# John Horton

> John Horton founded LegitScript in 2007 and led its development into an internet and payments compliance business before moving into executive chairman and strategy roles in 2020. A former Oregon prosecutor and White House official, he now publicly identifies as a founder, investor and CEO mentor; Invested.io lists him as CEO and founder. He also releases music in English and Japanese as Jack Horton.

- **Role:** CEO & Founder at Invested.io
- **Organizations:** LegitScript, Invested.io, Citizenly, Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, The White House, Oregon House Judiciary Committee, Jack Horton Music
- **Education:** BA, Willamette University, JD, University of Oregon School of Law, Waseda University
- **Known for:** Founded and led LegitScript from 2007 through its growth into an internet and payments compliance business., Secured Google as LegitScript’s first customer after an extended self-funded period., Led a company that reported more than 150 employees at its 2020 CEO transition.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2002** — Worked as an Oregon prosecutor and as legal counsel to the Oregon House Judiciary Committee.
- **2002-2007** — Served in the White House; his personal site identifies his title as Associate Deputy Director.
- **2007** — Founded LegitScript.
- **2013** — Described a bootstrapped company with roughly 30 staff and Google as its first customer.
- **2018** — LegitScript received an Oregon Top Workplace designation based on staff input.
- **2020** — Transferred the CEO role to Scott Roth and became Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer.
- **2022** — Publicly introduced Citizenly, co-founded with Chris Knotz, and described plans to release music commercially.
- **2024** — Released The Tokyo Sessions under the name Jack Horton.
- **2025** — Released the five-song EP Imperfections and participated in an OpenPlay investment round.
- **2026** — Invested.io’s live team page lists Horton as CEO and Founder.

## Achievements

- Founded and led LegitScript from 2007 through its growth into an internet and payments compliance business.
- Secured Google as LegitScript’s first customer after an extended self-funded period.
- Led a company that reported more than 150 employees at its 2020 CEO transition.
- Co-founded civic technology venture Citizenly with Chris Knotz.
- Released bilingual music as Jack Horton, including The Tokyo Sessions and Imperfections.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Research-date verification: Invested.io lists Horton as CEO and founder and remains invite-only; this is an observation of the live site, not a dated company announcement.
- **2025-09** — Music Business Worldwide reported Horton’s participation in an OpenPlay investment round.
- **2025-08** — Apple Music dates the five-song Imperfections EP to August 15, 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://john-horton.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhorton-ceo/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/iamjohnhorton
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackhortonmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realjackhorton/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackhortonmusic
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jackhortonmusic

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-horton
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-13