James Boehm

A feature that Microsoft published in 2017 states that James Boehm, then 15 and living in Atlanta, Georgia, saw an advertisement for Matthew Salsamendi’s hosting service and reached out to him, and that the two became online friends; he suggested that he come on board and use his business development and marketing skills to help make the business more official. The two then migrated Matthew Salsamendi’s home lab to a bona fide datacenter and named the company MCProHosting.⁠[1]

The article opens by noting that the two were 13 and 15 when they launched their first startup and that “What began as James’s community gaming server grew into the duo’s multimillion-dollar company” well before either had graduated from high school; it also states that between 2011 and 2014 the initial $7.00 investment grew into a company worth nearly $5 million.⁠[1]

The article states that while Matthew Salsamendi was in high school, whenever the servers went down James Boehm would have to call Matthew Salsamendi’s mother, who would check her son out of school so that he could come home and fix them.⁠[1]

GameDaily.biz and MCV/DEVELOP wrote in 2019 that he co-founded the streaming platform Beam with Matthew Salsamendi in 2014. Microsoft’s feature states that the two first released an alpha product under the website name “chilly dot cool.”⁠[2][3][1]

TechCrunchTechCrunchTechCrunch is an American technology news outlet founded in 2005 by Michael Arrington and Keith Teare and headquartered in San Francisco; it mainly covers technology companies, startups, and venture capital, and hosts events such as TechCrunch Disrupt. Its ownership passed successively through AOL, Verizon, and Yahoo, and in 2025 Regent announced its acquisition.Open the full entry wrote in August 2016 that Beam’s team took part in the Techstars Seattle class of 2016.⁠[4]

TechCrunch wrote that Beam launched on January 5, 2016; Microsoft’s feature states that the two launched Beam in January 2016.⁠[4][1]

TechCrunch wrote that Beam’s interactive tools made their official debut at TechCrunch DisruptTechCrunch DisruptTechCrunch Disrupt is a technology and startup conference organized by TechCrunch, combining interviews, product demonstrations, startup competitions and industry networking for founders and investors.Open the full entry NY in May 2016; MCV/DEVELOP and TheGamer wrote that he won TechCrunch Disrupt NY in 2016. Microsoft’s feature includes photographs of him and Matthew Salsamendi demonstrating Beam at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2016 (the caption reads “Beam—now known as Mixer”) and of the two accepting a check from Sam O’Keefe onstage.⁠[4][3][5][1]

On June 21, 2016, the Thiel Foundation announced its 2016 class of Thiel Fellows, and he was selected for the Thiel Fellowship together with Matthew Salsamendi; the list gives their hometown as Seattle, Washington, their field as social gaming and their project as Beam, which the two co-founded; the list describes Beam as an interactive live-streaming platform for gamers that lets viewers of live-streamed game sessions get involved and influence gameplay in real time.⁠[6][3]

On August 11, 2016, TechCrunch wrote that Microsoft had acquired the interactive game live-streaming service Beam, which had raised around $420,000 in seed funding before the acquisition.⁠[4]

A photo caption in Microsoft’s feature states that he said the decision to sell Beam to Microsoft “was not taken lightly.” He said: “We truly wanted to make the choice that would be best for our Beam community,” adding: “Everything we’d been wanting to do aligned well with what Xbox had been wanting to do, to make gaming more social and fun,” and “Xbox had the resources to continue to scale what we’d already been doing.”⁠[1]

The article states that the two then moved across the country, bought a house in Redmond and started their lives as roommates and Microsoft employees.⁠[1]

On May 25, 2017, Xbox Wire published “Introducing ‘Mixer’,” signed by Matthew Salsamendi as co-founder and Mixer Engineering Lead; the day’s broadcast schedule it set out included a Co-streaming Partner Spotlight at 6 p.m. Pacific Time hosted by co-founder James Boehm, in which he would play, co-stream, chat and answer questions with Mixer partners.⁠[7]

On September 28, 2017, Microsoft published on its news site a feature by Candace Whitney-Morris on how he and Matthew Salsamendi went from teenage founders to Mixer, giving their ages at the time as 21 and 19 respectively.⁠[1]

The article states that he has been an Xbox fan since he was a kid and has played Halo on Xbox since he was 8 years old, and that he is happy to see his obsession come full circle. He said: “I grew up on this platform, and now I get to build something for future generations.”⁠[1]

On January 25, 2018, Xbox Wire published “An Amazing 2017 with TONS on the Horizon,” credited to “James Boehm, Mixer co-founder,” which opens by noting that Mixer had been introduced only eight months earlier. The post recounts that in 2017 Mixer introduced four-person co-streaming, merging streams and chat into one view; launched interactive experiences in games including Minecraft, Hello Neighbor, Death’s Door and Killing Floor 2, and Crowd-Play in Telltale Games titles; released broadcasting and viewing apps for iOS and Android; added support for 21 languages; launched HypeZone, a 24/7 channel for fans of PUBG and battle-royale games dedicated to the final moments of PUBG matches whose beta channel was closing in on one million views; saw its partner Siefe become the first Mixer streamer to pass one million views; and passed 10 million monthly active users for the first time.⁠[8]

The post adds that Mixer partners streamed from PAX South and showed interactivity in The Darwin Project, and that the team planned to attend PAX East and E3; that Mixer would refine and expand HypeZone based on feedback and was working with publishers to bring interactivity to more games; that Mixer Direct Purchase, then in testing, would launch broadly, letting viewers buy games and DLC from a stream with partners earning a share, across more than 5,000 games on Xbox and Windows 10; and that viewer donations on the platform and channel subscriptions in the Xbox One app were coming soon. He wrote that “it’s been an amazing feeling getting to bring our vision to life,” that “we’re completely blown away with how quickly the Mixer community has grown,” and that “we’re just barely getting started.”⁠[8]

On October 2, 2019, he announced that he was leaving Microsoft for new business ventures. Windows Central quoted him as saying, “I’m proud of my achievements with the Mixer team and my time at Microsoft,” and wrote that he was turning his focus to new projects he was involved in; the article states that he had recently been appointed to the board of GamerGoo, which designs lotions for gamers meant to keep hands dry, cool and sweat-free.⁠[9]

GameDaily.biz wrote that he would shift his focus to new ventures and investments in the games industry; in a statement he said he had learned a lot from talented engineers and designers, was humbled to have been part of the team and was excited about the future of the Mixer platform, but was now focusing on new projects aimed at developing the industry and its communities. On Twitter he wrote: “Although, I will be leaving Mixer, this community and what we’ve built together, will always be a part of who I am.”⁠[2]

On October 3, 2019, MCV/DEVELOP quoted his series of tweets: “Today, I’m announcing my departure from Microsoft,” “When we started Mixer over five years ago, @MattSalsamendi and I could have only dreamed it would grow into the globally known brand,” “I will still be very close by through streaming, attending events, and actively participating in all things gaming worldwide,” and “Thank you all for an incredible five years and thank you to all who supported us over them.” The article states that he built the platform that became Mixer, which reached hundreds of millions of Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One consoles globally, He also wrote in the tweets that the first announcement was his recent appointment to the board of GamerGoo, “with more to follow.”⁠[3]

TheGamer wrote on October 7, 2019, that after five years leading the Mixer project he had decided to pursue other business ventures aimed at empowering communities and creators through investments, and that he planned to work with companies across the gaming industry; the article states that GamerGoo’s hand lotion improves gamers’ grip for up to four hours and that its founder, Justin Clark, developed it with a biomedical engineer at Florida Tech while earning his MBA, after sweaty palms affected his ability to play. Engadget wrote on October 11, 2019: “Last week, Mixer’s other co-founder, James J. Boehm, announced his departure from Microsoft.”⁠[5][10]

MCV/DEVELOP wrote in 2019 that he received a 2017 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award and was included in ForbesForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry’ 2018 “30 Under 30” list.⁠[3]

Microsoft: Official website: https://www.microsoft.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[8]

Thiel Fellowship: Official website: https://thielfellowship.org/ (opens in a new window).⁠[11]