Most Creative People 2010: #17 Reid Hoffman

"The good relationships and alliances you create define your mutual ability to be effective," says Reid Hoffman, which is a fancy way of saying that friends really matter. Hoffman, 42, is a powerful friend to have. In the early aughts, the founding PayPaller established himself as one of Web 2.0's most influential angel investors, funding and coaching a bevy of once unknown startups (Facebook, Digg, Flickr, Zynga). He steered his own brainchild, LinkedIn, to profitability by embracing the trend of building the Brand Called You.