# Reggie Renner

> Reggie Renner is the co-founder and CEO of Static Media, an Indianapolis-area digital publisher that grew from the ZergNet recommendation engine into a portfolio of 33 consumer brands drawing more than 220 million monthly visits. A programmer by training and a self-described nerd, Renner built his career by treating audience behavior as an editorial signal, pairing proprietary testing tools with human writers and using advertising profits to fund launches and acquisitions.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Static Media
- **Organizations:** Static Media, ZergNet
- **Education:** Indiana University Bloomington, Carmel High School
- **Known for:** Co-founded the business that evolved from ZergNet into Static Media's portfolio of 33 digital brands., Raised a $3.2 million Series A in 2014 from Greycroft, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Lerer Hippeau and Mark Cuban., Built an ad-supported publishing portfolio reported by Static Media in 2026 at more than 220 million monthly visits.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2012** — Worked as a programmer and lead developer for startups in the Midwest.
- **2012** — Co-founded ZergNet with Mike Langin, initially serving small gaming publishers with a content-recommendation system.
- **2012** — Cold-emailed Mark Cuban after watching Shark Tank; Cuban became an early investor after Renner asked him to reconsider an initial due-diligence rejection.
- **2014** — Raised a $3.2 million Series A led by Greycroft and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, with Lerer Hippeau and Mark Cuban participating.
- **2015-2019** — Expanded from recommendation technology into owned consumer publishing, with Looper among the early properties and a growing video operation.
- **2021-2022** — Expanded the portfolio through acquisitions including Tasting Table, /Film, Glam and Wrestling Inc.
- **2023** — Partnered with Novacap to accelerate acquisitions; the company reported more than 100 million monthly website sessions.
- **2024** — Added The Takeout, Hunker, Cuteness and Sciencing to the portfolio.
- **2025** — Added Jalopnik, BGR, TVLine and PlanetWare as Static Media widened its auto, technology, entertainment and travel coverage.
- **2026** — Static Media acquired Engadget and Mom.com and publicly codified its human-authorship policy across the portfolio.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the business that evolved from ZergNet into Static Media's portfolio of 33 digital brands.
- Raised a $3.2 million Series A in 2014 from Greycroft, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Lerer Hippeau and Mark Cuban.
- Built an ad-supported publishing portfolio reported by Static Media in 2026 at more than 220 million monthly visits.
- Developed a repeatable model combining proprietary audience-testing technology, original editorial work and acquisitions.
- Kept the company headquartered in the Indianapolis area while building a distributed media operation.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Static Media acquired Mom.com, its first brand devoted solely to parenting, bringing the portfolio to 33 brands.
- **2026-08** — Static Media published a portfolio-wide no-AI writing policy requiring identifiable human authors and human editorial review.
- **2026-05** — Renner spoke to students in a Digital Media Innovation class at NYU Stern.
- **2026-04** — Static Media announced the acquisition of Engadget, expanding its technology coverage.
- **2025-12** — Static Media acquired travel guide publisher PlanetWare.
- **2025-10** — Static Media acquired and relaunched BGR and TVLine from Penske Media Corporation.

## Links

- Website: https://www.static.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reggie-renner-a853135
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/staticmed
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/staticmedia

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/reggie-renner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27