BY DONNIE RUSTANALOGUE TO DIGITAL

Joe Hyrkin

I’ve wanted to speak with Joe Hyrkin for a long time. The CEO

of ISSUU.com, the online digital media platform that in 2006

answered the much debated question of where print publications

were and are going, he is at the head of one of the pioneering forces

paving the roads into the future that the rest of us can walk upon.

At first glance, Issuu.com simulates the experience of reading

a print publication online; a digital newsstand with over 16 million

publications and over 80 million unique monthly visitors ISSUU

features leading and emerging titles in fashion, culture, arts, as well

as hyper local content, all of which are accessible on any electronic

device. The platform of choice for publishers Issuu.com proudly

exhibits local newsletters and family albums right alongside major

publications like the New York Times Style Magazine, Vice and Mad

Magazine.

Standing at its helm is one Joe Hyrkin who has been in the CEO

position since early 2013 and who has entered into Issuu.com with

the intention of bringing the company to the next level. This may

sound quaint until you understand the standard that Issuu.com, which

was initially created in Denmark by original founders Michael Hansen,

Ruben Bjerg Hansen, Mikkel Jensen, and Martin Ferro-Thomsen, has

already achieved. In 2009 the company was named one of TIME’S 50

Best Websites and is fixed within the top 500 websites on the traffic

monitor website alexa.com and with over 16 million publishers and

80 million unique visitors a month I wanted to speak with Joe Hyrkin

regarding not only his plans for

the future of Issuu.com but also

for an insight into his operations

and his approach to success.

The Best Man For The Job

Formerly of Reverb, Trinity

Ventures and Yahoo, Joe Hyrkin

is the Chief Executive Office

working from the HQ in Palo Alto

California where the HQ was

recently moved, and having spent

a good chunk of his career in

media and content management

always being at the very cutting

edge of the industry, Joe brings a

wealth of experience to the table.

Recognized as a pioneering

force, Joe has been the CEO,

business and product developer

for some of Silicon Valley’s

most impressive and innovative

companies and backed by such

heavy hitting companies as

Benchmark, Redpoint, Trinity,

Floodgate, Baseline, MDV and

DAG he is a man who is listened

to.

“During the 90s, I was in

Asia running the Economist’s

China business, as the EIU was

just starting to explore moving

content from analogue to digital,”

he explains, “And helped set up

Virage’s interactive group which

provides services to major media

and entertainment companies,

enabling them to publish, search

and distribute video. This was

right at the start of the web

video movement and Virage

went public in 2000. After that,

I went to Yahoo, where I ran the

business side of Flickr and multi-

media search.”

He goes on to add, “I also

In 2009 ISSUU.com was named one of TIME’S 50 Best Websites and is fixed within the top 500 websites on the traffic monitor website alexa.com.

For the last twenty five years, we’ve been held back by the garish banner ads and pay per click banners that have served their purpose but not evolved much. What we’re going to be seeing soon will be innovative, sleek and glossy-like ads that engage readers.”

that attracted me,” he says

simply, “They have deliberately,

intentionally created platform

to transform the publishing and

print industry into digital and to

facilitate the effective set up of

a means for publishers to share

content with consumers through

an easy media.”

“Enable content to discover

people,” he adds.

And it clearly answered

a need because as one of the

busiest platforms it’s happened

with very little marketing

and business development

endeavours, “We didn’t need to

focus very much on selling the

product at all,” Joe elaborates,

“We simply created an eco-

system for publishers much

the same as Youtube did for

videos and allowed it to grow

organically.”

State Of IndustryThe digital industry is only

going to continue to grow

and develop and Joe foretells

that there is a watershed

moment approaching in due

to the largest players in a wide

range of industries firmly and

enthusiastically embracing the

next generation of technologies

like never before:

“There will be a unity of

content to fuel people’s passions,”

he continues, “And with a billion

Android products being sold this

year, there will soon be a massive

evolution around monetization

of the internet.

“For the last twenty five

years, we’ve been held back by

the garish banner ads and pay per

click banners that have served

their purpose but not evolved

served as CEO of Wordnik, now

Reverb, which was a leading

automated meaning discovery

engine and discovery app.”

While there he led the

creation and execution of

a content discovery and

recommendation product plan,

and raised millions in two rounds

of funding from companies such

as Floodgate, Baseline and many

others.

The innovation of Wordnik,

thrust Joe into the public eye,

leading to intensive interviews

of the likes of Business Insider,

New York Times and Venture

Beat (yes, many of them are the

same companies that now use

Issuu.com)

“It’s about brand and

consumer engagement,” he

testifies, “Bringing the chance for

publishers to get their content in

front of people who want to see

it.”

In 2010, Joe completed a role

as EIR with Trinity Ventures and

spent six months focused on next

generation social commerce,

community, crowdsourcing and

social media, making it clear that

Joe Hyrkin is a man who is never

satisfied merely riding the wave

of innovation, but wants to be the

person making the wave.

“I like being a pioneer,” he

says sagely, “I like being at the

cutting edge, being involved in

the real changes that count.”

MotivationA certain structure to the

mind of a pioneer exists and is

reliant on keystones such as

bravery, original thinking and

unbending determination to

succeed. As Joe chose to step

into the CEO seat of Issuu.

com I was eager to know what

attracted him to the position.

“It was Issuu.com’s approach

“

much. What we’re going to be

seeing soon will be innovative,

sleek and glossy-like ads that

engage readers.”

EmployeesHaving surrounded himself

by the very cream of the crop,

Joe is quick to present credit

where it is due.

“I am fortunate enough to

have a great team of experienced,

seasoned professionals,” he says,

“ The headquarters have been

made in Paola Alto in the States,

but the Denmark office where

the product was first created is

intrinsic to the operations and I

go back every six weeks or so for

a face to face and we speak every

day online.”

Pointing out that you cannot

put a price on real experience

and professionalism, Joe feels

that at ISSUU he has found an

environment that suits his own

initiative and priorities,

“The Denmark guys are

passionate about efficiency,”

he says, “And about creating a

connection between consumer

and publishers, they treat this

not just as a business with

numbers but as a service, a really

important means to bridge the

gap between those with the

content and those wanting to see

it. And when you organize two

international offices just right

you find you’re often passing

the ball between each other

and coming up with the best

solutions.”

Watershed Movements, Core Goals, 2014 Is A Big Year

Joe explains that publishing

is the biggest business on

the internet and survives on

the creation of new content

and with Yahoo, Google and

Facebook looking into publishing

opportunities to draw in their

current and new members

ISSUU has an all-important head

start on the industry.

“The core plan for this year is

to build on the product,” he tells

us, “There is so much enthusiasm

and we’re looking at ways to

further connect and make us of

our platform, to facilitate the

content for both publishers

and consumers and keep it as

straight forward and as smooth

as possible.”

Returning to the topic of

monetization of the internet,

Joe reveals that he believes it

will be a large part through the

innovation and development of

the apps people use and that

currently we are only scratching

the surface.

“There is going to be an

explosion around mobile and

tablets,” he assures us, “We’ve

just launched our android app

and it’s where things are going

to go, content needs to make the

move from desk tops to phones if

it’s going to be seen. Content to

the consumers is incumbent on

accessibility.”

“I love where I am. Right out

here on the cutting edge,” he

happily concludes.