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How "There" begun...

In 1998, Will Harvey, a Stanford computer science PhD and successful game developer, began working with Jeffrey Ventrella, an expert on artificial life from MIT's Media Lab, on developing a next-generation "metaverse." With more than 80 employees, There, Inc. brings together deep experience in online community building, consumer marketing, PC games, telecommunications, and e-commerce from major companies, including CNET, eBay, Disney, Electronic Arts (EA), Cisco, Colgate-Palmolive, Lucas Arts, Yahoo! and Sony.

Will Harvey - Founder. Will is a seasoned entrepreneur with a strong background in computer science, software, and video game development. Will founded There in 1998 out of a small room in his parent's house, where he recruited the technology team and built an end-to-end prototype before raising capital to grow the company and hire the management team.

Before founding There, Will ran the dynamic media products at Adobe Systems, including AfterEffects and Adobe Premiere, the world's leading video editing program. Will came to Adobe when Adobe acquired Will's previous company, Sandcastle, which Will had founded to develop network technology to enable low latency interaction over the internet. Prior to Sandcastle, Will served as Vice President of Engineering at Rocket Science Games in San Francisco, where he led the company's transition from full motion video based games to games focused on interactivity.

Prior to Rocket Science, Will founded and ran several successful game development companies while simultaneously earning his Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in computer science from Stanford. Will's doctoral thesis introduced several important search algorithms which are now used commercially in manufacturing scheduling. Will's game companies produced Platinum and Gold game titles including Zany Golf, Immortal, and Music Construction Set, with combined sales of over a million units. Will has filed 5 patents related to networking, graphics, and automated scheduling. He wrote his first commercial video game at the age of 15.

Steve Victorino - Chief Executive Officer. Steve Victorino has 17 years of experience in building start-ups into successful software and new media companies. Since 1998, Steve has been active in venture capital. In addition to managing Black Diamond Capital, an early stage venture fund, he has been a venture advisor for a number of Silicon Valley firms. He has worked with and invested in many successful start-ups, including When.com, which was acquired by AOL, Looksmart, which went public, FirstUp.com, which was acquired by CMGI, JustOn, which was acquired by Novell, and Direct Hit, which was acquired by Ask Jeeves. Steve is also active at the board level with his lead investments in Cyclone Commerce, WildTangent, and There.

In his last operating role, Steve was the Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development at Four11, an internet services startup known for its highly successful free email service Rocketmail and its award winning people directory Four11 . Steve built a broad distribution channel, crafting deals with the most prominent players in the industry including Yahoo, Infoseek, WebTV, and all of the regional bell operating companies. His business savvy enabled Four11 to rise to the #1 position as a People Finder (PC Magazine, CNET, USA Today, and Intelliquest). Steve also crafted the original deal with Yahoo that ultimately led to Yahoo's acquisition of Four11 in late 1997.

Steve graduated from Stanford University as a National Science Foundation Fellow with a Masters Degree in Engineering Management and a Bachelors Degree with honors in Mechanical Engineering.

The "There" team shares a powerful vision of fundamentally changing the way people interact with each other online," said Jim White, Managing Partner at Sutter Hill Ventures. "After four years of hard work, they have the product and the team to make it happen. We are looking forward to working with There as they evolve the platform, partnerships, and user experience to captivate generations of consumers for years to come."

There is an online community that allows people to live whatever life they want. People who join There can develop their own 3-D character. They get to choose their gender, race and features. And then they get to interact with other "people" in There.

There has been particularly appealing to women, partly because there are no competitions and no missions. But there are things to do, such as shop, dance and go to dinner with a friend.

There is not just a game. There is a service, a service provided by There, Inc. ("Company") to you ("Member"). It is a shared experience that allows people to create and control characters called "avatars" that interact in an online society. In order for members to have the most enjoyable experience, you should approach other members/avatars with the same courtesy and respect that would be expected in any real life group of people of mixed ages, races, cultures, genders and beliefs.

Consider the feelings of other people in what you say and do. You're relating to a real person, not a character. Think before you speak or act, or you may make mistakes that will prevent you from making friends and becoming part of the larger There community.

Speak up for your views, but don't attack other people. Harassment, defamation, abuse, or threats against others through words, pictures or actions are not allowed and could result in account suspension or termination.

Please respect the rules, other community members, and the staff members who work hard to provide and improve these services. Adherence to these guidelines will help to make your and others' use of the service a positive experience.

Have you ever lost touch with old friends who left town? Sure, you could call or email them - but that can feel like a poor substitute for actually being with them. What you need is some kind of virtual world where you can just hang out in There. Think of it as a 3-D chat room: your onscreen characters talk as you type, with speech balloons coming out of their heads. They blink, breathe and nod when you type yes. Start throwing in actions like winking, yawning, gasping, even burping - and what you've got is conversation that looks like a cartoon yet feels uncannily real. Plenty of activities are available - dune-buggy racing, dog training, jet packing - but don't confuse There with a video game. Nobody's keeping score. It's more like a massive playdate. Everything from the cute Toy Story - style graphics to the clothing stores where characters can dress up in the latest fashions (provided courtesy of Levi's and Nike) is designed to give you something to chat about.

Looking for new friends? Get away every day in There, the coolest place to play online. FREE 14-day trial.

Although There Limited Access is only available in English, we have plans to make There available in multiple languages later this year. So you can make new friends and catch up with old ones, anywhere in the world. If you'd like to be put on our mailing list for internationalization updates, or would like to help us develop an international version of There, please send us an email at international[at]thereinc.com with the following: Your name, Your country and language, Relevant skills or experience (if you are inquiring about opportunities to help). Thanks, and stay tuned!

More Info about "Matchmaking" → ↓

Happy new Love to you!