Andrew W. Houston (/ˈhaʊs.tən/; born March 4, 1983) is an American Internet entrepreneur, and the co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, an online backup and storage service. According to Forbes, his net worth is about $2.2 billion.[1] Houston held 24.4 percent voting power in Dropbox before filing for IPO in February 2018.[2]
Houston was named one of the "most promising players aged 30 and under" by Business Week,[7] and Dropbox has been touted as Y Combinator's most successful investment to date.[8] Houston was also named among the top 30 under-30 entrepreneurs by inc.com,[9][10] and Dropbox has been called one of the 20 best startups of Silicon Valley.[11]
In June 2013, MIT invited Houston to serve as speaker at its annual commencement ceremonies. In his remarks, Houston gave this advice:
They say that you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Think about that for a minute: who would be in your circle of five? I have some good news: MIT is one of the best places in the world to start building that circle. If I hadn't come here, I wouldn't have met Adam (Smith, co-founder of Xobni), I wouldn't have met my amazing cofounder, Arash, and there would be no Dropbox.
One thing I've learned is surrounding yourself with inspiring people is now just as important as being talented or working hard. Can you imagine if Michael Jordan hadn’t been in the NBA, if his circle of five had been a bunch of guys in Italy? Your circle pushes you to be better, just as Adam pushed me.
In April 2013, a lobbying group called FWD.us (aimed at lobbying for immigration reform and improvements to education) was launched, with Houston listed as one of the founders.[14]
