20 VC 060: 12 Acquisitions, $1bn In Exits, Mike Jones, Former MySpace CEO on Life At Science Inc.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

The Twenty Minute VC

Finance, Venturecapital, Tech News, News, Siliconvalley, Technology, Investing, Startups, Business

4.4 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2015

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mike Jones is the Founder and CEO at Science Inc. a disruptive media, marketing and commerce company that creates, invests, acquires and scales successful digital businesses. Their incredible portfolio includes the likes of Medium, DollarShaveClub and DogVacay and their leadership is responsible for an astonishing 12 acquisitions and over $1bn in exits. Prior to Science Inc, Mike was the CEO at Myspace, where he was responsible for the relaunch, one of the most high-profile turn-around challenges in the industry, before selling MySpace to SpecificMedia on behalf of NewsCorp. Mike is also an active early stage investor having personally invested in over 30 startup businesses including Klout, Betterworks, Formspring, ShoeDazzle to name a few.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Mike began his entrepreneurial career, how MySpace came about then how Mike made the move to Science Inc?

2.) What is the mission at Science, what does Science provide and how do they differ from the likes of YC and Techstars?

3.) Science have a specific methodology to identify the best startups and the best sectors. What is involved in this methodology? Has it changed since the start of Science?

4.) What can a startup founder do or show you to impress you? Are there any real red flags for you when meeting startup founders? What are the commonalities of the great founders?

5.) What is Science's involvement with the companies, what are their key value adds at Science?

6.) On Twist Mike said ‘growth is the most important thing, without growth there is no money’? So what at Science how do they approach growth and what are the challenges posed by this need for growth?

Items Mentioned in Todays Episode:

Mike's Fave Book: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do by Chris Duhigg

Mike's Fave News Source: FlipBoard

Transcript

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0:00.0	What an incredible episode do we have lined up for you today to celebrate the 60th session of the 20 minute VC.
0:07.1	I'm so thrilled to welcome Mike Jones. Mike is the founder and CEO at Science Inc.
0:13.1	A disruptive media marketing and commerce company that creates, invests, acquires and scales successful digital businesses.
0:27.6	I mean, their portfolio includes the likes of medium, dollar shave club, and dog vacate, just to name a few. And their leadership is responsible for an astonishing 12 acquisitions and over a billion dollars in exits.
0:34.6	But prior to science, Mike was the CEO at Myspace, where he was
0:39.7	responsible for the relaunch, which was one of the most high-profile turnaround challenges
0:44.0	in the history of the industry, before selling MySpace to specific media on behalf of News Corp.
0:50.8	Mike is also an active early stage investor, having personally invested in over 30 start-up businesses,
0:57.5	including the likes of clout, better works, form spring, and shoe dazzle, just to name a few.
1:04.3	But before we dive into stage show, are you responsible for the recruiting process,
1:08.7	and would you like to have all your candidates information
1:11.1	in a consistent format? Well, HiringScreen's profile builder can do this instantly.
1:16.8	Simply select the information you would like displayed. This can be the name, work history,
1:21.5	skills and education. And HiringScreen will automatically generate a profile for each
1:27.0	candidate according to your selections.
1:29.3	This enables a fair and more consistent screening process.
1:32.6	And you can find them at www.hiringscreen.com.
1:37.7	But now it's time to jump back into today's incredible interview with Mike Jones. Three, two, one, zero.
1:48.5	You have now arrived at your destination.
1:51.6	Mike, welcome to the 20 minute VC.
1:53.5	It's an absolute pleasure to have you on the show.
1:56.1	No problem. Thanks for having me.
	...

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