Fast-growing MediaFire early leader in free cloud storage services
Molly Ryan
Houston Business Journal
One of the fastest-growing cloud storage companies in the world is quietly floating under the radar in The Woodlands.
It may come a surprise to some that MediaFire, a company that had more than 1.2 billion unique users in 2012, is headquartered in north Houston instead of Silicon Valley.
The reason, it turns out, is because it was close to home — at least for CEO and co-founder Derek Labian. Other key leadership had to be imported, such as cofounder and vice president of product and communications, Tom Langridge, who moved from California.
Despite its location off the beaten path, MediaFire is making a name for itself in the cloud storage world.
Although Labian admitted it can be hard to hire local employees for MediaFire’s rapidly growing office in The Woodlands, the company has had success recruiting from out of state. MediaFire has about doubled its staff every year since it was founded in 2006, Labian said. The company has 65 employees, and Labian said he aims to double his payroll again this year.
Most recently, Labian has been busy getting ready to launch a desktop platform that will allow users to store files on the company’s cloud and access these files via their desktop. The new platform will also emphasize collaboration features currently available on MediaFire’s online platform, he said.
Labian took a break to talk with HBJ about how MediaFire is working to expand the realm of cloud storage.