Thursday, December 27, 2018
Reflections on 2018: Michael Jones, Science Inc.
Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. You'll be able to browse all of those contributions here. Today, we have a contribution from Michael Jones, the CEO of Science Inc. (www.science-inc.com).
What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?
One theme I saw repeatedly this year was companies continuing to do things the same way, ultimately getting the same results. Companies that took bold steps to try and change or increase the positive trajectory of their businesses were either successful or failed -- but all gained learning. Often from this learning are they were able to improve, make better choices and continue to take bold actions to scale their company.
What was the biggest news for your company in 2018?
Our investment in PlayVS and the subsequent launch of their Season Zero high school e-sports platform was very exciting. PlayVS supports high school e-sport athletes and celebrates competitive e-sports, allowing any student enrolled in high school to join a team and compete online, with no limit to unique teams per high school and without having to tryout.
Are there any technology innovations, gadgets, devices, software, that you found most interesting in 2018?
I continue to love my Apple Watch and its new health orientated features. My daughter Oceane and I have come to use the Walkie Talkie feature frequently. Additionally, due to the fires in Malibu, we have been testing various air filtration system. We have determined that the AirMega actually is stronger and has better results than other new providers in air filtration!
Finally, what's your prediction on what will be most important thing for the technology industry in the coming year?
I would love to see a stabilization of the public markets and crypto markets, however, there are some larger issues I am curious about that will deeply impact the technology industry. For instance, Facebook’s response to the growing list of accusations around political manipulation and breach of consumer trust as well as the user’s response to this breach of public trust. In a similar vein, I am intrigued to see how the White House’s position on technology company growth and expansion continues to shift and evolve. Lastly, the United States’ overall relations with China and their ever-growing influence on our technology industry will be vital to consider in the coming year.
Mike Jones is an internet executive, investor and strategic advisor and CEO of Science, Inc. He is Los Angeles's most active angel investor with more than $2.5B in exits. His exits in 2016 alone included Science portfolio companies HelloSociety (acquired by New York Times), FameBit (acquired by Google) and Dollar Shave Club (acquired by Unilever). He is also a long-time entrepreneur. He started his first company in college, and he was previously the CEO of Userplane (acquired by AOL), Tsavo (acquired by Cybermedia), PBJ (acquired by JB), MySpace (acquired by Specific Media), Myspace Japan (acquired by Softbank), and FIM (acquired by Rubicon Project).