Mark Pincus
Mark Jonathan Pincus (born February 13, 1966)[3] is an American Internet entrepreneur known as the founder of Zynga, a mobile social gaming company. Pincus also founded the startups Freeloader, Inc., Tribe Networks, and Support.com.[4] Pincus served as the CEO of Zynga until July 2013, then again from 2015 to 2016.[5]
Mark Pincus | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education |
|
Occupations | |
Spouse |
Alison Gelb
(m. 2008; div. 2017) |
Children | 3 |
Pincus was named 2009 "CEO of the Year"[6] at The Crunchies technology awards[7] and a year later was named Founder of the Year at the 2010 ceremony.[8] Zynga is considered to be the pioneer of the social gaming industry.[9] In 2011, Zynga went public with a $1 billion IPO.[10] Pincus co-founded Reinvent Capital in 2018, an investment firm, with Reid Hoffman and hedge fund manager Michael Thompson.[11][12] He co-created the Stanford Graduate School of Business course on Product Management with Professor Amir Goldberg.[13]
Early life and background
Pincus is Jewish. His family lives [14] in Chicago in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. He is the son of Donna (née Forman) and Theodore Pincus.[15][16] His father was a business columnist and public relations adviser to CEOs and politicians[17] and his mother was an artist and architect.[18]
Pincus attended Francis W. Parker School from kindergarten through 12th grade and graduated in 1984.[19] He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics[20] from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania earned in 1988[21] and an MBA from Harvard Business School,[22] where he founded the Communications Club with Sherry Coutu.[23]
Career
Financial services
Before he became an entrepreneur, Pincus worked in venture capital and financial services for six years. After graduating from Wharton, Pincus spent two years working as an analyst in the New Media Group at Lazard Freres & Co.[24][25] After that time, he moved to Hong Kong, where he served as a Vice President for Asian Capital Partners for two years.[26][27]
He returned to the United States in order to attend Harvard Business School (HBS) where he was a contemporary of Chris Hohn, Guy Spier[28] and Chris Shumway.[29] He graduated in 1993[30] and also spent a summer as an associate for Bain & Co. in 1992.[31]
After Pincus graduated from Harvard Business School, he took a job as a manager of corporate development at Tele-Communications, Inc., which is now AT&T Cable.[32] A year later, he joined Columbia Capital as vice president, where he led investments in new media and software startups in Washington, D.C. for a year.[33][29]
Freeloader
In 1995, Pincus founded his first startup, Freeloader, Inc.[34] Freeloader was backed by Fred Wilson and Softbank.[35] The company was acquired seven months after its launch by Individual, Inc., for $38 million.[36][27] Sean Parker worked as a summer intern at Freeloader when he was 14 years old. He later went on to co-found Napster, and Pincus became Napster's first investor with an investment of $100,000.[37][38]
Support.com
He then started his second company, Support.com, in August 1997. As Chairman and CEO, Pincus built the company into a leading provider of help desk automation software. The company went public in July 2000 at a $1.5 billion valuation.[39] In 2002, the company changed its name from Support.com to SupportSoft, Inc.[40]
Tribe.net
In 2003, at age 37, Pincus founded his third startup, Tribe.net, an early social network.[41] Tribe.net partnered with major local newspapers and was backed by The Washington Post, Knight Ridder Digital, and Mayfield Fund and Guy Spier,. In 2007, Cisco Systems acquired the core technology of Tribe.net to develop a social networking platform for its digital media services group.[42]
In 2003, Pincus and Reid Hoffman purchased the Six Degrees patent, a broad, sweeping patent that describes a social network service that is the heart of social networks from the extinct Sixdegrees.com company for $700,000.[43][44] Pincus and Hoffman stated at the time that their objective in buying the patent was to protect innovation in social networking and to prevent large companies from interfering with this. Pincus and Hoffman have never enforced the patent.[45]
Investing
Pincus was a founding investor in Napster, Facebook, Friendster, Snapchat, Xiaomi and Twitter.[46][47] He was also an early investor in JD.com,[48] Brightmail (later acquired by Symantec for $400m),[49] and Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce for $800m).[50] In 2015, Pincus invested in the nootropics company HVMN (formerly Nootrobox),[51][52][53] man-made diamond company Diamond Foundry,[54] and in 2014 automated investment service firm Wealthfront.[55]
Zynga
In July 2007 Pincus founded his fourth company, Zynga Inc.[56][57][58][59] Zynga developed games on top of social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, and Bebo.
In 2011, Pincus took the company public with a $1 billion IPO.[60] Pincus served as CEO of the company from 2007 to 2013.[61] On July 1, 2013, Zynga recruited Don Mattrick, the former president of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, was to succeed Pincus as CEO.[62] Pincus remained actively involved in the company as Chairman of the Board and Chief Product Officer,[63] but stepped down from his role as chief product officer to focus on his role as chairman of the board, the company announced in April 2014.[2]
Pincus returned to the role of CEO of Zynga in April 2015.[64] On March 7, 2016, Pincus stepped down as CEO, but continued his association with Zynga as Executive Chairman of the Board with Frank Gibeau in the role of CEO.[65] In 2018, citing his confidence in Zynga's management, Pincus voluntarily reduced his voting rights in the company from 70% to 10% and stepped back to a non-executive chairman role.[66][67][68]
Start-ups
In 2014 Pincus started Superlabs, an incubator to develop products. Zynga acquired Superlabs in 2015.[69][70]
In 2017, Pincus, alongside Reid Hoffman and Adam Werbach, launched Win the Future, a movement within the Democratic Party.[71][72]
Reinvent Capital and SPACs
In 2018, with Reid Hoffman and Michael Thompson, Pincus co-founded Reinvent Capital, an investment firm that invests in internet, software, and media companies.[73] Reinvent Capital has made investments in Zipline, goPuff,[74] Dataminr,[75] Nimble Robotics,[76] Oscar Health,[77] Lyft,[78] all.Health, Convoy,[79] SpaceX,[78] and Aurora Innovation.[80]
In September 2020, Reinvent launched Reinvent Technology Partners (RTP), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) which raised $690 million in its IPO.[81][82][83] In February 2021, RTP announced a merger with electronic vertical take-off and landing aircraft pioneer Joby Aviation, valuing the company at $5 billion.[84] Other investors included Uber Technologies, The Baupost Group, BlackRock, Fidelity Management & Research, and Baillie Gifford.[85]
In November 2020, the group launched its second SPAC, Reinvent Technology Partners Z, which raised $230 million in its IPO.[86] In March 2021, RTPZ announced a merger with insurance technology company Hippo Insurance.[87] Hippo provides home insurance in the United States, and uses artificial intelligence and big data to aggregate and analyze property information.[88][89][90]
In February 2021, Pincus and Reinvent partners announced its third SPAC, Reinvent Technology Partners Y, raising $977.5 million in its IPO.[91] In July 2021, RTPY announced a plan to merge with Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation, which is developing Level 4 self-driving technology for trucks and passenger vehicles.[92]
Philanthropy and community service
Presidio Trust
Pincus is a former member[93] of the board of the Presidio Trust, a federal agency that operates and maintains the Presidio as part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area.[94] He was appointed to the board by President Obama in 2017.[95]
Zynga.org
In October 2009, Pincus started Zynga.org, which is "committed to transforming the world through virtual social goods."[96] Zynga.org has since raised more than $20 million[97] for more than 50 international nonprofits[98][99] by occasionally selling virtual goods for charitable causes.[100] During his time at Zynga Pincus created features for several gaming sites that allowed players to donate to the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA); two organizations in Haiti, FATEM and Fonkoze, raising $427,000 in less than three weeks in October 2009. In January 2010 Zynga.org had raised $1.5 million in five days for Haiti Earthquake relief. The money was distributed within just two days.[101] The total Zynga.org raised during 2010 for earthquake relief in Haiti was $3 million. In 2011 they raised an additional $2 million for rescue efforts in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country.[102]
On March 11, 2011, Zynga announced that 100 percent of the proceeds from the purchase of virtual goods from more than seven of its games would go toward Japan's Save the Children Earthquake Emergency Fund.[103][104] During the 2012 holiday season, Zynga.org partnered with Toys for Tots in its largest charitable campaign not related to disaster relief. The campaign raised $745,000, with 100 percent of the purchase price of certain virtual goods going to Toys for Tots.[97]
In 2014, Zynga raised $1 million for Water.org, a Kansas City, Missouri-based charity that funds clean water projects in developing countries.[105]
Zynga match
Zynga announced in June 2020 that they created a $25 million fund to invest in charitable causes and educational organizations that promote diversity and inclusion.[106][107]
Oakland Undivided Campaign
In May 2020, Pincus donated $700,000 to the Oakland Unified School District and City of Oakland to help meet their $12.5 million goal towards eliminating the prevalent digital gap that exists in Oakland.[108][109][110]
Roden Crater Project
In February 2020, Pincus donated $3 million to Roden Crater, a large scale Land artwork by James Turrell within a dormant volcano in the Painted Desert region of Northern Arizona. The contributions bring the project closer to completion which the artist hopes to open within the next five years.[111]
Bolinas COVID-19 testing
In April 2020, Pincus, Finnish entrepreneur Jyri Engeström and biotech executive Cyrus Harmon, organized and financed community-wide COVID-19 testing in their hometown of Bolinas, California. It was one of the first cases of community-wide testing in the US.[112] Through their efforts Bolinas was able to test every one of its 1,600 residents for COVID-19 for free. Pincus donated the first $100,000 for the initiative, since it was not covered by government funds.[113]
Canal Alliance
Pincus donated over $100,000 to Canal Alliance in June 2020. Canal Alliance works to provide relief from COVID-19 to families in need.[114]
Political views
In 2020, Pincus, along with many other Silicon Valley tech billionaires, gave the legal maximum dollar amount to support Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.[115] Pincus is a longtime supporter of Kamala Harris, and co-hosted a fundraiser for her campaign in 2016.[116]
Personal life
In 2008, Pincus married Alison Gelb, who founded One Kings Lane, a furniture and home accessories sales website that was sold to Bed Bath & Beyond in 2016. They have three children, twin girls and a boy, and live in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. In March 2017, the couple divorced.
Pincus spends his time away from work with his daughters, cycling,[117] surfing, playing soccer[118] and doing yoga.[119]
He joined The Giving Pledge in 2022, committing to donating most of his wealth.[120]
References
- Takahashi, Dean (March 1, 2016). "Zynga names ex-EA mobile exec Frank Gibeau as its CEO". venturebeat.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- King, Rachel (April 23, 2014). "Zynga's latest unraveling: Pincus out as product chief". zdnet.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- "So What Do You Do, Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga?". mediabistro.com. 16 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- Miguel Helft (July 24, 2010). "Will Zynga Become the Google of Games?". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
A serial entrepreneur, he sold his first company, Freeloader, an early Internet broadcast service, for $38 million, and took public his second, a business software maker called Support.com.
- Wingfield, Nick (2016-03-01). "Mark Pincus, Founder of Zynga, Is Replaced as C.E.O. Again". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
- VentureBeat January 2010 Archived 2017-09-15 at the Wayback Machine[link]
- TechCrunch January 2010 Archived 2010-11-30 at the Wayback Machine. Crunchies2009.techcrunch.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
- Congratulations Crunchies Winners! Twitter Takes Best Startup Of 2010 Archived 2017-10-18 at the Wayback Machine. TechCrunch (2011-01-21). Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
- Kesarios, George (10 December 2012). "Can Zynga Execute In The Online Gambling Space?". Blog Post. Seeking Alpha. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- Pepitone, Julianne (1 July 2011). "Zynga files for $1 billion IPO". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- Primack, Dan (22 January 2019). "Zynga founder Mark Pincus is raising $700 million for a new investment fund". Axios. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- "A New Spin on SPACs". The New York Times. 2020-09-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- "Zynga and the Launch of Farmville". Stanford Graduate School of Business. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- Hareetz: "One day in Silicon Valley" by Guy Rolnick Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine August 3, 2010
- Chicago Sun Times: "Ted Pincus, PR specialist, Sun-Times columnist, dies" BY DAVID ROEDER Archived 2014-02-02 at the Wayback Machine September 30, 2011
- New York Times: "Paid Notice: Deaths PINCUS, THEODORE" Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine October 4, 2011
- Chicago Sun-Times: "Mark Pincus creates an empire with games designed for Facebook" By Sandra Guy Archived 2012-01-22 at the Wayback Machine March 27, 2011
- Businessweek: "Zynga IPO Tests CEO's 'Fearsome' Negotiating Style" By Douglas MacMillan Archived 2012-07-11 at the Wayback Machine December 12, 2011
- "Corner Office Are You CEO of Something?". The New York Times. Jan 30, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- "Mark Pincus". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
- Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Ol' Mark Pincus Had a Farm…". The Hive. Archived from the original on 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
- "BusinessWeek Executive Profile Mark Pincus". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- "Entrepreneur Profile on Mark Pincus". Entrepreneur Ideas. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- "Mark Pincus". CNBC. 11 October 2012. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- GRIGORIADIS, VANESSA (June 2011). "Ol' Mark Pincus Had a Farm". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- "Tech World's Willy Wonka". Financial Times. 6 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
- "8 Things You Didn't Know About The Guy Leading This Week's Huge IPO". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "Harvard Business School NamesThirteen Entrepreneurs-in-Residence - News - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. 4 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2018-02-17. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- "Entrepreneur-ideas.org". www.entrepreneur-ideas.org. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- Harvard Business School NamesThirteen Entrepreneurs-in-Residence – Harvard Business School Archived 2011-10-15 at the Wayback Machine. Hbs.edu (2011-10-04). Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
- "Mark Pincus Background". Mark Pincus Blog. Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- "Profile: Mark Pincus, Farmville's head gardener". Daily Telegraph. 2011-02-14. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "Mark Pincus Brings Lessons in Entrepreneurship to Northwestern". The Northwestern Business Review. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- "Mark Pincus Brings Lessons in Entrepreneurship to Northwestern". The Northwestern Business Review. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "Startup School: Mark Pincus Talks About Becoming A Great CEO, With Tony Robbins' Help". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "Mark Pincus". startup2startup. Archived from the original on 2010-07-18. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- "Mark Pincus Used To Be Sean Parker's Boss". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- Bertoni, Steven. "Sean Parker: Agent Of Disruption". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "SUPPORT COM INC S-1 Filing". Edgar. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- AllBusiness March 2002[link]
- Malik, Om (3 March 2007). "Cisco's wrong bet on Social Networks". Blog. GigaOM. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- Stone, Brad (March 3, 2007). "Social Networking's Next Phase". New York Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- Kirkpatrick, David (2010). The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-0211-4.
- Riordan, Teresa (2003-12-01). "TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA: PATENTS; Idea for Online Networking Brings Two Entrepreneurs Together". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2010-11-02. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- "2003: Start-up LinkedIn scoops up online social networking patent". The Mercury News. 2014-08-27. Archived from the original on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- "Zynga's Mark Pincus Talks About His Management Style, Acquisitions and Mobile". Video. All Things D. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- Rivlin, Gary (24 January 2005). "Friendster, Love and Money". Technology. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- "Mark Pincus - Slush 2018". Slush 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- "Zynga Founder and CEO Mark Pincus". Thomas White International. Archived from the original on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- "Buddy Media Raises $6.5 Million & Launches Ad Network". Archived from the original on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- "Marissa Mayer and Mark Pincus invested in a startup that makes 'brain drugs' and chewable coffee", Business Insider, October 13, 2015, archived from the original on October 19, 2015, retrieved October 22, 2015
- Farr, Christina (2017-11-30). "Start-up makes millions selling 'brain hacking' pills, but its own study found coffee works better". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- "Marissa Mayer and Mark Pincus invested in a startup that makes 'brain drugs' and chewable coffee". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- Roy, Aditi (2017-10-01). "What it's like to grow 100,000 carats of real diamonds in a lab". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- "Wealthfront raises $70 million Series D — Red Herring". Red Herring. 2014-10-28. Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- "Harvard Business School NamesThirteen Entrepreneurs-in-Residence - News - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. 4 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- Mitnick, Joshua (2013-10-02). "Zynga Founder Pincus: I'm Bored With Games". WSJ. Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- "Timeline: How Zynga became a $9 billion company". Reuters. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- "Mark Pincus". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- Rivlin, Gary (2011-12-14). "Zynga's IPO Will Make Mark Pincus Silicon Valley's Next Billionaire". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- "Entrepreneur-ideas.org". www.entrepreneur-ideas.org. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- Nayak, Malathi. "Confirmed: Xbox One boss Don Mattrick 'resigns'". Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- Hoge, Patrick (8 April 2015). "Zynga founder returns to helm as CEO suddenly exits". San Francisco Business Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- "Zynga CEO Don Mattrick to Depart; Founder and Chairman Mark Pincus to Return to Chief Executive Officer Role to Lead Zynga into Next Chapter (NASDAQ:ZNGA)". Archived from the original on 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
- "CEO Update". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- "VentureBeat: Zynga founder Mark Pincus reduces voting power after changing stock". 2 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
- "Business Insider: Zynga founder Mark Pincus is giving up his 70% voting control of the company". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
- "SF Chronicle: Zynga founder Mark Pincus stepping back from game maker again". 2 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
- "Zynga Founder Launches New Startup Incubator". WIRED. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
- "Zynga Acquires Mark Pincus's Incubator, Superlabs". Recode. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
- "Mark Pincus and Reid Hoffman are launching a new group to rethink the Democratic Party". Recode. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
- "2 Silicon Valley billionaires want to reinvent the Democratic Party with a new project called 'WTF'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
- Primack, Dan (22 January 2019). "Zynga founder is raising $700 million for new investment fund". www.axios.com. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- "goPuff Raises $1.15B, Solidifying Its Market-Leading Position in the Instant Needs Category". www.businesswire.com. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Dataminr raises $475M on a $4.1B valuation for real-time insights based on 100k sources of public data". TechCrunch. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Nimble Robotics scores $50M for its fulfillment automation tech". TechCrunch. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- Reed, Tina (17 December 2020). "Oscar Health closes $140M funding round led by Tiger Global". www.fiercehealthcare.com. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- "Mark Pincus". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Convoy Raises $185 Million Led by CapitalG to Reinvent the $800B Trucking Industry". www.businesswire.com. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- O'Kane, Sean (2021-07-15). "Self-driving startup Aurora will raise $2 billion in SPAC merger". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- Schubarth, Cromwell (31 August 2020). "LinkedIn, Zynga founders Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus team up on $690M 'blank check' IPO". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Report: Zynga founder Mark Pincus is raising up to $700 million for an investment fund". TechCrunch. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "A New Spin on SPACs". The New York Times. 2020-09-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- Kellaher, Colin (2021-02-24). "Air-Taxi Startup Joby Will Combine With SPAC Reinvent Technology". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- GmbH, finanzen net. "SPAC Reinvent Technology Partners surges after merger deal to list Joby Aviation on NYSE". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Tech entrepreneurs' SPAC Reinvent Technology Partners Z files for a $200 million IPO". 2 November 2020.
- "Hippo to Go Public in Merger with Reinvent Technology Partners Z; Company is Transforming the Home Insurance Industry". www.businesswire.com. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Hippo to Go Public in Merger with Reinvent Technology Partners Z; Company is Transforming the Home Insurance Industry". www.bloomberg.com. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Hippo strikes deal with SPAC led by Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- Beltran, Luisa. "Insurance Technology Firm Hippo to Merge With SPAC in $5B Deal". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- "Reinvent Technology Partners Y Announces Pricing of $850 Million Initial Public Offering". www.businesswire.com. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- McGee, Patrick (15 July 2021). "Driverless vehicle start-up Aurora to go public in $11bn Spac merger". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
- Gilson, Dave. "Trump put a right-wing radio host in charge of a national park. Emails show the chaos that ensued". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- "U.S. Department of the Interior Appoints Todd Willens to the Presidio Trust Board of Directors". Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
- "Board and Executive Team". Presidio. Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
- Web 2 Summit Archived 2010-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Web 2 Summit. Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
- "Zynga.org – A Digital Giving Year in Review". Blog. Zynga. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- Investopedia (2015-06-09). "Will Zynga's New Strategy Win Back Mobile Gamers?". Investopedia. Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
- "Zynga CEO Don Mattrick to Depart; Founder and Chairman Mark Pincus to Return to Chief Executive Officer Role to Lead Zynga Into Next Chapter | Zynga Inc". Zynga Inc. Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
- Zynga Will No Longer Take A Cut Of Charitable Donations Archived 2018-02-11 at the Wayback Machine. Techcrunch.com (2010-11-16). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
- Chong, Rachael (2013-09-03). "How Mark Pincus Is Turning Gaming Addiction To Social Good". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- Yeung, Ken (2013-07-23). "Zynga's Philanthropic Arm Champions Charities And Non-Profit Projects". The Next Web. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- Zynga Enables Donations To Tsunami Relief Through In-Game Purchases Archived 2017-07-07 at the Wayback Machine. TechCrunch (2011-03-11). Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
- Save the Children and Zynga Team Up to Help Japan Disaster Relief Efforts Archived 2011-11-03 at the Wayback Machine. Save The Children (2011-03-12). Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
- "Surprise! Your FarmVille Games Have Helped Raise Millions for Charity". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- "Zynga creates $25 million fund for promoting diversity education and charities". Business Telegraph. 2020-06-17. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Zynga creates $25 million fund for promoting diversity education and charities". VentureBeat. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Finally! Thousands of Oakland Youth Will Have Computer Access". YR Media. 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Fundraising Goal Reached To Supply All Ousd Students With Computers, Internet". SFGATE. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "25K laptops headed to Oakland students by late August, after school starts: OUSD". KTVU FOX 2. 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Online Gaming Company Founder Gifts $3 Million to James Turrell's Roden Crater Project". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- Canales, Katie. "A California town can test all of its residents for COVID-19 thanks in part to a venture capitalist, a biotech entrepreneur, and $100,000 from Zynga founder Mark Pincus". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- Dolan, Maura (2020-05-03). "How a reclusive 'town of aging hippies' worked to screen itself from coronavirus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- "Leadership Giving Circle". Canal Alliance. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
- Schleifer, Theodore (2020-07-16). "Silicon Valley pours money into Biden's campaign — and snubs Trump's". Vox. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- Needleman, Sarah E. (2020-08-12). "Silicon Valley Sees Kamala Harris as One of Its Own". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ORTUTAY, BARBARA (26 June 2012). "CEO Interview: Zynga's Mark Pincus, unleashed". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- "In conversation with Mark Pincus, CEO Zynga". Gadgets 360. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- GRIGORIADIS, VANESSA (June 2011). "OL' MARK PINCUS HAD A FARM…". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- Why have only 5 billionaires signed up for the Giving Pledge this year? South China Morning Post October 30, 2022.