 | This article contains promotional content .(May 2020) |
Michael Jones | |
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| Born | Michael Jones August 13, 1975 |
| 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] "" He was named after his uncle, Olympic gold medalist Michael Schoettle.
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]
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]
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]
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); [16] Delicious; Playhaven (acquired by RockYou); Kyoku (acquired by TheFeed); and Quarterly. [15] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [16] [23] His exits in 2016 included Science portfolio companies HelloSociety (acquired by The New York Times), [16] 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. [26]
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. [25] The ICO only allows accredited investors to buy tokens in the ICO. [25] 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. [25]