Yelp Inc.

Local Business Reviews & AdvertisingFounded 2004

Market Data Current As Of: August 17, 2026

Explore Yelp

Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.

Yelp Inc.

Local Business Reviews & AdvertisingFounded 2004

Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya

Last reviewed: August 17, 2026

Market Data Current As Of: August 17, 2026

Founders

Who Founded Yelp?

Jeremy Stoppelman, Russel Simmons · Founded 2004 · San Francisco, California, United States

Quick Answer

Yelp was founded by Jeremy Stoppelman, Russel Simmons in 2004 in San Francisco, California, United States. The company is currently led by Jeremy Stoppelman.

Founding Story

Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons conceived Yelp after Stoppelman caught the flu in 2004 and struggled to find a trusted local doctor recommendation online. Incubated inside Max Levchin's MRL Ventures, Yelp popularized crowdsourced local business recommendations.

Jeremy Stoppelman

Co-founder 2004

Background

Jeremy Stoppelman graduated from the University of Illinois with a computer engineering degree and served as VP of Engineering at PayPal during the 'PayPal Mafia' era before attending Harvard Business School and co-founding Yelp.

Role at Yelp Inc.

Jeremy Stoppelman is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yelp. He has led Yelp for over two decades through its 2012 IPO, major antitrust battles with Google, and its pivot into home services advertising.

Russel Simmons

Co-founder 2004

Background

Russel Simmons studied computer science at the University of Illinois and was an early lead engineer at PayPal before co-founding Yelp with Stoppelman.

Role at Yelp Inc.

Russel Simmons served as Yelp's Chief Technology Officer from 2004 until 2010, building the core review architecture and automated recommendation algorithms.

Yelp Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

David Schwarzbach

Chief Financial Officer

2020 – Present

Oversees Yelp's global finance, real estate reduction, and corporate development.

Jeremy Stoppelman

Chief Executive Officer

2004 – Present

Co-founder who guided Yelp from an early San Francisco website into a profitable public institution.

Who Founded Yelp? FAQ

Who founded Yelp?

Yelp was co-founded by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons in 2004.

How has the leadership of Yelp Inc. responded to the need for Supply Chain Resilience?

The executive team has publicly highlighted Supply Chain Resilience as a core pillar of their 2026 operational roadmap, realigning internal talent to execute on this vision.