Michael Jones (entrepreneur) explained

Birth Name:Michael Jones
Birth Place:Lake Oswego, Oregon
Nationality:American
Education:University of Oregon (B.A.)
Occupation:Entrepreneur

Michael Jones (born August 13, 1975) is an American entrepreneur, investor and CEO of Science Inc.[1] [2]

Education

Jones attended Lake Oswego High School and has a bachelor of arts in international business and marketing from the University of Oregon, where he was named Student Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997.[3] [4]

Business career

Early career

In 2001, Jones founded Userplane, a Los Angeles-based company that provides instant messaging and other applications for companies such as Myspace and Honda. In 2006, Userplane was acquired by AOL.[5] In 2005, Jones began angel investing, primarily focused in the Los Angeles area. He has personally invested in more than 30 startups.[6] In 2008, Jones launched Tsavo Media, an online media network company which was later sold to Cybernex for $75 million.[7]

Myspace

In 2010, Jones was hired as the CEO of Myspace where he was tasked with the company’s relaunch, one of the more high-profile turn-around challenges in the industry.[8] This included stabilizing a historically negative traffic and user trend, reducing the operational cost of the business by nearly 90 percent, and pivoting the product from its legacy as a social network to a social entertainment destination,[9] then selling the business on News Corp’s behalf to SpecificMedia.[10] Jones left Myspace in the summer of 2011.[11]

Science Inc.

In 2011, Jones launched technology startup studio Science Inc.[12] [13] Jones spent much of his time working with the companies’ CEOs and investors on strategy, growth and business development.[14] In 2011, Dollar Shave Club launched with investments from Science Inc. Science was Dollar Shave Club’s first investor, before the startup raised a $1 million seed round in March 2012.[15]

Other startups that have come from Science include Liquid Death, where Jones sits on the board; DogVacay (acquired by Rover); HelloSociety (acquired by The New York Times); HomeHero; FameBit (acquired by Google and rebranded as YouTube BrandConnect); Delicious; Playhaven (acquired by RockYou); Kyoku (acquired by TheFeed); and Quarterly.[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] His exits in 2016 included Science portfolio companies HelloSociety (acquired by The New York Times), and Dollar Shave Club (acquired by Unilever).[24]

In 2017, Science Inc. launched its initial coin offering for its blockchain-focused incubator, Science Blockchain. It was the first incubator to do so.[25]

In February 2018, Science Inc. closed on $75 million for its venture fund with traditional limited partners, including a fund of funds, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, and other institutional investors.[26] The capital will be used to back breakaway companies coming out of Science's incubators, co-invest in deals that were not seeded by Science, and will be used to co-invest alongside other venture investors.

Science Blockchain

In September 2017, Science Inc. announced Science Blockchain, an incubator focused on blockchain-based companies, funded through an initial coin offering (ICO).[27] The offering falls within U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) private placement exemptions from registration under Regulation D (SEC) and Regulation S. The ICO only allows accredited investors to buy tokens in the ICO. The ICO offering is being managed by The Argon Group, via its subsidiary Argon Investment Management LLC, under the Regulation D Section 506(c) exemption from registration issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notes and References

  1. https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/16/mike-jones-launches-betaworks-like-technology-studio-science-in-la-with-10m-from-eric-schmidt-and-others// "Mike Jones Launches Technology Studio, Science, In LA With $10M From Eric Schmidt And Others"
  2. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/14/mike-jones-science-los-angeles/30137129/// "The next big thing coming out of Silicon Beach? Mobile everything"
  3. http://www.uoalumni.com/s/1540/uoaa/index.aspx?sid=1540&gid=3&sitebuilder=1&pgid=2070&cid=4676&ecid=4676&crid=0&calpgid=715&calcid=1701 "University of Oregon Alumni Association"
  4. http://www.businessinsider.com/take-a-tour-of-former-myspace-ceo-and-tech-incubator-mike-jones-malibu-mansion-2015-5 "Take a tour of former Myspace CEO and tech incubator Mike Jones' Malibu mansion"
  5. http://www.cnet.com/news/aol-snaps-up-im-developer-userplane/ "AOL snaps up IM developer Userplane"
  6. http://techcircle.vccircle.com/2015/07/20/former-myspace-ceo-michael-jones-launches-30m-vc-fund-to-back-indian-mobile-startups/ "Former MySpace CEO Michael Jones launches $30M VC fund to back Indian mobile startups"
  7. http://www.cnet.com/news/former-myspace-ceo-launches-a-startup-studio/ "Former MySpace CEO launches a startup studio"
  8. http://allthingsd.com/20101027/saving-myspace-ceo-mike-jones-talks-about-rethink-relaunch-and-fingers-crossed-resurgence/ "Saving Myspace: CEO Mike Jones Talks About Rethink, Relaunch and–Fingers Crossed–Resurgence"
  9. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/technology/27myspace.html?_r=2&src=busln "For Myspace, a Redesign to Entice Generation Y"
  10. http://allthingsd.com/20110629/exclusive-myspace-to-be-sold-to-specific-media-at-35-million/ "Exclusive: Myspace to Be Sold to Specific Media for $35 Million"
  11. https://techcrunch.com/2011/06/29/myspace-goes-to-specific-media-for-35m-ceo-is-out-press-release/ "Myspace Acquired, CEO Out: Email From Mike Jones To Employees"
  12. https://venturebeat.com/2011/11/16/myspace-science-mike-jones/ "Former MySpace CEO creates startup incubator called Science, invests in former MySpace execs"
  13. http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2013/industry/social-media "The Most Innovative Social Media Companies 2013"
  14. https://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/15-questions-with-mike-jones/ "15 Questions with Mike Jones"
  15. http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2015/jun/28/incubator-turns-heat-additional-services/?page=2 "Science Incubator Turns Up the Heat With New Services"
  16. http://www.socaltech.com/science_inc_to_buy_social_bookmarking_site_delicious/s-0054941.html "Science Inc. to buy Social Bookmarking Site Delicious"
  17. https://techcrunch.com/2014/09/24/science-inc-acquires-playhaven/ "Science Inc. Acquires Mobile Ad Network PlayHaven From Upsight"
  18. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/science-ventures-iii-investment-themes-michael-jones/?trackingId=NNAEMjIiRSKy3TBwWexPcw%3D%3D "Science Ventures III Investment Themes "
  19. https://www.businessinsider.com/liquid-death-water-mike-cessario-2019-5 A Former Netflix Creative Director just got $1.6 million from Big Names in Tech for Liquid Death, which is Water in a Tallboy Can
  20. News: Mashayekhi . Rey . 4 Jan 2022 . Liquid Death Raises $75 Million in Funding at a $500 Million-Plus Valuation . dot.LA . 10 Apr 2023.
  21. News: Dave . Paresh . 29 Mar 2017 . Rover.com acquires Santa Monica dog-sitting start-up DogVacay, which couldn't keep up . . 10 Apr 2023.
  22. News: Ha . Anthony . 11 Oct 2016 . Google acquires FameBit to connect YouTube creators with marketers . . 10 Apr 2023.
  23. News: Takahashi . Dean . 6 May 2015 . RockYou acquires PlayHaven as it moves deeper into mobile ad networks . . 10 Apr 2023.
  24. http://fortune.com/2016/07/19/unilever-buys-dollar-shave-club-for-1-billion/ "Unilever Buys Dollar Shave Club for $1 Billion"
  25. https://www.wsj.com/articles/science-incubator-to-fund-new-blockchain-program-with-ico-1501710000/ "A Venture Firm Turns to Coin Offering for Incubator Gambit"
  26. https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/01/science-the-l-a-based-incubator-just-closed-on-75-million-for-its-first-real-venture-fund/ "Science, the L.A.-based incubator, just closed on $75 million for its first real venture fund"
  27. https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/04/why-science-is-turning-to-icos-for-its-incubator/ "Why Science is turning to ICOs for its incubator"

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