Michael Jones (Internet entrepreneur)

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Michael Jones
File:Mike Jones high res headshot.jpg
Born United States
Residence Malibu, California
Nationality American
Occupation Internet entrepreneur
Children 2

Michael Jones is an Internet entrepreneur and investor. He has founded, built and sold numerous online and mobile businesses.

Michael Jones is an Internet entrepreneur, investor, and strategic advisor. Jones is currently the founder and CEO of Science Inc. in Los Angeles,[1] where he has lived since 1997.[2]

Jones has founded, advised, invested and sold numerous businesses, including application platform Userplane, which he led from startup to its acquisition by AOL; Tsavo Media; MoVoxx; People Media; Brizzly; and Myspace.[3]

Jones has a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Marketing from the University of Oregon and was named the University's Student Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997.[4] He lives in Malibu, California, with his wife and two children.[5]

Userplane

Founded in 2001, Userplane was a developer of chat and instant-messaging software for corporate clients including Myspace and Honda. It was acquired by AOL in 2006 for an undisclosed sum.[6]

Tsavo Media

Jones was the co-founder and CEO of Tsavo Media, an online media network launched in 2008 which was later sold to Cybernex for $75 million.[7]

Myspace

From 2010-2011, Jones served 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 assisted with the transition for two months after the sale, then left Myspace in summer 2011.[11]

Science Inc.

In November 2011, Jones launched technology startup studio Science Inc,[12] which was named to Fast Company’s list of The Most Innovative Companies in 2013. Science is based in Santa Monica, California,[13] and currently focuses on mobile entertainment for millennials, including the popular App Wishbone, which has more than 3.1 million monthly active users.[14]

Previously, Science built various tech startups internally and offered support services to early-stage startups.[15] Jones spent much of his time working with the companies’ CEOs and investors on strategy, growth and business development.[16] Startups that have come from Science include Dollar Shave Club, DogVacay, Hello Society, HomeHero, FameBit, Delicious, Playhaven, and Quarterly.[17][18][19]

Science initially received $10 million in backing from a number of well-known investors, including Eric Schmidt’s Tomorrow Ventures, Rustic Canyon, White Star Capital, The Social+Capital Partnership, Jean-Marie Messier, Philippe Camus, Jonathan Miller and Dennis Phelps.[20] In 2013, Science raised $30 million in funding from Hearst Ventures, the investment arm of media giant Hearst Corporation.[21] Most recently, Science raised $20 million in debt financing from Silver Lake Waterman.[22]

Angel investing

In 2005, Jones began angel investing, primarily focused in the Los Angeles area. He has personally invested in more than 30 startups.[23] According to AngelList, Jones' list of personal investments includes: Maker, GoodReads, Medium, ZipRecruiter, Scopely, Klout, MeUndies, Fresco News, Tinder and Wealthfront.[24]

Dollar Shave Club

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.[25] Jones serves as a board member.[26]

DogVacay

As of 2012, Jones has been on the board of DogVacay, the Santa Monica based company known for home dog boarding and other pet services.[27]

GumGum

As of 2009, Jones has been on the board of GumGum, the inventor of in-image advertising.[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mike Jones Launches Technology Studio, Science, In LA With $10M From Eric Schmidt And Others" Techcrunch, November 16, 2011
  2. ↑ "The next big thing coming out of Silicon Beach? Mobile everything" USA Today, July 14, 2015
  3. ↑ "Mike Jones" Updated, November 16, 2015
  4. ↑ "University of Oregon Alumni Association" UOAlumni.com, April 26, 2014
  5. ↑ "Take a tour of former Myspace CEO and tech incubator Mike Jones' Malibu mansion" Business Insider, May 8th, 2015
  6. ↑ "AOL snaps up IM developer Userplane" CNET, August 14th, 2006
  7. ↑ "Former MySpace CEO launches a startup studio" CNET, November 11th, 2014
  8. ↑ "Saving Myspace: CEO Mike Jones Talks About Rethink, Relaunch and–Fingers Crossed–Resurgence" AllThingsD, October 27th, 2010
  9. ↑ "For Myspace, a Redesign to Entice Generation Y" The New York Times, October 27th, 2010
  10. ↑ "Exclusive: Myspace to Be Sold to Specific Media for $35 Million" AllThingsD, June 29th, 2011
  11. ↑ "Myspace Acquired, CEO Out: Email From Mike Jones To Employees" TechCrunch, June 29th, 2011
  12. ↑ "Former MySpace CEO creates startup incubator called Science, invests in former MySpace execs" VentureBeat, November 16th, 2011
  13. ↑ "The Most Innovative Social Media Companies 2013" Fast Company, February 13th, 2013
  14. ↑ "With 3.1M monthly users on Wishbone, Science touts its success reaching the teen market" Venture Beat, September 30th, 2015
  15. ↑ "Mike Jones" Crunchbase, Updated November 16, 2015
  16. ↑ "15 Questions with Mike Jones" CNN Money, May 13, 2015
  17. ↑ "Science Inc. to buy Social Bookmarking Site Delicious" Social Tech, May 8, 2014
  18. ↑ "Science Inc. Acquires Mobile Ad Network PlayHaven From Upsight" TechCrunch, September 24, 2014
  19. ↑ "Science Incubator Turns Up the Heat With New Services" LA Business Journal, June 28, 2015
  20. ↑ "Mike Jones" Crunchbase, Updated November 16, 2015
  21. ↑ "Hearst Ventures Backs Science Studio With $30 Million Fund" Tech.Co, February 15th, 2015
  22. ↑ "Startup studio Science Inc. raises $20 million from Silver Lake" Fortune, February 18th, 2015
  23. ↑ "Former MySpace CEO Michael Jones launches $30M VC fund to back Indian mobile startups" TechCircle India, July 2015, 2015
  24. ↑ "Mike Jones" Crunchbase, Updated November 16, 2015
  25. ↑ "Science Incubator Turns Up the Heat With New Services" LA Business Journal, June 28, 2015
  26. ↑ "Mike Jones" Crunchbase, Updated November 16, 2015
  27. ↑ "Mike Jones" Crunchbase, Updated November 16, 2015
  28. ↑ "Mike Jones" Crunchbase, Updated November 16, 2015

External links

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