Michael Jones (Internet entrepreneur)

Michael Jones
Born	United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Internet entrepreneur

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]

References

External links

• Official website