Michael at the Web Summit 2018 |
Michael Acton SmithOBE (born 1974) is the current co-CEO and co-Founder of Calm, a meditation space company.[1] He is also the founder of Firebox.com,[2] and founder and chairman of children's entertainment company Mind Candy – the creators of Moshi Monsters.[3] He has been described by The Daily Telegraph as 'a rock star version of Willy Wonka'[4] and by The Independent as 'a polite version of Bob Geldof.'[5]
Michael Acton Smith OBE (born 1974) is the current co-CEO and co-Founder of Calm, a meditation space company. He is also the founder of Firebox.com, and founder and chairman of children's entertainment company Mind Candy – the creators of Moshi Monsters. Keegan-Michael Key was born in Southfield, Michigan and raised in Detroit. He was adopted as a child by a black father and a white mother. In 1989, he graduated from Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. Key attended the University of Detroit Mercy as an undergraduate and earned his.
Career[edit]
In 1998, Acton Smith co-founded online gadget and gift retailer Firebox.com with Tom Boardman.[6] In 2004, Firebox was listed on The Sunday Times' 'Fast Track 100' list of the fastest growing, privately owned business in the UK.[7]
In 2004, Acton Smith secured $10M backing and launched Mind Candy.[8] The company launched alternate reality game Perplex City, a global treasure hunt with £100,000 buried somewhere in the world that played out across various media including websites, text messages, magazines, live events, skywriting and multiple helicopters. The game was nominated for a BAFTA award in 2006.[9] After three years (and $9M spent) Perplex City was placed on indefinite hold.[5]
In 2007 Acton Smith launched online world Moshi Monsters. Today, Moshi Monsters has over 90 million users around the world.[10] It has expanded offline[11] into selling a range of products including toys, a kids magazine in the UK,[12] a DS video game,[13] a top 5 music album which has gone gold in the UK,[14] books, membership cards, and trading cards. In December 2013, Moshi Monsters teamed with Universal to release a full-length feature movie.[15]
In late 2012 Acton Smith co-founded Calm.com, along with Alex Tew.[16] In 2013 the company announced a $450,000 funding round from a group of Angel investors.[17] By 2015, Calm had reached 2 million downloads worldwide and, after winning a British competition, launched the world's first 'slow TV Ad'.[18] That same year, Acton Smith released a book with Penguin called Calm: Calm the Mind, Change the World.[19] It was published in 12 countries.[20]
In July 2017, the release of Baa Baa Land, an eight-hour slow cinema film, was announced with Acton Smith as Executive Producer.[21]
Moshi Monsters University Logo
Acton Smith is also the founder of Ping Pong Fight Club,[22] Silicon Drinkabout,[23] and the Berwickstock Festival.[24] He was awarded a BAFTA in 2013 for Moshi Monsters[25] and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the creative industries.[26]
References[edit]
- ^'That One Time I Was Tucked In By A Startup'. Techcrunch. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^'Moshi Monsters makes it third time lucky for dotcom entrepreneur Michael Acton Smith'. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^'Mind Candy appoints Ian Chambers as new CEO'. Licensing.biz. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^'The man who gave birth to Moshi Monsters'. Telegraph. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ ab'The man who aims to hide a monster under every bed – Business Analysis & Features – Business'. The Independent. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^Cellan-Jones, Rory (31 December 2011). 'The Moshi Monsters mogul'. BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^'Directorzone'. www.director-zone.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^Hannah Prevett (19 August 2012). 'A monster success'. Elitebusinessmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^'Mind Candy: Michael Acton Smith – Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas'. Startups.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^Mike Butcher (2 May 2013). 'As Moshi Monsters Hits 5 years, Can it pull of Three new games?'. TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^Jemima Kiss. 'Moshi Monsters plans move into online children's TV | Media'. The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^'ABC Figures Reveal Moshi Monsters Magazine is the Best Selling Children's Magazine in the UK'. Bloomberg. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^Tyler, Lewis (30 April 2012). 'Moshi Monsters video game breaks chart record | Latest news from the toy industry | ToyNews'. Toynews-online.biz. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^Pakinkis, Tom. 'Moshi Monsters album goes Gold – with no promotional airplay'. Music Week. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^James Batchelor (20 August 2013). 'Moshia Monsters The Movie Hits Cinemas This Christmas'. MCV UK.
- ^'Executives Need to Find Calm in a Stormy World'. Forbes.com. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^Sarah Perez (26 February 2013). 'Relaxation Calm.com Launches iPhone App that Helps you Chill, Grabs $415K in Angel Funding'. TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^'calm.com relaxation app unveils world-first two-minute 'slow TV' ad'. thedrum.com. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^Calm: Calm the Mind, Change the World
- ^Ashley Macey (6 February 2016). 'This New Journal Will Teach You to Be More Mindful'. Brit+Co.
- ^Hanrahan, Mark (19 July 2017). 'Is this eight-hour sheep epic `the dullest movie ever'?'. Reuters. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^Kevin Maher (13 February 2014). 'Inside London's Silicon Roundabout'. Esquire. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^Josh Halliday (17 July 2011). 'Mind Candy – the monster that lurks on Silicon Roundabout'. The Guardian.
- ^Judy Bevan (16 July 2011). 'The Man Who Aims To Hide A Monster Under Every Bed'. independent.
- ^Leo Kelion (30 December 2013). 'Moshi Monster Founder and ARM's Ex-Boss Honoured'. BBC.
- ^'No. 60728'. The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 14.