Buzfactor is my third startup which I guess officially makes me a serial entrepreneur. I founded my first company PFN, Inc. in Cambridge, MA in 1994. While CEO at PFN, I led the team that pioneered the development of policy-based networking and distributed directory services which eventually became the building blocks for many of today’s peer-to-peer communication networks. These technologies represented a new way for businesses to share and distribute information and, as a result, I received seven U.S. Patents, which have been incorporated in more than 80 applications from a diverse group of companies including AOL, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, and Yahoo. The company was acquired in 2001.
Since that time, my work has focused on the development of large-scale, decentralized, peer-to-peer networks. I believe ad-hoc, collaborative networks have the potential to create significant new businesses. In 2010, I founded Buzfactor to take advantage of what I perceive as one of the more significant opportunities – the formation of customer marketing networks that leverage the social relationships between consumers to increase sales far more effectively than traditional advertising.
Ron Butman
Founder and CEO
