Persuading investors to bet long-term on Zynga is the next hurdle for Pincus, a veteran entrepreneur and former investment-banking analyst who is attempting to pull off the biggest IPO for an Internet company since Google's in 2004. They are Susan Pincus Sherman and Laura Pincus Hartman. Even though it didnt sustain, it proved that theres some real heat there. Its great that Zynga ended up being a $12-13 billion company, but there is a chance for the Robloxes of the world, or somebody here that cracks this code, to be the next Apple, to be really big companies. where he founded the Communications Club with Sherry Coutu. Through his philanthropy he helped establish clinics in Harlem for children with AIDS as he did for children in South Africa and in the Dominican Republic. Zynga makes money by offering games for free and then charging for virtual items, such as a puppy in "FarmVille" or an assault rifle in "Mafia Wars." From 1997 to 2000, he served as Chairman of Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT), a help desk automation software company he founded, and he served as Chief Executive Officer and President from December 1997 to July 1999. As can be expected from a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Mark Pincus is a hardcore gamer and is absolutely crazy about newly released video games. Jan 2002 - Present21 years 2 months. Team - Warburg Pincus. Police believe Mark Pincus, 35, was the man who broke into an apartment on Sciarappa Street near Winter Street at approximately 8:20 a.m. Sunday, showing a knife - then ran when the tenant pushed the intruder out into the hallway and he heard her call 911. Microsoft is a tightly wired business machine. PFF NEXTGEN PFF NEXTGEN PARTNERS. This year, Zynga revamped its stock structure to give him 70 times more voting power than shares sold in the IPO. I sent Dean his first copy of Ready Player One. I cant tell you. Pincus noted that after offering the Zwinky toolbar, he and his team decided to remove it because it was a "painful experience.". When Pincus came to the negotiating table, he knew more about the proposed deal than everyone on the Google side of the table combined, according to Schmidt. Zynga eventually settled for $23 million. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Mark Pincus, the billionaire Zynga founder and early Facebook and Twitter investor, is embroiled in what could be a wildly expensive Silicon Valley divorce. He also has a step-brother named David Meyers. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus (left) holds a weekly staff meeting on how to create Internet social games. Pincus's one big stock sale came at the right time, for him, and drew the ire of other investors. With the net worth of $425 Million, Mark Pincus is the #1464 richest person on earth all the time in our database. At the centre of the maelstrom is Zynga's compellingly contradictory founder and chief executive, Mark Pincus.This 46-year-old Harvard MBA graduate is a serial entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley . He previously served as Zynga's Executive Chairman (from March 2016 to May 2018) and twice as its Chief Executive Officer (April 2007 to July 2013 and April 2015 to March 2016). Discover our Briefings. Pincus: Well, I think a lot of people here are probably also founders. Zynga's CEO, Mark Pincus, is stepping down to be replaced by Don Mattrick, the head of Microsoft's Xbox business, Zynga announced Monday, July 1, 2013. Bing and I were at dinner with a bunch of metaverse thinkers. He persuaded venture capitalist Fred Wilson to invest $250,000 in FreeLoader Inc., an Internet service for personalized news that Pincus founded with his friend, Sunil Paul. The only other significant change to his ownership was in connection to his 2017 divorce. My guess is well probably get to mind-blowing experiences in a more hardwired way first for people, with a bit more algorithmic, heuristic things before we get to AI. This has been welcome news to many, including the company's investors. He is an angel investor in multiple Silicon Valley startups and regularly gives lectures to aspiring entrepreneurs. New York Office. Zynga crossed its 1 billion mark four years after the company was founded. Thats my life passion. The acquisition price, while a steep premium to where Zynga was trading, is still below the company's 2011 IPO price. With Take-Two agreeing to buy Zynga for $3.50 a share in cash and $6.36 a share in stock, Pincus is poised to pocket about $193 million while still owning roughly $350 million worth of Take-Two equity. The entrepreneurs and longtime startup investors have just launched their fourth blank-check company, dubbed Reinvent . Its already starting through Upland. Julia says she was able to lock the door, and her friend called 911. Brother of Private User; Private and Mark Pincus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Pincus. On July 1, 2013, it was confirmed that Don Mattrick, the former president of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, was to succeed Pincus as CEO. The games often feel like empty calories and not a good use of your time. There wasnt a recession coming when you were talking, but there is one now. But more, I would bet on the teams. Zynga, founded in 2007, is the culmination of a career's worth of lessons learned, said Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corp., who has invested in the startup. Well, its there structurally, because youre limited. For investors, its such an interesting time. Mark Pincus Zynga's top games include: Bubble Safari, CastleVille, ChefVille, CityVille, CityVille 2, CoasterVille, Draw Something, FarmVille, Yoville, FarmVille 2, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, Empires & Allies, Words with Friends, Hanging with Friends and Scramble with Friends. 12 pick, A new musical spotlights a Texas bank-robbing legend, This Houston rodeo food vendor wants you to eat his rattlesnake. Find out more about how we use your information in our privacy policy and cookie policy. The industry is bigger than I ever could have imagined. His wife is the founder of One Kings Lane, a furniture and home accessories sales website. Her job is extremely challenging but she loves every bit of it. Seesmic provides social media management and collaboration tools that enable businesses to build and manage their brands online. In 2008, Pincus married Alison Gelb. In a video posted on November 9, 2009, Pincus said, "I did every horrible thing in the book, too, just to get revenues right away. At 45, Pincus is 18 years older than Zuckerberg and twice the age of some startup founders in Silicon Valley. Clearly as you move to being a public company, probably even more than growth, there is a huge value based on predictability. And they have wallets. Website by Media Proper. Pincus: Thats right. Zynga, led by Mark Pincus (left), was profitable two months after its launch. It was also a good outcome for Zyngas shareholders. [5] Partner Investments Number of Partner Investments 1 Exits Number of Exits 21 Mark Pincus has 21 exits. Now I see some signs of that. GamesBeat: What needs to happen for blockchain to get to becoming a mainstream game platform? Inspirational, Clear Goals, Compromise. Pincus: I heard that Yat Siu was here, and he told you that he loves how much Mark is investing, and hes not investing enough. Mark Pincus, 35 of Plymouth, appeared in court Monday for allegedly trying to force his way into a college student's apartment, fleeing and then stabbing a man who was sitting in his truck nearby. David Pincus dedicated his time not only to providing financial assistance to those in need, but hands-on, face-to-face assistance and aid to children all around the world. Pincus' negotiating prowess - Google Chairman Eric Schmidt calls it "fearsome" - helped put his San Francisco company on course for a $1 billion initial public offering this month. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer from April 2007 to July 2013 and from April 2015 to March 2016, and as Chief Product Officer from April. Many shareholders were still in post-IPO lockup at the time and didn't have that option. GamesBeat: It sounds like theres some unfinished business. Europe, Menlo Park, China), Where the person is located (e.g. Today, more than 55 million Words with Friends matches are played at any given moment. The company goes public this week, but founder Mark Pincus gets a stock class that lets him keep control. The idea is to get users to play for longer periods and spend more money on virtual items. Rafe Needleman/CNET FarmVille maker Zynga is harvesting a new crop of. Pincus: Yeah, it could be hugely disruptive. Pincus served as the CEO of Zynga until July 2013, then again from 2015 to 2016. His current residence is in San Francisco. My take, not that he needs my advice at all, is that hes going to get there if he deeply partners with people in this room, with content creators, in the way he did with Zynga. Theres more margin available for us as developers. Pincus was born into a Jewish family in Chicago and raised in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. That man was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Cambridge police said. She went on to found One Kings Lane, a furniture and home accessories sales website that was sold to Bed Bath & Beyond in 2016. Its going to be the teams that have the best ability to execute, learn the fastest, and get the most, best shots on goal, that I would bet end up being the big winners. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Pincus wants to see that number double in five years, and wants his. Portrayed by John Appicella Gregory "Greg" Pincus was the regional manager of a branch of the VinylRight Corporation in Chicago, Illinois . Nobody. Mark Pincus. zynga.com Playfish, with Restaurant City, gave us this idea that you could hire your friends to play in your game. He has two sisters: Laura Pincus Hartman and Susan Pincus Sherman. Pincus: Part of the title of the talk was I think theres so many interesting parallels between this moment that were in in the gaming industry today, and what it looked like in 2007 and 2008. TRD Staff. Zynga is considered to be the pioneer of the social gaming industry, which is expected to reach $5.5 billion by 2015. Theirs is a very happy home and they are one of the rare celebrity couples who are not plagued by controversy of any sort. According to the latest SEC filings, Pincus owns 55 million Zynga shares. Everything Will Wright talked about yesterday is mind-blowing. Pincus grew up in Chicago's affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood, the son of an architect mother and a father who worked as a public relations adviser to CEOs and politicians. Join us for the 15th annual GamesBeat Summit in Los Angeles on May 22-23. They built on that asynchronous quality, meaning for the first time I didnt have to be there at the same time, on the same couch, but I could play with my mom and she could take her turn when she felt like it. The Hunt family, who own Super Bowl LVII champs the Kansas City Chiefs, are worth about $15.5 billion thanks to investments in . If we freeze frame on where social gaming was in 2007 or 2008, there were these pop and drops. Photographer: Noah Berger/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Mark Pincus Its a pretty amazing high. It's a good group of investors and early, early employees. Wholesale Legal Insurance. GamesBeat: Were staring down at our phones. He sold just about $70 million worth of shares between 2018 and 2021, in part for estate planning for his kids, according to a representative for Pincus. There were many rows deep of photographers around him. I want to get back to it. It blew our minds at the time. Tribe.net partnered with major local newspapers and was backed by Guy Spier, The Washington Post, Knight Ridder Digital, and Mayfield Fund. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Connect with top gaming leaders in Los Angeles at GamesBeat Summit 2023 this May 22-23. My approach is that you have to earn the respect of people you work with. Discover Mark Pincus's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Based on Pincus Family Fund, the FUTURE SELF PROJECT trademark will be used in the following business: Philanthropic and charitable services, namely, organizing charitable programs and events related to climate change, education, public health, arts and culture, and Judaism , Providing grants related to climate change, education, public health, After tasting success with three startups - Freeloader Inc. SupportSoft Inc. and Tribe.net, Mark Pincus, a serial entrepreneur, made early investments in big names such as Facebook, Twitter, Napster, Snapchat, Paypal, and Xiaomi. GamesBeat: The platforms, how did they impact the trajectory of getting to the vision of everybody playing? His father later married Sherri (ne Barr, of Milwaukee) and his mother later married Sheldon Meyers, of Chicago; and he now has 18 additional step-sisters and one step-brother, Anne Zitron Casey, Jennifer Zitron Suomi, Annie Meyers Ashe and David Meyers. Minor credit? The woman living in the apartment was able to push Pincus into. Pincus also founded Freeloader, Inc., Tribe Networks, and Support.com. Pincus also 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. But Zynga's early growth relied entirely on Facebook the company's games spread virally by using the social network for distribution. Within four years, Zynga grew to a $1 billion company. The strategy is executed according to a long . Pincus also made founding investments in Napster, Twitter, and Facebook. Path is a mobile photo-sharing and messaging service for building personal social networks with up to 150 contacts. Counsel. Ran on: 01-01-2010 Right now 1 billion people play games online. Geni requires JavaScript! In 2003, at age 37, Pincus founded his third startup, Tribe.net, an early social network. Mark Pincus, Producer: Kissing Jessica Stein. What role do you think Meta is going to play? Net Worth: $425 Million. Pincus graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Flanked by his wife, Alison; investors; and employees, Pincus remotely rang the opening bell to . The Pincus Family Foundation, formerly known as the Pincus Charitable Fund, was founded by Philanthropist David N. Pincus (1926-2011) in 2005. He has started five companies and invested in many more over the past two decades,. He entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment in Cambridge District Court on Monday and was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing at 12 p.m. on Nov. 15. Pincus was a founding investor in Napster, Facebook, Friendster, and Twitter. Ran on: 06-13-2010 Pincus net worth is estimated at $1 billion. Venture Capital Funds Private Equity Funds Accelerators & Incubators Investment Banks. Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Aside from Reid Hoffman, the founder and chairman of LinkedIn, the only person to go along with Thiel was Pincus. Unlike traditional game developers, which spend millions of dollars producing a game and then ship it out, Pincus continually tinkers. Pincus faces a number of felony charges, including home invasion, armed assault to murder, resisting arrest, assault and battery on a police officer, carrying a dangerous weapon, and providing a false name/social security number after an arrest. It did IRL things, and it was just a natural evolution. I cant agree more. Its such a similar moment. Well build the feeling of bots. Mark Pincus. All rights reserved, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire: An NBC10 Boston Original, Blue Line Service Resumes After Shuttles Replace Trains in Revere, MBTA Says, This 26-Year-Old Pays $0 to Live in a Luxury Tiny Home' She Built for $35,000 in Her Backyard Take a Look Inside, Tracking the Next Hit of Wintry Weather Headed to New England, Due Late Week, Dunkin' Is Giving Away Free Iced Coffee This WeekHere's How to Order, Rescuers Capture Bald Eagle Believed to Be Critically Sickened by Rat Poison. Pincus founded Zynga in 2007 and . GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." Zynga and Take-Two together looked like a strong contender to be one of those scaled players. Theres a model. GamesBeat: The open metaverse is his escape route. Jackie Kinni. American - Businessman Born: February 13, 1966. Thanks for contacting us. I didnt have to pay it. Winnings: On track for more than $450 million revenue this year and. Mark Pincus is stepping down as Zynga's CEO, his second departure from the beleaguered game maker's executive suite. Mark Pincus, 35 of Plymouth, appeared in court Monday for allegedly trying to force his way into a college student's apartment, fleeing and then stabbing a man who was sitting in his truck nearby. Zynga founder Mark Pincus has listed his seven-bedroom San Francisco home for $18 million, and you can see it during an open house on Sunday. Why was that? Reps for Mark and Alison declined to comment on Thursday night. With the moves that Apple has been making the privacy push over targeted advertising, the move this week to basically tax social theyre competitive moves against Meta to put more pressure on them. My instinct is that were going to fake it first before we make it. A Plymouth man was arrested Sunday after a brief rampage through East Cambridge with a knife. He then started his second company, Support.com, in August 1997. I should feel good about paying you 30 percent. Pincus's low point as CEO was probably in 2009, when he was caught on tape telling a group of people at a Berkeley mixer that in Zynga's early days, he had done " every horrible thing in the book. Come here! He grabbed me and walked down the hall. Facebook had just opened its site to outside developers, letting Zynga offer its "Texas HoldEm Poker" game to the social network's burgeoning ranks of users. Then Im walking around in my CryptoKitties T-shirt, and Dan, whos here, and my team, theyre making fun of me. Theyre not necessarily motivated to deliver us, as developers, more services. We also see that happening a lot. Mark Pincus, chief executive officer of Zynga Inc., speaks during an event at Zynga Inc. headquarters in San Francisco, California, U.S. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images St. John adds that he hasn't met Pincus and doesn't share this view. Mark Pincus (Mark Jonathan Pincus) was born on 13 February, 1966 in Chicago, Illinois, United States, is an Executive Chairman at Zynga (formerly CEO and Chief Product Officer). GamesBeat: A lot of people also made fun of Axie not being a real game, just like they did with FarmVille. And now youre interested in blockchain gaming. All Rights Reserved. Mark comes to Gardner Skelton after running his own New York-based firm, Pincus Law LLC, from 2014-21. No VC wanted to fund us. Mark Pincus Quotes. Photographer: Noah Berger/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Mark Pincus, Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Oops! The new platform is this amazing, wonderful thing. Bella Thoren. Their most notable exits are Summly , Sidecar Technologies , and Seesmic. Similar, but maybe much bigger than what social gaming was. I talked to him about why he thinks blockchain could offer a way for the game industry to deliver on the original vision for social gaming where everybody plays games. People went away for the holidays and came back and forgot to play. Follow-up articles reported that Zynga.org had in fact confused its users about its actual donations to Haiti relief efforts. Henry Pincus, son to the late founder of private equity firm Warburg Pincus and party to an extended conflict over his father's $70 million apartment in the Pierre, has now picked up . Alison is known to constantly carry a notebook with her at all times to make notes of any interesting trends that she observes. He returned to the United States in order to attend Harvard Business School (HBS) where he was a contemporary of Chris Hohn, Guy Spier and Chris Shumway. "I just don't think that's a big issue with Mark, because he can deal with the pain of any short-term hit, to power through and get to where he wants to go. Thats why, when social networks opened up, it gave this new chance for disruption. A lot of people have different concepts of what the metaverse is. Pincus also founded Freeloader, Inc., Tribe Networks, and Support.com. He should say, Ive seen the light! 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. Imagine if it was opt-in. He also has a bunch of step-siblings from the other marriages of his parents. Thats the real unlock here. Take-Two's purchase price equates to a premium of 64% to Zynga's closing price on Friday, giving Pincus's net worth a big boost. Apple is too. Partner. Jocelyn Hoefling. Pincus: I know there are a few investors here too, like Phil Sanderson. There is no question Mark Pincus is the most famous & most loved celebrity of all the time. Heading into the IPO, Kleiner Perkins was so bullish on Zynga that in early 2011 it increased its stake by buying shares at $14, valuing the company at $12 billion. "One of the big questions for anybody going public is, 'Can they maintain their long-term focus?' Pincus was arrested Sunday and faces several charges in connection with the home invasion and a separate non-fatal stabbing in East Cambridge that followed. And theres more upside. Mark was born in the windy city Chicago and was raised in a Jewish family. Im an investor in his fund, so go talk to him. In 2002, the company changed its name from Support.com to SupportSoft, Inc. Pincus: Well, they do put more pressure. Either way its good for the industry. Let us walk you through our Companies database and other offerings. The SPAC was formed by Hoffman, Pincus and Thompson, formerly of BHR Capital, with the intention of [] Reid Hoffman, Zynga's Mark Pincus aim to raise $600M for tech-focused SPAC Kirsten . FOLLOW US @PincusFamilyFoundation. I tried to buy the movie rights and couldnt get that. They are seeking joint custody of their three children, twin girls and a boy. They lived in the ultra-exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood, home to Silicon Valleys elite. Pincus: This pragmatism, this real value, were kind of in a perfect place. They actually have a way to pay. He is also very passionate about pets and is the proud owner of a bulldog. Following Take-Two Interactive's announced acquisition of Zynga on Monday for $12.7 billion, Pincus is inline to be the biggest individual beneficiary, thanks to his continued ownership of about 5% of his company's outstanding shares. In 2010, some criticized Zynga.org for keeping up to 50 percent of the donations it collected for Haiti earthquake relief. They forged a deal that threw Facebook's support behind Zynga, in exchange for a cut of sales. Mark Pincus has made 83 investments. Ill take credit. GamesBeat: Mark Zuckerberg has a vision for the metaverse too, your old platform partner. And we did, for a moment. From 1996 to 1997, he served as Chief Executive Officer of FreeLoader, Inc., a web-based news company he founded. GamesBeat: I was at a dinner last night, and everyone was talking about generative art, where AI is progressing and all of Silicon Valley seems to be talking about this now. He also assists clients regarding Employment Litigation: Defense and Employment Litigation: Plaintiff issues. Mark Pincus. Pincus: Maybe its a $300 billion company that supports a $3 trillion economy. Join Facebook to connect with Mark Pincus and others you may know. Meta is a social technology company that enables people to connect, find communities, and grow businesses. Zynga founder Mark Pincus is stepping down as chief product officer at the San Francisco social gaming company to focus on his role as chairman of its board of directors, according to a blog post . The platforms we see, with Apples announcement this week, start to tighten the vice a bit. He has taught me a lot about managing at scale. A witness confirmed Pincus approached the victim while he was sitting in his truck and stabbed him in his upper body. All other data points as on May 31, 2021. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), The 7 best home saunas of 2023, with expert tips on how to shop, Target's new Fine'ry perfumes have designer dupes you need to know about, This 2021 iPad is at its lowest price ever on Amazon, The Doobie Brothers announce 50th Anniversary Tour: Get tickets today, Save over $1,100 on this 6'' LG Smart TV today on Amazon, Kim Kardashian models thong bikini, belly chain in sexy new pics, Score big savings on Kate Middleton-loved Longchamp bags right now, Puma announces return of Fenty x Puma collaboration with Rihanna: Shes back, Drew Barrymore Struggles During Bungee Workout on The Drew Barrymore Show: I Cant Believe I Used to Be a Charlies Angel, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, 'Annoyed' Aubrey Plaza mouths angry phrase during 'White Lotus' SAGs speech, Savannah Guthrie leaves 'Today' live broadcast early as Hoda Kotb remains absent, Meghan, Harry brush off Frogmore eviction bombshell with night on the town, Christina Applegate attends SAG Awards 2023 as 'last awards show' amid MS battle, What really happened with Aubrey Plaza on SAG Awards stage, Carrie Underwood's closet laundry setup causes a stir: 'Genius', 'Disgraceful' Meghan, Harry 'provoked' King Charles to evict them: royal expert, Kanye West and 'wife' Bianca Censori look surprisingly happy on dinner date, Madonna, 64, reportedly dating 'Summer House' boxing coach Josh Popper, 29, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle confirm they were asked to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting. GamesBeat: I think the last time you were on a GamesBeat stage was 2012. Think of Zynga and you cant help but think of Mark Jonathan Pincus the co-founder of Zynga and a very well-known American Internet entrepreneur. There was a lot of consolidation, and a lot of benefits to having scale. The criticisms were based on a Brazilian magazine article but were widely reported over social media and the blogosphere. Theres no clear, easy distribution compared to what was there with Facebook. WorkPlay Ventures has not raised any funding rounds yet. Does it look in hindsight like this was a good move in that light? Pincus also founded Zynga.org in 2009, a non-profit organization dedicated to using social games for social good. His beautiful wife, Alison Gelb Pincus, the co-founder of One Kings Lane, which sold to Bed Bath & Beyond for $30 million last year, has filed for divorce in San Francisco, citing irreconcilable differences, and is asking the court to nullify their prenup. He also invested in a movie, 2001's "Kissing Jessica Stein," which grossed more than $7 million on a $1 million budget, according to the Internet Movie Database. Senior Associate. AS I REFLECT BACK ON MANY YEARS OF HELPING AND VISITING REFUGEE CAMPS, OF SEEING WHAT THOSE LESS FORTUNATE DONT HAVE, I WONDER WHAT THE WORLD COULD DO FOR THOSE STRUGGLING IN SUCH TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES. Additionally, the couple have three . Mr. Pincus and his wife established the Pincus Family Foundation with the mission to "promote children's health, education, safety, nutrition, recreation, and the arts both locally and worldwide." This was very much in character for Mr. Pincus who, beginning in the . With Take-Two Interactive's agreement to buy Zynga, Mark Pincus is poised to pocket about $193 million, and get another $350 million in Take-Two equity. Even with the high premium Take-Two is paying, it's still less than the IPO price. GamesBeat: Whats your advice to a young person who wants to build a career in the game industry? Youll hear from the brightest minds within the gaming industry to share their updates on the latest developments. Within four years after Pincus founded Zynga, the company had grown to a $1 billion company. 46 Copy quote. Or it feels as hard to some of us as it was in 2007 and 2008. Ran on: 10-21-2010 But as it gets more mature, it both becomes a bigger business, but there tends to be less discovery, less new growth, less interest in new things. Among the region's biggest recent breakups: Zynga founder Mark Pincus and One Kings Lane co-founder Alison Gelb Pincus.