TheStreet, Inc., was co-founded in 1996 by Jim Cramer and Marty Peretz. It became a public company via an initial public offering in May 1999 under the direction of former CEO Kevin English and former CFO Paul Kothari. In 1999, at the peak of the dot-com bubble, the market capitalization of the company was $1.7 billion. Under the direction of former chairman and CEO Thomas J. Clarke, Jr., the company reported its first annual profit in 2005. Jim Cramer became chairman in October 2008 and served in that capacity until 2011. Daryl Otte, a long-time company director, became CEO in May 2009 after the resignation of the former CEO, Thomas Clarke. Otte is the founding partner of Montefiore Partners, a venture capital investment fund management firm, and a former executive at media companyZiff Davis. On March 7, 2012, Elisabeth DeMarse was hired as CEO and president, replacing outgoing CEO Daryl Otte. In April 2007, the company acquired Stockpickr.com. In November 2007, the company acquired BankingMyWay and RateWatch. In 2008, the company acquired a 13% stake in Geezeo.com, a Boston-based online management tool, with an option to purchase the entire company. Dave Kansas became editor-in-chief in April 1997. Kansas also opened a San Francisco bureau and was a member of the board of directors. In July 2001, David J. Morrow, a former reporter for The New York Times, joined TheStreet, Inc. as its editor-in-chief upon Kansas's departure. Glenn Hall, a former news manager at Freedom Communications and Bloomberg News, replaced Morrow in August 2009. William Inman, former Bloomberg News Editor, replaced Glenn Hall as Editor-in-Chief in March 2012. Janet Guyon, from Fortune,The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Investopedia replaced William Inman in April 2014. In August 2007, the company acquired Corsis, including Promotions.com for $20.7 million. It was sold to management for $3.1 million in December 2009. Executives of the company were later accused of inflating revenues and paid penalties to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2008, the company launched its first mobile app, for the BlackBerry. The Blackberry version was mentioned as "Official Honoree" for the Mobile Applications category of the 2009 Webby Awards, and, together with the iPhone version, won the 2008 "Creative Use of Online" award by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. In June 2009, it launched for Android. In September 2010, the company launched a mobile website, TheStreet.mobi. In September 2012, the company acquired The Deal LLC, a media company that covers mergers and acquisitions. The site was sold in February 2019. In April 2013, TheStreet Inc. acquired financial newsletters The DealFlow Report, which covers microcap stocks, including initial public offerings and private placements, and The Life Settlements Report, which focuses on life insurance settlements, as well as the PrivateRaise database. In November 2014, the company acquired BoardEx for $22.5 million. In June 2016, David Callaway left USA Today to become CEO of TheStreet.com. In April 2018, the company launched Retirement Daily, a subscription service aimed at retirees. In June 2018, the company sold Rate Watch to S&P Global for $33.5 million. In February 2019, the company sold The Deal and BoardX for $87 million. David Callaway left as CEO and was replaced by Eric Lundberg. In August 2019, TheMaven acquired the company for $16.5 million. The company also partnered with Sports Illustrated Fantasy to launch Bull Market Fantasy with Jim Cramer, a channel offering insights, analysis and tips for winning fantasy sports leagues. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, TheStreet received between $5 million and $10 million in federally backed small business loans from JPMorgan Chase Bank as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The company stated it would allow them to retain 15 jobs.
