In business you wind up trying a lot of things, most of which won't work. The way you become a good business person is to fail, fail, fail and fail.
Robert Ralph "Bob" Parsons (born November 27, 1950) is an American Entrepreneur, Billionaire, and philanthropist. In 1997, he founded the Go Daddy group of companies, including domain name registrar Go Daddy.com, reseller registrar Wild West Domains, and Blue Razor Domains. In July 2011, Parsons sold approximately 70 percent of Go Daddy to a private equity consortium and resigned his position as CEO. In June 2014, he stepped down from his position as Executive Chairman and currently serves on GoDaddy's board. Parsons owns 28 percent of the company and is its largest shareholder.
After nearly flunking out of high school, Parsons enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to the 26th Marine Regiment which was attached to and operated as part of the 1st Marine Division. In 1969, he served as a rifleman in the Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, during a tour of duty in Vietnam, in the Quảng Nam Province.
In 1975, Parsons obtained an accounting degree from the University of Baltimore, graduating magna cum laude. He then began his career in IT and software sales industry
In 1984, he founded Parsons Technology in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and began selling MoneyCounts, a home accounting program. In late 1987, Parsons was able to quit his job and focus completely on selling and overseeing growth of MoneyCounts. Eventually, Parsons Technology grew to be a 1,000-employee, privately held company. On September 27, 1994, Parsons completed the sale of Parsons Technology to Intuit, Inc. for $64 million.
Parsons founded the Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company Go Daddy in 1997. In July 2011, Parsons sold approximately 70 percent of Go Daddy to a private equity consortium led by KKR & Co. L.P. and Silver Lake, and resigned his position as CEO. In June 2014, Parsons stepped down from his position as Executive Chairman. He currently serves on GoDaddy's board. Parsons owns 28 percent of the company and is its largest shareholder.
The University of Baltimore conferred an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree on May 21, 2008.
The Foundation receives funding requests from charities through its website, and subsequently evaluates them and makes donations based on the requesting charities needs. Its main focus areas can be categorised in disaster relief, veterans, and the Phoenix community. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, The Foundation pledged $500 thousand for Hope for Haiti and a further $4 million towards relief efforts. With regards to veterans, the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation has supported several veterans' organizations, mainly the Semper Fi Fund, with donations exceeding $8.5 million, mostly in the form of matching donations. In or around Phoenix, Arizona, it has donated more than $8 million to UMOM and its New Day Centers, which the organization spent in part to pay off the mortgage for one of its biggest facilities. It has also donated at least $10 million to the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, helping it open its new center.
In 2012, Parsons donated $1 million to Restore Our Future, Mitt Romney's Super PAC.
In September 2013, Parsons purchased The Golf Club Scottsdale, a 292-acre members-only golf course, for $600,000 and undisclosed debt, and renamed it Scottsdale National Golf Club. In 2014, Parsons purchased undeveloped properties adjacent to his golf course including a 223-acre parcel for a reported $55 million, a 41-acre parcel for $5.4 million, and a smaller tract for $2.3 million. Also in 2014, Parsons announced plans to build a new clubhouse, nine-hole practice facility, and second 18-hole golf course on the property.
In April 2014, Parsons announced plans to build the “world’s largest Harley-Davidson dealership” in Scottsdale. Harley-Davidson of Scottsdale opened in 2015, the two-story, 150,000 square-foot dealership includes a lingerie boutique, tattoo and piercing parlor, arcade, movie theater, and wedding chapel.
In January 2015, Parsons launched Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG), a high-end golf club Manufacturing company. The same month, professional Golfer Ryan Moore used prototype PXG irons and wedges when he played in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, a PGA Tour event. PXG is expected to launch a full line of golf equipment including drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, and putters.
On December 8, 2016, Parsons donated $1 million to 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee.
In the January 9, 2017 episode (around the 45:00 mark) of The Forward Podcast with Lance Armstrong, Parsons proudly proclaimed "I'm a Deplorable!" and stated that Donald Trump had been his early choice among the 17 major candidates in the 2016 Republican Primary. "[Trump] was the guy that always resonated with me. [...] Everything so far he said he'd do he's done, which is almost unheard of in politics, he gets no credit for it! [...] I think when everything is all said and done, he's gonna be one of the best Presidents we've ever had." He also mentioned he had never voted for Obama.
YAM Capital is YAM Worldwide’s private lending and investment arm, specializing in commercial real estate lending and acquisition of closely held middle-market companies.
