Science Inc

Science Inc is a Santa Monica-based venture capital firm and startup studio founded in 2011 by Mike Jones, former CEO of Myspace. With five funds and over $75M raised across its venture vehicles, Science has built a distinctive model combining venture capital deployment with hands-on company building through its studio platform. Understanding consumer retention and LTV:CAC is valuable for any founder.

The firm has made 54 investments and logged 11 significant exits, including the landmark Dollar Shave Club acquisition by Unilever for $1 billion in 2016. That exit alone demonstrated Science's ability to identify consumer market dislocation and build companies that attract strategic acquirers at premium valuations.

Science's investment thesis focuses on commerce, marketplaces, networks, apps, and blockchain technology. The firm targets consumer experiences, economic marketplaces, influencer networks, and digital applications where technology can displace legacy players in large, entrenched categories.

Unlike traditional venture firms that wait for deal flow, Science operates as a venture studio capable of building companies from the ground up. This gives the firm optionality on both the supply side (finding or creating opportunities) and the value creation side (operational support before and after investment).

The firm typically enters investments at the pre-seed and seed stages with check sizes ranging from $3.5M to $5M per transaction. Science has demonstrated willingness to lead rounds, co-lead with institutional investors, and participate across multiple funding cycles as portfolio companies scale.

Science maintains an active investment pace in 2024 and 2025, participating in rounds like Final Boss Sour's $3M seed in October 2024 and Mindset's $13M Series A in August 2024, showing continued conviction in consumer brands and digital platforms.

Science Inc concentrates on identifying entrenched consumer markets where technology-driven companies can achieve category leadership. The firm's investment thesis centers on commerce infrastructure, marketplace dynamics, social networks, mobile applications, and emerging blockchain-enabled business models. Understanding working capital management for consumer brands is valuable for any founder.

The Santa Monica-based firm prefers to invest in companies that address large, addressable markets with clear paths to category leadership. Science looks for consumer businesses where distribution advantages, network effects, or proprietary data can create durable competitive moats over time.

Within commerce, Science has demonstrated particular interest in brands that challenge legacy consumer categories. Dollar Shave Club exemplified this thesis: a subscription model that threatened incumbent P&G and Unilever, achieved massive scale through viral marketing, and ultimately commanded a $1B acquisition price.

The firm's marketplace thesis extends to platforms that create efficient economic exchange between buyers and sellers. This includes influencer marketing platforms like FameBit (acquired by Google), which connected brands with content creators at scale before becoming a canonical acquisition in the space.

Science also invests in network-effect businesses where user growth compounds value. The firm has backed social platforms, community-driven apps, and blockchain infrastructure companies where the underlying network becomes more valuable as adoption increases.

The studio model differentiates Science from pure-play venture firms. By building companies alongside founding teams, Science can provide operational resources, talent access, strategic direction, and follow-on capital that creates alignment across the full company lifecycle.

Science Inc has maintained an active investment cadence through 2024 and into 2025, deploying capital across seed and Series A stages in consumer and commerce-related companies. The firm's recent portfolio activity reflects its thesis around category-disrupting consumer brands and marketplace platforms. Understanding managing cash conversion cycles in deep tech is valuable for any founder.

In October 2024, Science participated in Final Boss Sour's $3M seed round, a company operating in the competitive snack and beverage space targeting health-conscious consumers. The investment demonstrates Science's continued appetite for consumer brands with differentiated positioning and growth potential.

August 2024 saw Science lead or co-lead Mindset's $13M Series A round. Mindset represents Science's thesis around digital applications and consumer wellness platforms, indicating the firm's willingness to write larger checks at Series A when market opportunity and team quality warrant significant deployment.

Science has also invested in Open3 in 2025, representing the firm's blockchain and Web3 thesis where distributed infrastructure can create new economic models. This keeps Science relevant in emerging technology sectors while maintaining its core consumer and commerce focus.

The firm has continued its studio model, creating companies alongside founding teams rather than solely acquiring equity in third-party startups. This approach provides Science with proprietary deal flow and deeper operational involvement in company building, differentiating it from traditional venture firms competing for the same deal flow.

Follow-on investment remains a key part of Science's strategy. The firm has demonstrated willingness to support portfolio companies across multiple financing rounds as they scale, providing necessary capital and strategic guidance through growth phases.

Science Inc's portfolio reflects its thesis around building transformative consumer companies from inception through acquisition. The firm's most famous exit remains Dollar Shave Club, which Science co-founded and backed before Unilever acquired the company for $1 billion in 2016.

FameBit, the influencer marketing platform Science built within its studio, was acquired by Google in 2016. The acquisition validated Science's thesis around influencer commerce and created a template for future studio-built companies targeting major platform acquisitions.

Liquid Death, the canned water brand targeting youth culture and concert venues, received early backing from Science and grew into a major consumer brand. The company demonstrated that challenger brands with distinctive voice and product design could achieve mainstream distribution and cultural relevance.

DogVACAY, the dog boarding and sitting platform, was acquired and represented Science's marketplace thesis around connecting pet owners with service providers. EVENTup, another marketplace acquisition, showed Science's interest in event-based commerce platforms.

Cladwell, an acquired fashion and wardrobe platform, demonstrated Science's appetite for personal commerce and style subscription models. RealBlocks, acquired via corporate majority in February 2024, showed Science's ongoing ability to exit portfolio companies through strategic transactions.

The portfolio also includes Final Boss Sour, Mindset, and Open3 as active investments representing Science's continued focus on consumer brands, digital applications, and blockchain infrastructure respectively.

Science Inc evaluates potential investments based on market size, founder quality, and competitive differentiation. The firm seeks entrepreneurs who identify large, entrenched consumer categories and build technology-enabled solutions that can achieve category leadership.

The founding team matters significantly to Science. The firm has demonstrated preference for founders with deep domain expertise, proven execution ability, and the vision to build category-defining companies rather than incremental improvements to existing solutions.

Market opportunity must be substantial with clear paths to significant revenue at scale. Science prefers companies addressing billion-dollar markets where technology disruption can drive category leadership within three to five years of investment.

Competitive positioning and moat are critical evaluation criteria. Science looks for companies with proprietary technology, exclusive partnerships, brand strength, or network effects that can defend market position against well-funded competitors over time.

Business model clarity and unit economics matter for Science's investment decisions. The firm evaluates pricing strategy, customer acquisition costs, lifetime value, and path to profitability or the next institutional funding round.

Cultural fit and leadership team dynamics receive attention during Science's evaluation process. The firm looks for companies with strong foundations that can support sustainable growth and organizational scaling as the company matures.

Science Inc sources deals through warm introductions, direct outreach, and its startup studio model. Portfolio company CEOs, fellow investors, and LA-area founders represent the primary channels for securing meetings with the Santa Monica-based firm.

Cold outreach to Science requires exceptional pitch materials and clear alignment with the firm's investment thesis around commerce, marketplaces, and consumer disruption. The firm receives significant inbound volume, so differentiation through specificity and traction matters.

Science's studio model creates unique entry points for founders willing to co-build companies with the firm. This approach provides access to Science's operational platform, talent network, and capital, but requires willingness to work within the studio framework.

Founders should prepare for detailed discussions around market size, competitive landscape, and growth projections. Science's investment team will probe assumptions, challenge projections, and evaluate founder depth on all aspects of the business.

Follow-up discipline matters for Science's process. The firm takes several weeks to make investment decisions, so maintaining communication without being overly pushy helps build relationship equity over time.

Building long-term relationships with Science creates value even without immediate investment. The firm may be interested in future rounds, can provide warm introductions to other investors, and represents a valuable network contact for LA-area founders.

Science Inc expects portfolio companies to maintain rigorous financial discipline and clear visibility into unit economics, burn rate, and runway. Early-stage companies must demonstrate understanding of their financial mechanics and realistic paths to profitability or next institutional round.

Founders preparing to pitch Science should ensure their financial models reflect grounded assumptions and demonstrate clear thinking around business model leverage, customer acquisition efficiency, and path to scale.

Working with a fractional CFO significantly improves fundraising readiness. Professional financial guidance helps founders build investor-ready presentations, prepare comprehensive due diligence materials, and confidently navigate investor scrutiny.

Our team has supported numerous companies through Science's investment process and understands what the firm evaluates in financial presentations. We ensure founders are positioned to meet Science's diligence expectations.

Financial projections should demonstrate awareness of various scenarios and show evidence of thoughtful planning. Science will challenge optimistic assumptions and expect founders to defend their projections with supporting data.

Key performance indicators tailored to your specific business model matter significantly in Science's evaluation. The firm wants to see that founders track the metrics that actually drive their business and can explain performance trends clearly.

Whether preparing to pitch Science Inc or other top-tier venture firms, professional financial infrastructure sets your company apart from competitors seeking the same capital. Our team helps founders present financials that inspire confidence in investors and position companies for successful fundraising rounds.

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