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Jon Flint

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This article is about the venture capitalist. For the psychiatrist, see Jonathan Flint (scientist).
Jon Flint
BornJonathan Andrew Flint
August 11, 1951
New York City, New York, USA
Alma materHobart College
University of Virginia School of Law
Occupation(s)Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Polaris Partners; Co-Founder and Chairman, Living Proof
SpouseAlice Parker Flint
Children4

Jonathan A. Flint is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who co-founded venture capital firms Polaris Partners and Polaris Founders Capital, as well as the companies Living Proof and Icelandic Provisions.

Early career

Flint graduated with a BA from Hobart College and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. In 1971, Flint was the assistant director and an actor in John Landis' first film Schlock. From 1974 to 1976, Flint was on the research team of the Impeachment Inquiry Staff of the House Judiciary Committee and then served as a researcher under Richard Ben-Veniste on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. Flint later worked as a litigator with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, a venture capital law firm based in Boston. In 1984, he changed careers and became a venture capitalist at Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. (BEDCO). Flint later became a partner of BEDCO and was instrumental in a series of successful software startups, including a $105 million payback on a $3 million investment in Powersoft Corporation.

Polaris Partners and Polaris Founders Capital

Along with Terry McGuire and Steve Arnold, Flint left BEDCO in 1996 and founded the venture capital firm Polaris Partners. Polaris is now investing out of its ninth venture fund and has also raised a life sciences Innovation Fund and two Growth Funds. In 2015, Flint and McGuire formed an affiliated fund, Polaris Founders Capital ("PFC"), to invest primarily in consumer companies. PFC investments include Icelandic Provisions, Caledonia Spirits, EXOS, Frequency Therapeutics, Tropic Biosciences, Geosure Global, and Sir Kensington. Flint is currently the co-chairman of Icelandic Provisions and on the Board of Caledonia Spirits.

Living Proof

In 2005, Flint and Dr. Robert Langer co-founded Living Proof to apply advanced polymer technologies that had not been used before in the beauty industry to "bring women proof in a bottle rather than hope in a bottle." Polaris seed funded Living Proof with $1 million in initial funding. The company started by hiring five scientists who had never worked in the beauty industry and who had never worked in cancer research and other medical areas. The scientists' first invention was a polymer called OFPMA that is used on frizzy hair, and they have since been awarded over 15 patents for several beauty products. Flint served as Chairman of Living Proof until the company was sold to Unilever in 2016, and he served as CEO from 2010 until the end of 2011. While CEO, he initiated discussions with Jennifer Aniston and, in 2012, Aniston became a co-owner and spokesperson for the company.

Icelandic Provisions

In 2013, Flint and McGuire partnered with MS Iceland Dairies, Iceland's largest dairy, a farmer-owned co-op, to bring skyr to US consumers.  Flint initially served as the CEO and, subsequently recruited the current CEO, Mark Alexander, the former President Americas of the Campbell Soup Company. Flint is co-chairman of Living Proof alongside Ari Edwald, the CEO of MS Dairies.

References

  1. "Jonathan Flint," IMDb.
  2. Robert Buderi, "Who Knew? Xconomy Uncovers the Strange-But-True Details of Boston's Innovation Leaders," Xconomy, February 29, 2008.
  3. Udayan Gupta, "Done Deals: Venture Capitalists Tell Their Stories," Harvard Business School Press ISBN 978-0-87584-938-6.
  4. ^ Glenn Rifkin, "A Generation Gap in Venture Capital," New York Times, May 25, 1995.
  5. "Succession Planning: The Biggest Problem Facing Venture Capital". Institutional Investor. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  6. CountyWebsiteDesign.com. "Eastern Service Corporation". Eastern Service Corporation. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  7. "Living Proof: Are We a Technology Company or a Beauty Company? - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  8. Nicole Hong, "Lawyer Takes On Beauty Care," Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2013.
  9. "Unilever to acquire Living Proof". Unilever global company website. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  10. Hong, Nicole (2013-04-18). "Lawyer Takes On Beauty Care". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  11. HayVentureWire, Timothy (2012-10-12). "Jennifer Aniston is Living Proof Investing in Beauty Products Is a Science". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  12. Bronner, Stephen J. (2019-04-15). "It Took 2 Years for This Entrepreneur to Convince an Icelandic Dairy Company to Partner Up on a Yogurt-Like Snack". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  13. "Why Icelandic Provisions believes skyr could be the next big thing in US yoghurt – interview". www.just-food.com. 2016-07-05. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  14. "About Us". Icelandic Provisions. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  15. Icelandic Provisions (2019-02-21). "Mark Alexander Joins Icelandic Provisions As CEO". Perishable News. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  16. Bronner, Stephen J. (2019-04-16). "It Took 2 Years for This Entrepreneur to Convince an Icelandic Dairy Company to Partner Up on a Yogurt-Like Snack". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
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