Former Myspace Chief Executive Mike Jones on Wednesday launched Science Inc., a Santa Monica tech studio that aims to develop, provide guidance for and fund start-up companies. In an interview, Jones said he thought there was "an efficiency to be gained" in how emerging tech companies are created and built, and noted that Los Angeles has a less mature and established angel market, which can often hamper companies with fresh ideas.
"Access to early capital and mentorship and advice and strategic development is very much limited in L.A. compared to Silicon Valley," he said. "We felt we saw really interesting talent in L.A. that was having a hard time getting through the formative stages in the business."
Science will take an approach practiced by movie studios, conceiving and building its own companies in-house as well as helping already-established companies. It plans to shepherd entrepreneurs through product design, business strategy, marketing and business development. Jones added that unlike other tech studios, Science would work with the companies "for the entire life cycle of the business."
"We look at this as a long-term portfolio, not a term-based business," he said. Science is backed by investors including Rustic Canyon, White Star Capital, the Social+Capital Partnership and Tomorrow Ventures.