Starmedia

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Starmedia, often written starMedia, was a Latin American Internet brand and the first pan-regional portal for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking users. It launched in 1996, founded by Fernando Espuelas and Jack Chen, with Giuliano Stiglitz later serving as CEO. The goal was to unite Latin America online.

The company helped spark Latin American Internet activity, bringing in early venture capital and eventually the region’s first IPO in 1999. It grew into a major site for non-English content, with millions of users and thousands of employees across many countries, and at its peak a market value around $3.8 billion.

Espuelas led a big marketing push known as the "Espuelas Effect," and StarMedia rolled out many regional firsts: LatinMail email (1997), LatinChat (1999), a TV ad campaign (1996), and a video news channel with CBS News (1997). It also pioneered early e-commerce and free Internet access partnerships.

In 1999 it went public on Nasdaq, becoming the first Latin Internet company to do so. But the dot-com bust hurt the business. Espuelas did not sell his shares and later said he lost hundreds of millions. He resigned as CEO in 2001, and the company shifted focus to StarMedia Mobile.

The assets were sold in 2002 to eresMas, which was later acquired by Wanadoo/Orange. StarMedia became part of Orange’s advertising and online network in the Americas. The brand’s history includes a period as CycleLogic and a 2003 bankruptcy, with assets eventually acquired by IMS in 2004. Since 2009, StarMedia has been connected with Orange Advertising Network Americas, led by Giuliano Stiglitz.