog/emerson-spartz-interview |website=Entrepreneurs Unpluggd |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925102337/http://www.entrepreneursunpluggd.com/blog/emerson-spartz-interview |archive-date=25 September 2011 }}</ref> In 2012, OMGFacts.com received 30 million monthly page views,<ref name="Gilbert"/> and had 500,000 subscribers on YouTube.<ref>{{cite news|last=Frobes|first=Marissa|title=The Observer|url=http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/scene/mugglenet-founder-and-09-nd-alum-spartz-creates-online-media-corporation-1.2591232#.UDqw8kTXF0E|newspaper=The Observer|date=15 September 2011|access-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817045525/http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/scene/mugglenet-founder-and-09-nd-alum-spartz-creates-online-media-corporation-1.2591232#.UDqw8kTXF0E|archive-date=2012-08-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Spartz has launched at least thirty websites under the Spartz Media brand, all of which primarily rely on social media sites for web traffic.<ref name="Marantz"/> Because these sites have increasingly operated by republishing previously developed viral content, Spartz's content strategy has been characterized as arbitrage and has been criticized for failing to license or provide attribution for copyrighted media.<ref name="Marantz"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Ingram |first=Matthew |title=When content becomes a virus, the viral scientists ultimately win |url=https://gigaom.com/2014/12/30/when-content-becomes-a-virus-the-viral-scientists-ultimately-win/?%23038; |website=Gigaom |date=30 December 2014 |access-date=17 February 2015 |archive-date=8 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808233853/https://gigaom.com/2014/12/30/when-content-becomes-a-virus-the-viral-scientists-ultimately-win/?%23038; |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2014, the company launched Dose.com. In 2015, the company changed its name to Dose and raised $25 million in venture financing, bringing its total capital raised to $34.5 million.<ref>Inverso, Emily, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilyinverso/2016/01/07/under-30-emerson-spartz-on-the-trick-to-tackling-viral-content "Under 30 Emerson Spartz On The Trick To Tackling Viral Content"], ''Forbes'', 1/7/2016</ref><ref>Pletz, John, [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20151209/BLOGS11/151209782/emerson-spartz-raises-25-million-from-tribune-media "Emerson Spartz raises $25 million from Tribune Media"], ''Crain's Chicago Business'', 12/09/2015</ref>
In 2016 Spartz was named to the [https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30-2016/media/#67992c7741a5 Forbes 30 Under 30] list.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30-2016/media/|title=30 Under 30 2016: Media|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-03-26}}</ref>
==Personal life== Spartz graduated in May 2009 from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.<ref name="Johnson">{{cite web|url=http://bizmagazine.nd.edu/article/3/emerson-2-0/|title=Emerson 2.0|last=Johnson|first=Nancy|work=Notre Dame Business Magazine|publisher=Mendoza College of Business|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415231041/http://bizmagazine.nd.edu/article/3/emerson-2-0/|archive-date=15 April 2013|access-date=16 November 2013}}</ref> Emerson has stated that he read one book of nonfiction per day during college.<ref name="Harris"/><ref name="Emerson Video Unpluggd" />
Spartz married Gaby Spartz (née Montero), his college girlfriend, in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mugglenet.com/2011/09/mugglenets-emerson-and-gaby-tie-the-knot/|title=MuggleNet's Emerson and Gaby tie the knot!|date=Sep 3, 2011|access-date=Aug 10, 2020}}</ref> They divorced in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/FindDock.aspx?DocketKey=CABHDAABGIG0DR | title=Case Information Summary for Case Number 2017D001686 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021544/https://courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/FindDock.aspx?DocketKey=CABHDAABGIG0DR | archive-date=2020-11-12}}</ref> After dating for 5 years, Emerson married Kat Woods at the Adler Planetarium on June 27, 2025.
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [http://www.emersonspartz.com/ Emerson Spartz Official Site] * [http://www.dose.com/ Dose] * [http://www.mugglenet.com/ MuggleNet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223051914/http://interactive.mugglenet.com/ |date=2017-12-23 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110720011900/http://bizmagazine.nd.edu/article/?id=3%2F Emerson 2.0]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spartz, Emerson}} Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:American chief executives Category:People from La Porte, Indiana Category:University of Notre Dame alumni Category:Businesspeople from Indiana Category:21st-century American businesspeople