Robert Maynard Jr.

Robert Maynard (born 1962) is an American businessman. Maynard is the co-founder of LifeLock and the founder of Internet America, as well as of several smaller companies that did not succeed.

Robert Maynard
Robert Maynard Jr.
Robert Maynard Jr.
Born1962 (age 58–59)
Phoenix, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNorthern Arizona University (B.A.,1987)
OccupationCEO
Known forCo-Founder of LifeLock, Founder of Internet America & SurchX
Websitehttps://www.robertmaynardjr.com

Maynard was not diagnosed with Bipolar disorder until 2001, by which time he had already been the founder of Internet America, which went public in 1998. He then went on to co-found Lifelock with Todd Davis in 2005, resigning amid controversy from his position at LifeLock in 2007 due to problems related to his condition. He relocated to Hawaii in 2008 and started a water sports company, Kandoo.

Now the CEO of SurchX, a startup in the fintech business, Maynard regularly speaks and writes about what it is like to live with bipolar disorder.

Early life

Maynard was born in 1962 in Phoenix, Arizona, enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1981 and served until 1985. He then took a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army Reserve. He served as an officer in the Army’s 12th Special Forces Group for nine years.

He attended Northern Arizona University from 1985 until 1987 where he graduated in five semesters with honors that included the Wall Street Journal Award, Distinguished Military Scholar, induction into Beta Gamma Sigma and nomination for the Truman Scholarship for excellence in leadership and academics.

Career

In the late 1990s Maynard had success as the founder of Internet America.[1] The company was established in early 1995,[2] as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) from his home. In March, 1997, after the company defaulted on a promissory note made to a shareholder, Maynard was replaced as CEO by Michael Maples.[3] Within 4 years the company had grown to over 145,000 subscribers.[4]

Shortly after departing Internet America, Maynard founded Dotsafe. It became a provider of Internet filtering for education and uncovered multiple online predators.[5] The company eventually folded in 2001 after the dot com bubble burst. Maynard became ill with what was later diagnosed as bipolar disorder.[6] According to news reports in the Phoenix New Times, lawsuits from a "slew of creditors" followed both Dotsafe and Maynard.[1]

Following his illness, Maynard became the co-founder of LifeLock in 2005, along with Todd Davis. LifeLock specialized in identity theft protection. The system created by Maynard and Davis was intended to detect fraudulent actions for a variety of financial services.[7][8] Over the next couple of years, the company expanded quickly and was recognized by many as an upcoming company.

Because of earlier adverse publicity, Maynard elected to resign from his position at LifeLock. Following his resignation, it was reported that Electronic Convulsive Therapy (ECT) had affected his memory of the incident in his past that led to his resignation and his claim that he had no memory of the incident.[9] He moved with his family to Oahu, Hawaii, where he started a water sports business called Kandoo. The company folded a number of months later following financial problems, leaving many employees without pay checks. [6]

Maynard more recently registered the website iValidate.me, which he thought might become an online consumer-direct credit bureau when fully launched, according to Maynard's LinkedIn profile.[10]

Instead, he gathered a team of friends and former employees around him and founded SurchX back in Phoenix. SurchX is an enterprise SaaS company that levels the playing field for merchants against bigger players by allowing them to recover their credit card processing fees through surcharging, which is now legal in 44 states.

Personal life

In the late 1990s while the CEO of Dotsafe, Maynard began to suffer from an as yet undiagnosed illness that affected his work. Maynard has said on his website that the condition affected all aspects of his life and even led him to a divorce. After Dotsafe folded during the dotcom bust in 2001, Maynard sought further medical advice on his condition and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.[9]

Maynard has suffered with the condition since then and it was a major factor in him leaving LifeLock. While suffering with the condition he underwent Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). This therapy was claimed by Maynard to be the main reason for many of his confusing statements about his past, as the treatment affected his memory.[9]

Maynard is now a speaker and writer about Bipolar disorder.[9]


See also

References
  1. Stern, Ray (May 31, 2007). "What Happened in Vegas". Phoenix New Times.
  2. "Company Information." Internet America. Retrieved on September 25, 2009.
  3. "Internet America NASDAQ IPO filing, form SB-2". July 21, 1998.
  4. "Article: Internet America Finalizes Acquisition of PDQ.Net; Over 145,000 Subscribers for Combined Entity." PR Newswire. November 23, 1999. Retrieved on September 25, 2009.
  5. Buyikian, Teresa (August 23, 1999). "Yet Another Dot Com Tempts Agency Contenders". Ad Week.
  6. Dingeman, Robbie (August 30, 2009). "Kandoo CEO says boat will sail again". Honolulu Advertiser.
  7. Debbie Carlson (31 January 2014). "Protect financial information from theft". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  8. Emily Jane Fox (19 December 2013). "4 things to do after your credit card has been hacked". CNN Money. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  9. "Being Bipolar". RobertMaynardjr.com. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  10. "Official website". iValidate. Archived from the original on 2014-07-20.
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