Provenance Ventures Team
Bryan Biniak
Managing Director & Founder Provenance Ventures, LLC
Bryan is Managing Director (MD) and Founder of Provenance Ventures, LLC., a venture capital firm focused on the advancement of society through investments in early stage social technology companies. Provenance's first $10 million fund is focused on Media and Communications-centered seed investments.
Bryan has led and managed numerous investments in US, Asia, and European companies across a diverse technology spectrum including interactive music, video game, internet, messaging and wireless communications.
An active participant in industry associations, Bryan currently serves as a member of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's (CTIA) Executive Committee. He is co-chairman of CTIA's Downloadable Content Committee where he is working to establish a cross-carrier super distribution network as well as industry policy on downloadable media, Digital Rights Management (DRM), and a content rating and classification system for North America. In his capacity as CTIA Executive Committee member and industry expert, he has recently testified before the FCC on issues relating to DRM. He has also served as a Board Member of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) and co-founded of the Mobile Media Institute at the University of Southern California.
Prior to founding Provenance Ventures, Bryan served as senior vice president and general manager for AG Interactive's Gen M division. AG Interactive is the new media division of American Greetings Corporation (NYSE), a $2 billion dollar publicly-held company and one of the world's leading manufacturers of self and social expression products. Bryan was recruited by AG to start the division where he acquired two companies and managed a team of 160 people; developing, distributing and marketing cross platform mobile and messaging products targeting 16 – to 30 year olds. The division's product portfolio includes MSN Messenger's Kiwee, Univision Movil, Def Jam Mobile, Sports Illustrated Mobile and Midiringtones. The division sells its products through over 45 wireless carriers and 25 web sites around the globe.
Bryan has also served as chief operating officer and executive vice president of sales and marketing for Vivendi Universal's wireless subsidiary Moviso. He participated in the sale of Moviso to InfoSpace in November, 2003. Biniak previously served as Chief Operating Officer of YourMobile and Premium Wireless Services, where he led its sale to Vivendi Universal in January, 2002. He also served as founder and CEO of China-based MusicZone, and was a founding member and vice president of MIT Media Lab spin-off Harmonix Music Systems, a leading video-game developer and publisher of titles such as Guitar Hero, Amplitude, and Frequency.
Bryan is a frequent speaker and author. He has spoken at global venues ranging from industry to mainstream business events and seminars. Bryan holds a B.A. in International Relations, Business and Economics from Boston University and attended both The Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Ceara in Forteleza, Brazil.
Bryan resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.
© 2006 Provenance Ventures, All Rights Reserved.