Gawker: valleywag, michael birch

Inside the Nerd Mansions of San Francisco

Ryan Tate — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:49:32 EDT

San Francisco's renaissance men are supposed to be clever enough to make millions on internet startups and cultured enough to make home design decisions. In reality, they lack both time and taste, so they just completely outsource the latter .

That's interior designer Ken Fulk's good fortune, according to an article by Deborah Schoeneman in this month's C magazine (think W for California — the article is not online but you can always order a subscription). Ridiculously wealthy startup founders just hand Fulk large bundles of money — or even a blank check — and set him loose. Why second guess your designer when your life is spent buried in software subroutines or analyzing internet business models?

Mark Pincus, the Harvard MBA founder of local networking site Tribe.net and social gaming network Zynga, and his wife "never consulted with their decorator on so much as a paint chip or swath of fabric" for their Cole Valley home. Programmer Michael Birch, who with wife Xori sold the social network Bebo to AOL for a ridiculous $850 million, gave Fulk an "elastic budget" for re-doing their $30 million Pacific Heights mansion, specifying only that Michael wanted a full-service pub imported from London.

How did the projects work out? Wonderfully, if you're in love with electric-blue lacquered walls, animal heads, and very loud stripes. zebra-print rugs and muddy-looking busts on your coffee table. Examples of Fulk's handiwork, from C, in the gallery below. The last item includes a description of Fulk's insane closet.

(UPDATE: This post originally contained a picture of Fulk's own place mis-labeled as Pincus' place. We have corrected it.)

Tribe.net founder Pincus' place in Cole Valley.

Bebo founder Michael Birch's mansion in Pacific Heights.

Designer Fulk. According to C, his own loft is decorated with "lots of taxidermy, vintage furniture and portraits. Instead of a closet, his clothes hang on a rack sheathed in black bags to protect them from the sun. Each bag is affixed with a Polaroid of the outfit inside. His name is printed on the bags as if it were a fashion label."

Bebo cofounders buy $29 million cabin on a hill

Jackson West — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Well, it's on a hill, but it sure ain't a cabin. Instead, Bebo cofounding couple Michael Birch and Xochi Birch have purchased a $29 million manse in Pacific heights on the corner of Broadway and Broderick. It looks like the Birches purchased the property from one William Mathes, a managing partner at Behrman Capital. Mathes originally purchased the lot for a mere $3.25 million back in 1998.

Barely legal billionaires insist there's tons more money to be made

Jackson West — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:20:00 EDT

21-year-old billionaires in the making? To tell the truth, the youngest Forbes has come up with in the past decade was Elon Musk at 27. That was back in 1998, with only $22 million. Musk's face is more lined, but he still isn't a billionaire, even after cashing out from PayPal's sale to eBay. Forbes at least has some standards — only reason I can imagine Zuckerberg isn't in the piece is because his share of Facebook's valuation is still mostly theoretical. As for Bebo's Michael and Xochi Birch? They're back to their birthday announcement and e-card concern BirthdayAlarm.com, not content with a cabin in the hills at all. (Photo by Ryan Anson/Bloomberg News/Landov)

You're invited to Michael and Xochi Birch's Bebo farewell party

Jackson West — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:40:00 EDT

Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch cashed out in the nine figures with the social network's $850 million purchase by AOL. According to the invite for their farewell party, they'll be retiring to a humble, quiet cabin (which, in the Bay Area housing market, should set them back a million or two). What they aren't spending their windfall on?

Hot air balloon rides and circus performers. But then it would be difficult to fit either into 1015 Folsom, where the party is being held tomorrow night. As for the rest of Bebo's original employees? They've all left already.

Michael Birch's first social networking sellout a blowout

Owen Thomas — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:40:00 EDT

In 2003, social networking was not yet faddish. Michael Birch sold his self-admitted Friendster clone, Ringo, to online dating site Tickle for a pittance. He came to see that as a mistake, and went on to found Bebo, which he sold to AOL for a giggle-inducing $850 million. A cautionary tale for AOL: Tickle, now a unit of online jobs site Monster, laid off most of its employees in April, and informed its users by email over the weekend that Ringo was shutting down for good. (Photo by Michael Birch)

Even Bebo's cofounder thinks AOL's $850 million is a joke

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:38:05 EDT

Poor AOL CEO Randy Falco. He believes that acquiring the social network Bebo for $850 million put AOL in a "leading position" in social networking. Everyone else thinks the buy was a joke — including Bebo cofounder Michael Birch. Asked at an event yesterday about the purchase price, Birch said, "850 million is an interesting number. It's a lot bigger than some numbers and a lot smaller than some numbers. It's not a prime number." Asked how AOL bid itself up to $850 million, Birch said $800 million of it was due Bebo's popularity in Fiji. "Fiji is an up-and-coming market," the Birch told the crowd. Don't wonder why he's so giddy. Birch and his cofounder, his wife Xochi, earned $595 million on the deal.

Bebo founders earn $595 million, enough to buy a haircut

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:00:09 EDT

Michael and Xochi Birch met in a London pub back in 2005. Later, the pair decided to launch a social network from their San Francisco living room. About 40 million people signed up and two years later, AOL plunked down $850 million to buy the site. The Birches, who reportedly owned a 70 percent stake in the company, walk away with $595 million. Our advice for the first few dollars spent, below.

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