UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 29, 2018
THEMAVEN,
INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
| DELAWARE | 1-12471 | 68-0232575 | ||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
| 2125 Western Avenue, Suite 502 Seattle, WA | 98121 | |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 775-600-2765
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction .2. below):
| ¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Emerging growth company ¨
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On January 28, 2018, TheMaven, Inc. (the “Company” or “TheMaven”) appointed David Bailey as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective as of January 29, 2018.
As chief executive officer of BTC Inc from 2015, David Bailey is an industry leader in the digital currency and blockchain space. Through its subsidiaries, BTC Inc. is the publisher of the world’s leading digital (Bitcoin Magazine, Distributed, and Let's Talk Bitcoin Network) and print publications (Distributed Magazine and Bitcoin Magazine) dedicated to the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces, an internationally recognized conference series, a blockchain venture studio, a marketing firm and more. Mr. Bailey also serves as CEO of yBitcoin Magazine since 2013; CEO of Bitcoin Magazine since 2014; CEO of The Distributed Ledger since 2015; and Partner of 402 Digital since 2014.
Mr. Bailey is also a board member of Po.et, a shared, open, universal ledger designed to record metadata and ownership information for digital creative assets. Mr. Bailey has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Alabama.
A copy of the Company’s press release announcing Mr. Bailey’s appointment is filed with this report as Exhibit 99.1, and is incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
| (d) | Exhibits. |
|
Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 99.1 | Press release dated February 1, 2018 | |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| THEMAVEN, INC. | |||
| Dated: February 5, 2018 | By: | /s/ Martin Heimbigner | |
| Name: Martin Heimbigner Title: Chief Financial Officer | |||
Exhibit 99.1
Maven Partners with Blockchain-Based Media Platform Po.et to Empower Independent Publishers
Po.et co-founder David Bailey to join Maven’s board and Maven CEO James Heckman will join Po.et board as part of strategic partnership
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Maven (ticker symbol: MVEN) announced today it is partnering with Po.et, a blockchain-based open universal ledger for digital creative assets, to provide Maven’s content creators protection from improper use of their content and ensure fair monetization.
Po.et will provide Maven publishers with the ability to timestamp and validate their content and digital assets in an unalterable system which will automatically issue digital ownership certificates.
“Partnering with Po.et advances our strategy to provide Maven publishers with the greatest tools available to drive maximum monetization, distribution, transparency and security,” said Maven CEO James Heckman. “Maven’s vision and mission is perfectly aligned with Po.et’s. At the end of the day, we’re working to empower and protect independent publishers.”
Using cryptography, Po.et gives both publishers and content creators the tools to automate the licensing process without relying on third parties.
For Po.et, the strategic partnership provides them with scale and the ability to receive and cryptographically sign data from Maven’s thousands of professional content creators serving 40 million users.
“Maven is a perfect partner for Po.et for many reasons,” said David Bailey, co-founder of Po.et and chairman of the Po.et Foundation. “Maven’s thousands of content creators and 40 million-plus audience gives us scale and the opportunity to explore the potential of our technology in a big way. They have a world-class engineering team, which will make this technology integration seamless, and are led by a leadership team that has found success in digital media over the last 30 years.”
As part of the partnership, Bailey will join Maven’s board and Heckman will join Po.et’s board.
“David is a pioneer in the world-changing blockchain movement, and its an honor for us to work with him,” said Maven Board Chairman Josh Jacobs. “A visionary in emerging technology, David will help Maven identify ways to empower and protect independent publishers. His raw technical expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovative thinking make David’s appointment a great addition to Maven’s board, and a huge win for the Maven coalition.”
Bailey is also the CEO of BTC Media, the first dedicated outlet for digital currency, and the publisher of Distributed, Bitcoin Magazine, and yBitcoin, which will soon begin distributing content as part of Maven’s independent publisher coalition.
Additionally, Heckman will join Po.et’s board of directors. “Being a part of Po.et’s board gives me the opportunity to contribute to an organization that advocates on behalf of Maven publishers,” Heckman added. “It also gives the Maven coalition a seat at the table with a forward-thinking organization whose mission is to help keep their livelihoods secure.”
About Maven
Maven, Inc., (ticker symbol: MVEN) is a coalition of Mavens, operating on a single digital publishing, advertising and distribution platform under a single brand. Based in Seattle, Maven is publicly traded under the ticker symbol MVEN.
About Po.et
Po.et — Proof of Existence 2.0 is a Bitcoin blockchain protocol that establishes an open, universal and immutable ledger for managing the ownership, attribution and licensing of creative digital assets. Po.et builds a bridge between creators and publishers and enables the discovery of new content and verification, authenticity and authorization of generated content through a truly transparent and timestamped system of attribution. Po.et is based in Singapore and the United States, with offices in Nashville and New York. For more information about Po.et, please visit po.et.
Contacts
Maven
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660