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Eugenio Gonzalez, insurance leader at Plug and Play Ventures, discusses how insurers are leveraging open-source AI models to enhance transparency, reduce costs, and customize solutions, while innovation hubs are bridging the gap between startups and the insurance industry.
Ok, we know this episode should be called Something Fun on the Toilet with MK, but we're chose to keep it classy. Our guest this week is Michail Katkoff, a veteran of Zynga, Supercell, and Rovio, partner in Play Ventures, and founder of Deconstructor of Fun. In all of these different roles he's developed a unique understanding of our industry from different perspectives. We discuss product management, insane mobile profits and the ecosystem necessary to support game studios.00:00 – Introduction: Alex and Aaron introduce Mishka, highlighting his diverse roles in the gaming industry.02:00 – First Steps: Mishka talks about his first role in the industry at Digital Chocolate and his encounters with Trip Hawkins.05:45 – Cultural Differences in Gaming: Mishka reflects on the differences between the Finnish and Californian working cultures.08:30 – Early Influences: Growing up in the Soviet Union, Mishka shares how Pong and Sega sparked his passion for gaming.10:50 – From Business to Games: Mishka recounts how he left the corporate world to pursue his dream in the gaming industry.14:00 – Product Management Explained: Mishka breaks down the role of a Product Manager in gaming and how he helped shape game monetization.16:30 – Crazy Discoveries in Player Data: Mishka reveals insights from analyzing player behavior and the surprising findings about in-game sales.22:00 – Ethics in Monetization: A candid conversation about the moral questions surrounding microtransactions and the 'whale' phenomenon.29:00 – Building the Finnish Gaming Scene: Mishka explains how Nokia and the Finnish education system helped create a gaming ecosystem.36:00 – Challenges for Indie Developers: Discussion on the current challenges small studios face in breaking into the mobile gaming market.40:30 – Favorite Games: Mishka shares his love for grand strategy and historical games, and his mobile game preferences.45:00 – Deconstructor of Fun: How Mishka started Deconstructor of Fun and grew it into a leading platform for industry insights.50:00 – Launching a Studio: Mishka talks about starting a game studio and its eventual acquisition by Sony.This episode is perfect for anyone interested in the gaming industry, product management, or how mobile gaming has evolved over the years!Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life!Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron MarroquinFind us at www.thefourthcurtain.comCome join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfeVideos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtainFollow us on twitter: @fourthcurtainEdited and mastered at https://noise-floor.comFeaturing the music track Liberation by 505
Venture capitalists are far more collaborative among each other than one may think, and today, we learn how this willingness to share ideas enticed today's guest to join his current company. Joe Burridge is the Head of Talent at Play Ventures – a venture capitalist firm that loves helping ambitious and passionate entrepreneurs to fulfill their dreams – and he begins our conversation by walking us through his latest career developments since his last appearance on Talk Talent To Me in 2019. After musing on the importance of talent professionals upskilling themselves by listening to podcasts like this one, we discuss the merit of going full-freelance in today's economic climate, when and how Joe knew that he and his employer were on the same page, the importance of having vast talent pools and making the right hires, and the pros and cons of joining a startup as a talent professional. To end, Joe explains what we could be doing more of to embrace and encourage collaborative work environments. Key Points From This Episode: How Joe Burridge's career has developed since his last appearance on this podcast in 2019. Whether he regarded his contracted work as a temporary or permanent solution post-layoff. His experience of working in-house and leading a team versus doing more consultative work. A brief interlude on the value of listening to podcasts like this one as talent professionals. When and how Joe knew that his concerns aligned with his employer's needs. A case study from his career, highlighting the importance of talent and making the right hires. The pros and cons of joining a startup. Joe's recruiting approach, and the trends he sees in current candidate pools. What we can learn from the (surprisingly) collaborative nature of venture capitalists. Quotes: “In North America, for the most part, if you get laid off it's a fairly immediate thing. Thankfully, in the UK, layoffs take weeks, sometimes months. So, you've got quite a bit of breathing room to figure out what you're going to do next.” — @JoeFindsTalent [0:07:04] “If you spend your free time listening to a recruiting podcast, I think you're probably a pretty good recruiter. It signals to me that you really care about getting better at your job.” — @robstertweets [0:13:55] “Yes, there's an abundance of talent available, but you need to be more honed into hiring for culture than ever before when you've got such a variety to choose from.” — @JoeFindsTalent [0:24:32] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Joe Burridge Joe Burridge on LinkedIn Play Ventures Episode: Senior Recruiter, EA Joe Burridge Alison Kaizer on LinkedIn Kelly Kinnard on LinkedIn Rob Stevenson on X Talk Talent to Me
In dieser Ausgabe begrüßen wir Stefan Nürnberger, CEO und Co-Founder von Veecle GmbH. Das Startup ermöglicht Automobilherstellern den Aufbau softwaredefinierter Fahrzeuge. Jan und Stefan sprechen in diesem Interview über die heute veröffentlichte Seed-Runde in Höhe von 2,6 Millionen Euro.Mit dem Betriebssystem von Veecle sollen Hersteller einfacher Funktionen entwickeln und neue Geschäftsfelder der Zukunft erschließen, Abhängigkeiten von Zulieferern zu lösen und Entwicklungsprozesse zu beschleunigen. Mit Veecle können Hersteller neue Funktionen zu bestehenden Architekturen hinzufügen und durch Konnektivität die Tür zu neuen Geschäftsmodellen öffnen. Die Finanzierungsrunde wurde von Relay Ventures angeführt, einer nordamerikanische Risikokapitalgesellschaft mit Büros in Toronto und San Francisco. Außerdem beteiligten sich auch F-LOG Ventures, IBB Ventures und Plug & Play Ventures beteiligt haben.
In this week's Roundtable, the squad discusses Play Ventures raising at least $78 million for its third venture fund and Savvy Games Group as the financier behind the $2 billion Embracer deal that fell apart. We dive into the early international reception for the new Gran Turismo movie and where it falls under Sony's ongoing transmedia strategy. We dissect the information Zynga released about its new web3 gaming ecosystem, Sugartown, and whether Zynga is really a good fit. Finally, we dig into Netflix's newest gaming test, which uses a phone as a virtual controller. Join us for all the latest games business news with Jonathan Anastas, Dave Elton, and host Devin Becker.This episode is brought to you by Lightspeed Venture Partners. With its dedicated gaming practice, "Lightspeed Gaming," the firm is investing from over $7B in early- and growth-stage capital — the by far largest fund focused on gaming and interactive technology. If you're interested in learning more, go to gaming.lsvp.com.Also, a big thanks to data.ai for supporting all of Naavik's mobile data needs. If your team requires a market and competitive intelligence tool for tracking the mobile games industry, monitoring KPIs, and spotting opportunities across games, check out https://www.data.ai/en/?utm_source=naavikIf you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback, shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co. Watch the episode: YouTube ChannelFor more episodes and details: Podcast WebsiteFree newsletter: Naavik DigestFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.
Daan van Rossum is the Founder and CEO of FlexOS, a Work Tech startup that helps hybrid and remote managers level up their leadership game. The company raised $1 million from investors including DO Ventures, VIK Partners, Vulpes Ventures, Hustle Fund, Wing Vasiksiri (iSeed SEA), and Plug and Play Ventures, who previously backed Paypal, Dropbox, Webflow, Nerdwallet, and more.Topics:[00:00:00] - Democratization and hard work.[00:05:08] - First job selling vacuum cleaners.[00:08:08] - Dropping out of school.[00:10:08] - Online food ordering.[00:14:05] - Local version of Netflix.[00:17:00] - Proving legitimacy through job search.[00:20:18] - Global conference and the future.[00:25:31] - Applying to different offices.[00:29:56] - Late teens and early twenties.[00:30:15] - Generation gap and cultural expectations.[00:34:29] - Personal stories and inspiration.[00:38:07] - Bringing personal development to work.[00:41:10] - Managing difficulties and staying challenged.[00:44:14] - Finding your true passion.[00:48:06] - Wanting things that make us happy.[00:51:06] - Work as a source of happiness.Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.Visit BackScoop's social media pages and show your support!BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQBackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoopBackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoopVisit Amanda Cua's social media pages:Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cuaAmanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCuaVisit Daan van Rossum's social media pages:Daan van Rossum (Linkedin): https://vn.linkedin.com/in/daanvanrossumDaan van Rossum (Twitter): https://twitter.com/DaanWorksFlexOS (Linkedin): https://sg.linkedin.com/company/flex-os Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In der Rubrik “Investments & Exits” begrüßen wir heute Otto Birnbaum, General Partner von Revent. Otto spricht über die Finanzierungsrunde von ConstellR und Quench.ai sowie den Exit von Opinary und den neuen Fonds von United Ventures. Das deutsche Startup constellr, das intelligente Landwirtschaftsdienste für den Agrarsektor anbietet, hat eine Seed-Finanzierungsrunde abgeschlossen und erhöhte damit den Gesamtbetrag der Seed-Runde auf 17 Millionen Euro. Die Finanzierungsrunde wurde von Karista angeführt, mit Beteiligung von Einstein Industries Ventures und bestehenden Investoren wie FTTF, Lakestar, Vsquared, Amathaon Capital, Natural Ventures, OHB Ventures und EIT Food. Das Unternehmen plant, die Mittel zu nutzen, um den Einsatz seiner Wärmesatelliten zu beschleunigen und seine Aktivitäten in Nordamerika auszuweiten. Die KI-Coaching-Plattform Quench.ai, gegründet von Husayn Kassai, dem Mitbegründer von Onfido, hat in einer Pre-Seed-Finanzierungsrunde 5 Millionen US-Dollar aufgebracht. Unter den Investoren sind Firstminute Capital, Tuesday VC (ehemals CrunchFund), BY Venture Partners, Ada Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Notion Capital, IFG, Antler, Ventures Together, Northzone scout und mehr als 50 Gründer. Die Plattform nutzt Künstliche Intelligenz als Coach und bietet den Nutzern geeignete Videos zum Erlernen neuer Fähigkeiten an. Ziel ist es, Probleme wie "Entscheidungsparalyse" und zeitraubende Ablenkungen zu vermeiden. Das Unternehmen plant, mit der Finanzierung sein Team zu erweitern und moderne Lernende, die ihre Fähigkeiten verbessern wollen, anzusprechen.Das indische Werbetechnologieunternehmen Affinity hat das Berliner Startup Opinary übernommen, wobei der Kaufpreis nicht bekannt gegeben wurde, aber geschätzt wird, dass es sich um eine einstellige Millionensumme handelt. Opinary, bekannt für seine Online-Umfragen zu aktuellen Themen, wird durch die Übernahme die Möglichkeit haben, international zu expandieren und neue Produkte von Affinity anzubieten. Die bestehende Geschäftsführung von Opinary bleibt erhalten, während das Unternehmen durch die Unterstützung von Affinity in den USA und Asien sowie in Deutschland und Europa wachsen soll. Die italienische Risikokapitalfirma United Ventures hat den ersten Abschluss ihres neuen Fonds in Höhe von 65 Millionen Euro bekannt gegeben, mit einem Ziel von insgesamt 150 Millionen Euro. Der Fonds wird sich in den nächsten fünf Jahren auf 15 bis 18 europäische Technologieunternehmen im Frühstadium konzentrieren, insbesondere im italienischen Ökosystem.
From Wargaming, Anton Kolkovskiy founded Bulberry Studio to build mid-core F2P mobile games. As war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, Anton was unable to raise a follow-on round of funding and eventually shut down the studio he had spent so much time, energy, and effort into. What were the lessons he learned from the start to launch to attempting to save the company? What would he do differently knowing what he knows now? Phylicia Koh is a partner at Play Ventures, and while Play did not invest in Bulberry, she was aware of Bulberry and shared her thoughts about Bulberry's path. What advice would Phylicia give Anton? What would it have taken for Phylicia to invest in Bulberry? Further, what is the market like today, and given new market dynamics, what would she fund today? OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 4:24 Anton's story starting Bulberry Studio from Wargaming. 8:25 What do VCs look to invest in then vs. now. 13:21 Initial funding from My.Games, deal structure, initial investment thesis, pitch to My.Games, and initial soft launch experience. 19:30 Initial testing experience, what they focused on, how to approach initial testing. 21:30 Typical approach for testing from Phylicia. 22:25 Strategic investments: company structure considerations 26:05 How do you know if you are succeeding on retention or deadline? Lessons learned from Anton. The line between confidence and being wrong. 29:30 What was the actual process/approach to their initial testing vs soft launch phase? 35:44 Initial soft launch metrics. 37:00 going to investors with metrics with small cohorts. Window dressing cohorts. 42:03 What could you have done to change the outcome of what happened? 46:31 The biggest fire. 47:56 Impact of global macro, the Russia-Ukraine war impact on Bulberry Studio. 59:50 How to extend runway when things go bad? 1:02:02 Psychological impact on founders for startups in trouble. 1:05:02 What would it take to invest in a troubled game deal from Play Ventures? 1:10:12 What should investors look for in the new investment environment? 1:23:22: How much global macro awareness should leadership teams be aware of?
In der Rubrik “Investments & Exits” begrüßen wir heute Tina Dreimann, Co-Founder von better ventures. Tina spricht über die Finanzierungsrunden von PoLoPo, etepetete und SmartAction.Das israelische Molecular-Farming-Startup PoLoPo hat eine Pre-Seed-Runde in Höhe von 1,75 Millionen US-Dollar erhalten. FoodLabs führte die Runde an, zu den weiteren Investoren gehören CPT Capital, Siddhi Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Milk & Honey Ventures und HackCapital. Das Unternehmen entwickelt eine Technologieplattform zur Herstellung pflanzlicher Proteine aus Kartoffeln, um den wachsenden Bedarf der Lebensmittelindustrie zu decken. Das von Dr. Raya Liberman-Aloni und Dr. Maya Sapir-Mir. Raya gegründete Startup plant, das Geld zu nutzen, um sein Team zu erweitern und die Forschung und Entwicklung zu beschleunigen. Das Unternehmen etepetete, das sich auf den Verkauf von gerettetem Bio-Obst und -Gemüse durch Abonnement-Boxen spezialisiert hat, hat über eine Crowdinvesting-Runde über Econeers 1,7 Millionen Euro von 812 Investoren gesammelt. Das Das von Carsten Wille, Georg Lindermair und Christopher Hallhuber gründete Startup rettet krummes Bio-Obst und -Gemüse vor der Lebensmittelverschwendung, das aufgrund seines Aussehens nicht in die Supermarktregale gelangt. Die Investitionssumme soll verwendet werden, um die Individualisierung der Obst- und Gemüseboxen voranzutreiben und die Verpackungs- und Versandprozesse zu digitalisieren.SmartAction, ein texanisches Unternehmen für KI-Plattformen, hat in einer Finanzierungsrunde einen bisher nicht öffentlichen Betrag erhalten. An der Runde beteiligten sich die bestehenden Investoren TVC Capital und Staley Capital mit Unterstützung der ORIX Corporation USA. Das Unternehmen entwickelte KI-gesteuerte virtuelle Agenten für den Kundenservice in der Contact-Center-Branche. SmartAction plant, die Mittel für die Weiterentwicklung seiner KI-Technologieplattform und die Erweiterung des kommerziellen Teams einzusetzen.
Holly Liu is the co-founder of Kabam and now managing partner and co-founder of PKO, a collective investing in tech and entertainment. Phylicia Koh is a partner at Play Ventures, a games VC with ~$250M AUM. Today we learn how these two phenomenal games people founded funds, exited companies, and ascended to partner as well as a definitional layout of the structure of the investing world. Furthermore we shade this all under the fundamental reality that venture capital is still very much a “boys club” and the games industry deeply struggles to ensure gender equality across a variety of dimensions. And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review!TLDListen?: Episode summaryWatch the episode: YouTube video Join the discussion: Naavik DiscordRead more: Naavik DigestWatch more: YouTube channelGo premium: Naavik ProFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Gabe.
Mike Zayonc and Joe Lynch discuss Silicon Valley in a box, a nickname for Plug and Play Ventures, a global startup accelerator and venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, California. Mike is a Partner at Plug and Play where he founded the firm's $25.5M Supply Chain Fund and Supply Chain accelerator program. About Mike Zayonc Mike Zayonc is a Partner at Plug and Play where he founded the firm's $25.5M Supply Chain Fund as well as the Supply Chain accelerators based in Silicon Valley, Savannah, Toronto, Northwest Arkansas, Hamburg, and Shanghai in partnership with 60+ corporate partners such as Walmart, TJX, Tyson Foods, JB Hunt, Shell, DHL, Kohls, Japan Post, Yamato, Maersk, Ryder, Prologis, BASF, ArcelorMittal, ExxonMobil, United States Postal Service, Arcbest, Mitsubishi Electric, Georgia Pacific, Trimac, Crowley Martime, etc... This program is responsible for accelerating hundreds of startups and investing 60+ supply chain related startups at the seed stage including Rappi, Einride, Shippo, Cogniac, Repowr, Koffie Labs, Oloid, etc. Prior to joining Plug and Play, Mike was a serial entrepreneur from Vancouver, Canada. Mike graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Management, where he specialized in studying Entrepreneurial Technology and Finance. Throughout University Mike maintained a full-ride athletic scholarship for competing across Canada in men's varsity basketball. About Plug and Play Plug and Play is a global innovation platform that connects startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. The firm is headquartered in Silicon Valley and has a presence in more than 40 locations across five continents. Plug and Play offers corporate innovation programs and assists corporate partners at every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. The firm also organizes startup acceleration programs and is among the most active investors worldwide, with over 200 investments per year driving innovation across multiple industries. Plug and Play's portfolio comprises companies such as Dropbox, Guardant Health, ApplyBoard, Course Hero, Einride, Honey, Blockdaemon, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. Key Takeaways: Silicon Valley in a Box with Mike Zayonc Mike Zayonc is a Partner at Plug and Play Ventures a global startup accelerator and venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, California. The firm was founded in 2006 by Saeed Amidi, who is also the CEO of Plug and Play Tech Center, a startup incubator and co-working space. Plug and Play Ventures invests in early-stage startups across various industries, including fintech, healthtech, insurtech, and mobility, among others. The firm has a portfolio of over 1,200 companies, including notable successes like Dropbox, PayPal, and LendingClub. Plug and Play Ventures provides more than just funding to startups; it also offers mentorship, resources, and access to a vast network of corporate partners, investors, and mentors. The firm has a presence in over 35 locations globally, including in the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Plug and Play Ventures typically invests between $25,000 and $500,000 in startups, with the potential for follow-on funding in later rounds. The firm is known for its industry-specific accelerator programs, which provide startups with tailored resources and connections to help them grow and succeed. Plug and Play Ventures is also actively involved in corporate innovation, working with established companies to help them stay competitive and innovative in the face of disruption. The firm has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, with initiatives like its Female Founders program and partnerships with organizations like Black Founders Matter. Learn More About Silicon Valley in a Box Mike on LinkedIn Plug and Play on LinkedIn Plug and Play Website Plug and Play Silicon Valley June Summit 2023 The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube
My special guest in today's episode of If Not Now Wen is Kevin Parakkattu. Kevin is a Partner at Plug and Play Ventures, where he leads the firm's Commerce, Media, and Consumer investments. Throughout his 5 years of investing at PNP, Kevin has led seed and early-stage investments in over 30 companies including companies like BigID, MANSCAPED (filed for $1b SPAC), Madison Reed, Naadam, ZigZag Global (acq'd Global Blue) and others. He also sits on the Innovation Advisory Board at the National Retail Federation. Prior to PNP, Kevin was an investment analyst at Centripetal Capital and a cofounder of a pure-play customer apparel business. Kevin is such a sincere and grounded person who leads with kindness and a genuine desire to connect with the people around him. He strives to become a facilitator of opportunity and growth for others. Kevin is such an inspiration, and I know you will love this episode as much as I do. We talk about:
In der Nachmittagsfolge sprechen wir heute mit Kai Goldmann, Co-Founder und Chief Design Officer von Nefta, über die erfolgreich abgeschlossene Seed-Finanzierungsrunde in Höhe von 5 Millionen US-Dollar.Nefta ist eine web3-Technologieplattform, die Unternehmen dabei hilft, hochwertige web3-Produkte zu lancieren und zu entwickeln. Das Startup fungiert als ein One-Stop-Shop für web3-Tools und bietet umfassende End-zu-End-Lösungen für Unternehmen, die web3-Spiele entwickeln und darauf aufbauend wachsen wollen. Das Technologie-Startup bietet dabei nahtlose Integrationen für u.a. digitale Assets, Multi-Ketten-Wallets, Token, kundenspezifische Marktplätze und White-Label-Dienste unter der Verwendung maßgeschneiderter APIs und SDKs an. Mit den Lösungen erhalten Unternehmen zudem wertvolle Einblicke in Blockchain-Ökonomien, Monetarisierungsmöglichkeiten und Nutzeranalysen. Nefta wurde im Jahr 2022 von Geeshan Willink in London gegründet. Das Unternehmen hat heute seinen Hauptsitz in Berlin und einen Tech-Hub in Slowenien. Zum Team gehören ehemalige Mitarbeiter von u.a. Google Play, Adcolony und Metanomic. Zu dem Kunden- und Partnerportfolio zählen u.a. Azur Games, Unity und Unreal Engine.Das web3-Startup hat nun in einer Seed-Runde 5 Millionen US-Dollar unter der Führung von Play Ventures eingesammelt. Die Kapitalgeber SevenX Ventures, Sfermion, MZ, Polygon Ventures und der bestehende Investor Picus Capital haben die Runde ebenfalls unterstützt. Das frische Kapital wird für den Start des web3-Werbenetzwerks und für den Ausbau des Teams verwendet. Das Unternehmen plant bereits mehrere Partnerschaften, die noch im Jahr 2023 bekanntgegeben werden.
Heute: Planetly, Limehome, Apheris und Eterlast In der Rubrik “Investments & Exits” begrüßen wir heute Jan Miczaika, Partner bei HV Capital. Jan hat die Runde von Limehome, Apheris und Eterlast sowie die Schließung der Planetly GmbH kommentiert. Das Münchener Startup Limehome hat 45 Millionen Euro in einer Finanzierungsrunde erhalten. Limehome vermietet Ferienwohnungen, welche kein Personal benötigen. Der Check-in funktioniert über einen Türcode und die Reinigung übernehmen externe Dienstleister, die die Aufträge per App bekommen. Das frische Investment besteht aus Eigen- und Fremdkapital. Investoren sind der Kopenhagener Kredit-Boutique Capital Four und das Family Office der AW Rostamani Group. Die Bestandsinvestoren HV Capital, Picus Capital und Lakestar haben sich ebenfalls an der Finanzierungsrunde beteiligt. Limehome wurde 2018 von Lars Stäbe und Josef Vollmayr gegründet. Fast ein Jahr nach dem Exit an OneTrust wird die Berliner-Klimaschutz GmbH Planetly geschlossen. Planetly entwickelte eine digitale Plattform, mit deren Hilfe Unternehmen ihre CO2-Emissionen berechnen, reduzieren und ausgleichen können. OneTrust bietet hingegen Lösungen für den Umgang mit Datenschutz und IT-Sicherheit. Nun wird den 200 Mitarbeitenden gekündigt. Zukünftig werden Features von Planetly in das System von OneTrust inkludiert, sodass es dafür kein Personal mehr bedarf. Planetly wurde von Anna Alex und Benedikt Franke gegründet. Das Berliner Startup Apheris erhält in einer Seed-Finanzierungsrunde 8,7 Millionen Euro. Die 2019 von Robin Röhm und Michael Höh gegründete Plattform von Apheris schafft kollaborative Datenökosysteme. Die Plattform ermöglicht es mehreren Organisationen, aus ihren dezentralisierten Datensätzen gegenseitig Wert zu schöpfen, indem sie es Datenanbietern und Datenkonsumenten ermöglicht, auf eine technisch und kommerziell tragfähige Weise zusammenzuarbeiten. Die Runde wird von Octopus Ventures angeführt, unter Beteiligung von Patrick Pichette, Heal Capital, Berthold von Freyberg und Mirco Novacovic. Die bestehende Investoren LocalGlobe, Dig Ventures und Another.VC sind auch mit dabei. Das Sport-NFT Startup Eterlast hat in einer Seed-Finanzierungsrunde 4,5 Millionen Euro erhalten. Eterlast mit Wurzeln in London und Barcelona hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, Fans durch NFTs, Blockchain-Spiele und immersive Erlebnisse eine neue Art der Interaktion mit Sport, Teams und Spielern zu ermöglichen. Die Finanzierung wurde von Supernode Global angeführt, unter Beteiligung von Play Ventures, Aktive Partner, Gründer Fabrik, Pfahl-Kapital und Unberechenbar X. Mit der neuen Finanzierung wird sich Eterlast auf die Gewinnung von Nutzern und den Ausbau von Markenpartnerschaften konzentrieren.
Tokenomics is back and what an absolute treat of an episode. This week, we're joined by two of the top VCs in the Web3 gaming space, Anton Backman of Play Ventures and Nico Vereecke of BITKRAFT, who are here to give us an inside look of how VCs are approaching investing during the latest Crypto Winter. Good news for all the gaming entrepreneurs out there, we learn that the VCs are still investing in worthy projects. In fact, they have an obligation to keep seeking out and investing in the best projects on behalf of their funds. Our host, Ethan Levy, asks all the questions a prospective gaming entrepreneur could want to ask from two of the top VC firms in the game. All ideas expressed here are the opinions of the guests and host, and do not represent the official position of their respective firms. Nothing contained within is financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making any personal investments. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
On this week's Crypto Corner, Play Ventures' Anton Backman and Konvoy Ventures' Philip Collins join your host Nico Vereecke for discussion about how we see the Web3 Gaming space evolve over the next 2 years. We go into: Building Games vs building Tooling/Infrastructure Innovation on Gameplay Design vs Tokenomics What types of Games will be most successful And more! If you would like us to discuss any other blockchain gaming-related topics, do reach out at nicolas@naavik.co or metacast@naavik.co. We'd love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review!TLDListen?: Episode summaryWatch the episode: YouTube video Join the discussion: Naavik DiscordRead more: Naavik DigestWatch more: YouTube channelGo premium: Naavik ProFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Gabe.
In this episode, First Light Games co-founder Anil Das Gupta and game design director Nikita Denissov join Vader Research Podcast. Blast Royale raised $5m in April this year, co-led by Animoca and Mechanism Capital with participation from Play Ventures and Merit Circle. Learn More about Blast Royale: https://blastroyale.com/ https://twitter.com/blastroyale Learn More about Vader Research: https://linktr.ee/defivader If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a like or comment!
In this episode, Trailblazer Games co-founders Alex Arias and Andreas Risberg join Vader Research Podcast. Trailblazer Games raised $8.2m in March this year, led by Makers Fund with participation from Play Ventures and Fabric Ventures. Learn More about Eternal Dragons: https://eternaldragons.com/ https://twitter.com/EternalDragons_ Learn More about Vader Research: https://linktr.ee/defivader If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a like or comment!
In der Rubrik “Investments & Exits” sprechen wir heute mit Tina Dreimann, Co-Founder von better ventures. Tina hat die Finanzierungsrunde von Reverion, Kardinal und Simplifyber analysiert: Das New Yorker Startup Simplifyber konnte sich 3,5 Millionen US-Dollar Startkapital sichern, um die Herstellung von Kleidung durch nachhaltige, fortschrittliche Fertigung neu zu erfinden. Das von der Modedesignerin Maria Intscher-Owrang geführte Unternehmen entwickelt das erste vollständig geformte Obermaterial für Kleidungsstücke und Schuhe, das direkt aus einer Flüssigkeit auf Zellulosebasis hergestellt wird. Die Seed-Runde wird von At One Ventures geleitet. Außerdem beteiligten sich Techstars, Heritage Group Ventures, The Helm, W Fund, Jetstream Ventures, Plug & Play Ventures, REFASHIOND Ventures, CapitalX Ventures und Keeler Investments Group. Das französische Startup Kardinal konnte in seiner Finanzierungsrunde insgesamt 10 Millionen Euro einsammeln und will mit dem Kapital unter anderem nach Deutschland expandieren. Als Investoren konnte das Logistikunternehmen unter anderem den Risikokapitalfonds BGV gewinnen, daneben investierten Cap Horn Invest, Plug und Play Ventures sowie Serena. Das Startup hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, die Touren von Logistikunternehmen zu optimieren. Dafür nutzt es eine eigens entwickelte Software, die dem Unternehmen zufolge Kosten senken und Umweltschäden minimieren soll. Jonathan Bouaziz, Hugo Farizon und Cédric Hervet gründeten Kardinal und konnten bereits 2019 eine erste Finanzierungsrunde in Höhe von zwei Millionen Euro einsammeln. Das Münchner Cleantech Reverion, ein Spin-off der TU München, hat erfolgreich seine Seed-Runde abgeschlossen. Hauptgeldgeber ist der Berliner Climatetech-Investor Extantia. Weitere Investoren sind Landwärme, Doral Tech Ventures, Possible Ventures sowie mehrere Business Angels. Reverion hat eine Technologie entwickelt, die bei der Stromerzeugung aus Biogas eine Effizienz von 80 Prozent erreichen soll – das entspricht einer Verdopplung gegenüber gängigen Methoden. Hierfür setzt das Startup auf Brennstoffzellen in einem neuartigen Systemaufbau, der es ermöglicht, sie auch reversibel zu nutzen. Dies bedeutet, dass Reverion-Anlagen bei Bedarf die Stromproduktion in eine Stromnutzung umkehren und so überschüssigen Strom aus Wind und Sonne für einen Elektrolyseprozess nutzen können. Dabei soll wahlweise entweder grüner Wasserstoff oder erneuerbares Erdgassubstitut erzeugt werden. Letzteres kann dann in das bestehende Erdgasnetz eingespeist werden.
Against the backdrop of a crypto winter that has many a team re-evaluating their go-to-market plan, Illuvium pressed ahead with their land NFT sale, taking in over $72m in a well-organized, well run, low-gas fee land sale. In today's episode, we go deep inside Illuvium with System and Economy Designer Khalid Alroumi. In this wide-ranging talk, we get an inside look at Illuvium and the many challenges the team faces as it works to forge a long-term sustainable, multi-game, token-based economy that balances the needs of multi different player types. This was an eye-opening conversation about what it is like working as an economy designer in this new frontier of architecting ownership-based digital economies. This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK, and Anton Backman, Principal at Play Ventures. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
My guest today is Hunter McDaniel, the founder and CEO of UbiQD, a startup exploiting quantum dots to improve agricultural yield in greenhouses and generating electricity by embedding them into windows. In this episode of Lab to startup, we talk about how non-toxic quantum dots were developed at Los Alamos; the evolution of the use cases; fundraising trials and tribulations; the complications of convincing multiple stakeholders in the solar space; and how Hunter's grit and persistence helped in building this startup. Show Notes: - UbiQD: https://ubiqd.com - Using quantum dots to modify sunlight to enhance photosynthetic efficiency and boost fruit and flower production - Help plants get more from the sun in a greenhouse and boost crop yields and quality without the cost or energy impact of lighting - UbiQD solar windows are made from glass laminated with a quantum dot doped interlayer to generate electricity - Translated research during his postdoc at Los Alamos national labs to products at his startup - Licensed some technology from MIT and the rest from Los Alamos - Technology evolved from trying to solve the problem of toxicity from cadmium and lead in quantum dots - Swapped Cadmium with Indium and Copper - Once the toxicity problem was solved, the hope was that companies would line up for the new solution - Initially funded by NSF SBIR grant (10th attempt) - While generating electricity from windows was funded, NSF I-Corp program helped find the greenhouse market - Increases crop yield by 10-30%; 6 Watts/sq.foot while maintaining transparency of windows (half of traditional solar cells) - https://ubigro.com - Understand all the people that had to be convinced to adopt the products - Ask for advice and you get money - Investors: Breakout labs, Scout Ventures, Keiretsu Forum, Sun Mountain Capital, Epic Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Arcview Collective Fund, Nanosys. - Relations with Nanosys, NASA, SpaceX, US Air Force - Contact: https://ubiqd.com/contact/
If you've been following crypto news over the past few weeks, you've undoubtedly seen plenty about the dramatic collapse of the Terra ecosystem against the backdrop of the onset of crypto winter. 30 days ago, $LUNA was at $81.45 and is now under $0.0002. $UST was at $1.00. and is now $0.09. Today we are joined by special guest Kenrick Drijkoningen, General Partner at Play Ventures and an early investor in Terra to explain the collapse of Terra, and how this collapse should influence the choice of chain for your web3 game project. Kenrick is joined in conversation by your regular hosts Ethan and Anton. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
In this episode, I'm talking with the co-founders of Trailblazer Games, Alex Arias, and Andreas Risberg. Trailblazer Games is a new web3 games company, founded in 2021 and recently they've announced a seed round of $8.2m raised from investors like Makers Fund and Play Ventures. In this discussion, we talk about the founder's background, how they both worked at King and brought learnings to their own startup, and what kind of games the founders are now building with blockchain technology.
Welcome dear listener! This is a 2.5 gamers podcast with an honest interviews segment #1. Asking tough questions, having fun and dropping some knowledge with gaming industry peeps. Youtube: https://youtu.be/wkEcGZ1-3So Matej Lančarič & Joakim Achren Questions: Why did you start elite game developers and not a new gaming studio? How can someone become a partner at Play Ventures? What are the requirements/skills you need to do your job? What is your due dilligence process? How do you do your homework? -How do you apply that diligence process to crypto games? Is that done more by feel than data as there is no data yet? -When investing in crypto games is token/coin allocation pre drop more important than stock? (Justified that owning stock can take 10 years + to get payback and multiple and having token/coins you can sell as soon as the drop takes place) -If token is important / does that not create the incentive to finance hype pump and dumps? Could you explain what pre-seed, seed or Series A mean? How do you define those stages? What are you looking for when investing in companies in different stages? Pre-seed, seed, series A? How do you really decide where to invest? What is THE KPI? Why are you as an investor so keen for companies to have internal UA manager? Could you tell me a bit more about the syndicate? Why having only one line on the cap table is better than 20 names. Why do you think a lot of gaming companies with mediocre/decent results pivoted super quickly to web3? Free money? Why There's Never been a better time to start a games company? Let's discuss your anti portfolio - what's the biggest regret so far of a company that you passed on? Model situation: I want to start a gaming studio. I have around 500k from my previous jobs. Should I use this money and bootstrap or should I try to get an investor (just in case)? Why boostrap? Why investor? What is Joakim's favourite book? https://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Key-Ryan-Holiday/dp/0525538585 Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me / lancaric.me
Boston-based Zeta Surgical comes out of stealth this week, with the announcement of a $5.2 million seed round. The funding, led by Innospark Ventures, follows a $250,000 pre-seed featuring Y Combinator and Plug and Play Ventures.
Blockchain and gaming and the metaverse? Oh my. Elad Yakobowicz, Founder at Business Evolution explores the state of the metaverse today and how blockchain games have managed to integrate into this vast digital world. Elad is interviewed by Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource and Anton Backman, Principal at Play Ventures. They dive into the metaverse, what connects it to blockchain gaming, and what this collaboration could mean for the future of technology. Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-metaverse-business-evolution/
What’s it like to build a blockchain company from the ground up? Hear it straight from the source. David Amor, CEO at Playmint - a blockchain gaming company founded in 2021 - discusses what it's like to be on the frontline of the blockchain gaming revolution. David is interviewed by Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource, Anton Backman, Principal at Play Ventures, and Kenrick Drijoningen, General Partner at Play Ventures, where they explore building his company, modern blockchain gaming technology, and comparing blockchain vs traditional gaming. Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-ceo-playmint/
We’re back for the second episode of our blockchain gaming mini-series - this time we’re exploring how online communities are set to shape the future of blockchain games. Join Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource, along with Anton Backman and Kenrick Drijoningen from Play Ventures, and our guest Jon Jordan, Consultant at Playmint, for the conversation. Together they explore the ins and outs of Discord communities, the biggest challenge traditional game developers have in the space, and the dichotomy between performance marketing and community building. Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-communities-playmint/
How I Raised It - The podcast where we interview startup founders who raised capital.
Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with "Burnt Banksy" a pseudonym for an anonymous founders behind Burnt Finance (www.burnt.com) a marketplace for trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Burnt originally garnered fame for burning an original Banksy artwork and then selling higher as an NFT In this episode, he talks about how he used profits from his Gamestop winnings to purchase the Banksy artwork, how he found and pitched crypto investors on Telegram, why he used a SAFT, why he's remaining an anonymous founder, and much more. The Company recently raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Animoca Brands. Other participants in the capital raise include Alameda Research, DeFiance, Figment, Multicoin Capital, Play Ventures, Spartan Capital, Terra, and others. How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $3 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com/
It’s the buzzword on everyone’s lips: blockchain games. Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource, kicks off the first episode in a new mini-series all about blockchain gaming, along with Anton Backman and Kenrick Drijoningen from Play Ventures - a games VC with promising blockchain games in their portfolio. Together, they review clear and concise definitions of key blockchain gaming terms, top companies to watch in the space, trends and predictions for the future, as well as the practicalities of producing a blockchain game. Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-fundamentals-playeventures
Can you raise capital without touting Web3 and blockchain? What's the difference between Angel Investor, a VC, and a strategic investor? When to choose a generalist fund over a gaming fund? What do investors look for in investees? Where do VCs look for investees? How to pitch over a video connection versus on-site? This and many more are answered in this podcast by the powerful Joakim Achren. Who's Joakim? Most of you likely know him as the founder of the fantastic Elite Game Developers blog, podcast, and newsletter. But what you might not know is that he is a published author, a venture partner at Play Ventures, a very active angel investor, and a co-founder of the powerful Next Games. I get to talk to Joakim regularly. This time around we decided to record our conversation - and add a bit more structure to it. Let us know how you liked it! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
El día de hoy invitamos a la mesa de conversación a José de la Luz. Joe es CEO y founder de delt.ai, una compañía de servicios financieros para Startups y Pequeñas Empresas en México. Delt.ai está fondeada por inversionistas y aceleradoras de Silicon Valley como Y Combinator, Plug and Play Ventures y Foundation Capital, entre otros. Antes de fundar Delt.ai Joé fue Director de Finanzas en Bitso y Director de Planeación en Xapo, y trabajó en empresas como Coca y Barcleys.
Seemingly every week a crypto gaming company raises a monstrous amount of capital for a game that not so many of us in the industry are even familiar with. These are staggering numbers seem to make very little sense. So what better way to understand what's going on than asking an investor, who invests into blockchain gaming, and a founder who has just recently raised a massive investment rounds. Whether you're tuning in to learn or to roll your skeptical hippo eyes, this podcast is for you! Links: Aleksander Leonard Larsen Anton Backman Get in Touch: Send us Questions and Feedback Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Joakim Achrén is a gaming entrepreneur, with fifteen years of experience from two venture-backed gaming startups, including Next Games, which IPOed in 2107. Joakim is now running Elite Game Developers, a company that helps entrepreneurs start their first game company. He's also an angel investor in Skunkworks Games, Lightheart Entertainment, Savage Game Studios, and more. Joakim recently took on the role of Venture Partner at Play Ventures and hosts his own podcast, Elite Game Developers Podcast. Join us in this fascinating discussion with topics like: - How Joakim caught “the bug” for helping other founders - What comes between the early validation phase and obtaining data from user behavior within a playable version of your game - The most common trap mobile developers fall into - The biggest takeaways you should be gaining from your metrics - The key to building mobile games that make players want to come back - The balance between “stealing like an artist” and innovating - What the gaming industry can learn from Pixar's creative process For more resources head to www.playmakerspodcast.com
Brian Rumao is currently Managing Director at Next Play Ventures and VP, Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman at LinkedIn. At Next Play Ventures, Brian works with Founding Partner Jeff Weiner to coach and invest in entrepreneurial leaders building world-class, purpose-driven organizations. Previously, Brian spent over six years working alongside the executive team to manage cross-functional strategic and operational initiatives as Chief of Staff to the CEO of LinkedIn. During this time, he led post-acquisition integration with Microsoft and launched and managed the Economic Graph team. Previously Brian was a Manager on the Business Operations team at LinkedIn and a consultant at McKinsey & Company. In this episode we spoke with Brian about the following: How he developed his personal mission statement, which is to compound wisdom, trust, and love How separating what he should do from what he wanted to do showed him that he didn't want to become a CEO Why investing in long-term professional relationships and managing ego helps you become more comfortable with your career decisions ------------------------------- Episode resources: Brian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianrumao/ Brian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/brianrumao ------------------------------- If you enjoyed today's conversation about the intersection of work and Asian American identity, please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to spread the word. We'd really appreciate it! Learn more about the show at acrossthelinespodcast.com and follow us @acrossthelinespodcast to get the latest updates.
In this episode, Joakim and I cover how Elite Game Developers started: how the platform grew up to 3,000+ subscribers in 2 years, what was the reasoning behind the content creation, and what is the ambition with the platform going forward. Joakim shares few pieces of wisdom about his life values and priorities, why he decided to not start another company to create Elite Game Developers instead, a great platform of content for founders to not repeat the common mistakes and pitfalls in the industry. We also touch on the topic of angel investing, and why it is important to continue to support the ecosystem of founders. Joakim Achrén is a gaming entrepreneur, with fifteen years of experience from two venture-backed gaming startups, including Next Games, which IPO-ed in 2107. Joakim is now running Elite Game Developers, a company that helps entrepreneurs start their first games company. He's also an angel investor in Skunkworks Games, Lightheart Entertainment, Savage Game Studios, and more. Joakim recently took on the role of Venture Partner at Play Ventures. More about Elite Game Developers: https://elitegamedevelopers.com/
This week we’re joined by Michelle Shi and Amber Liu from Plug and Play Ventures to explore: - A new startup accelerator model- Supporting founders with non-dilutive capital- Connecting startups with the fortune 500- Trends the firm is actively investing in- Their request for startupsLearn more at plugandplaytechcenter.com
However you want to slice it or dice it, Helsinki is the best city in the World for mobile games companies. What makes it unique is the ecosystem that has developed organically over the years. Founders help each other. There’s a strong drive for collaboration and there's not much rivalry or competition. Founders inherently understand that success breeds more success. I'm joined by two of the most qualified people to talk about the Helsinki gaming ecosystem: Harri Manninen, founding partner of Play Ventures and a board member of every single prominent gaming startup in the city, and Joakim Achren, co-founder of Next Games and a person who has singlehandedly helped more gaming founders than anybody else in the business through the content on Elite Game Developers. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Host: Joe Kim, Deconstructor of Fun Podcast Host, Managing Partner of GameMakers, and CEO of LILA Games. We are joined by the founders and CEOs of 3 recently funded game studios: 1. Antti Hattara, CEO of StarBerry ($1.3M led by Play Ventures) 2. Emily Greer, CEO of Double Loop ($2.5M led by London Venture Partners) 3. Travis Boatman, CEO of Carbonated ($8.5M led by Andreessen Horowitz) Today we’ll be talking about what it takes to start a games studio and also how to get funding for your studio. So more specifically we’ll talk about: What is the current environment for starting a games studio? What are the key opportunities to pursue? What does the funding environment look like? What are challenges? Advice for new founders? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
This week is Gaming & Finance. Last episode 19 I was talking to Sergei of Mail.ru Games Ventures. Today I am talking to Richard Williamson of the Edison Group. He got a report out that is called; European video games: A safe haven in troubled times, click here to read it. We talk about insights in streaming, valuations, esports and so much more. It was very interesting to get his view on the state of gaming in Europe. Next to that I mentioned the initiative of "The Fast Forward Games". This initiative is brought to you by some of the leading angel investors and experienced executives in gaming, such as: Chris Lee, Ben Holmes, Akin Babayigit, Akira Ushioda, Matteo Vallone, Lior Shiff, Sekip Gokalp, Alvaro Alvarez del Rio among others. The group has excellent access to the VC community. As part this initiative we have engaged the support of Cherry Ventures, Makers Fund, Play Ventures, and others to ensure they will fast-track opportunities that the ffwd.games initiative identifies. Lastly, check out the message of Hendrik Lesser. He is doing an biz dev online event for developers to meet publishers and investors in times like these esp. important :) https://www.egbg.eu/ as you can see we already have good support by publishers. You can see the lastest updates on the website. And, listen to my other episodes of Game Consultant here!
Today I’m talking with Harri Manninen, the founding partner at Play Ventures, a seed-stages venture capital firm, with offices in Helsinki and Singapore. I’ve known Harri for about ten years now, ever since he was building Rocket Pack, the company that he and his co-founders sold to Disney, in less than a year of founding the company. We’ll now hear how Harri made his way into venture, and how he sees the seed stage developing for gaming startups. Also, check out Play Ventures' guide on pitching perfectly at https://playventures.vc/pitchperfect
he venture capital firm Play Ventures has closed out its first round of funding, raising a total of $40 million to later invest in pre-seed and seed-stage game startups. According to Tech in Asia, that first $40 million sum is around $10 million more than originally sought and saw contributions came from Rovio, Modern Times Group, Huuuge Games CEO Anton Gauffin, and others. #gaminglife #like #apexlegends #gamingmemes #anime #nintendoswitch #fortnitememes #pcgamer #retrogaming #gameplay #battleroyale #pro #destiny #art #bhfyp #blackops #fortniteclips #callofduty #twitchstreamer #geek #youtuber #lol #rdr #gamingcommunity #minecraft #overwatch #sony #fun #instagram #online --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support
Welcome to the first episode of our Mobile Publisher Series. In each of the episode we sat down with the CEO of top mobile publisher and discussed how they approach publishing, what is their company’s strategy, how do they work with developers and how do they see the future of publishing on mobile. In this episode Scopely's Co-CEO, Javier Ferreira, dives deep into the company's product strategy, organisation and team structure as well as talks about the company's technology platform. We also discuss Scopley's mindset to launching new games and their attitude towards both original and IP-games. ---- kudos to our Sponsors: AppAnnie (www.appannie.com) Play Ventures (www.playventures.vc) Spotify (www.spotify.com) GameRefinery (www.gamerefinery.com) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Vieraana Pelaajan entinen toimitusjohtaja ja peliyrittäjä Harri Manninen, joka vaikuttaa nykyään sijoittajapuolella Play Ventures -yhtiössä. Harrin kanssa puhutaan mm. pelien talousmalleista, hinnoista ja peliteollisuudesta sekä sen tulevaisuudesta noin yleensä.
“The industry is realizing that it’s not just about using technology. It’s that technology is changing the fundamentals of risk.” - Ali Safavi (click to tweet) Technology is inescapable. With Alexa ordering our toilet paper, Nest changing our home’s temperature, and smartphones controlling every other part of our lives—we’ve become walking cyborgs. And in insurance, the story is no different. With each day comes a new technology challenging the archaic systems of yesterday. That’s why on today’s episode of FNO: InsureTech, we are joined by Ali Safavi to discuss the intersection of technology and insurance. Ali Safavi is the Global Head of Insuretech at Plug and Play. Ali is also a Partner in Plug and Play Ventures, our venture arm, where he invests in startups in different spaces including insurance, travel and hospitality, and IoT. Ali has published numerous articles on data analytics, machine learning, and insurance, as well as holds an M.Sc. in Computer Engineering Tune in to this episode to hear Ali’s insights, so you can apply them to your product or business! “A good team always finds a product-market fit.” - Ali Safavi (click to tweet) The FNO: Tips A platform is different than a technology because it provides an ecosystem of data and insights Compared to other industries, insurance is capital-rich, from assets to cash flow 50-60% of insurance startups started with an application unrelated to insurance, and then shifted into the market Provide better value by looking at your clients as partners, not clients At its core, technology is driving fundamental changes to risk Insurance is hard to reshape because it’s a concept: distributing risk across many people Invest in insurance companies that are service-oriented, rather than reimbursement-centric. Check out Neos for a company with smarter home insurance Entrepreneurship works off the network effect, people who exit want to do it Fourseventy Claim Management www.470claims.com
Sarah is back hosting with Nigel this week, joined by guest Tobias Taupitz, CEO and Founder of Laka. We kick things off with a discussion on what the sports insurance market, looking at what it covers. Next up we take a look at the latest insurtech news, starting with the evolution of winter sports cover. According to official UK Government statistics, between 2012 and 2016, there were 118 hospitalisations of British skiers and snowboarders in European resorts, and 58 deaths – and when it comes to theft in ski resorts, recent research from the Ski Club of Great Britain found that theft and loss of snow-sports equipment has affected one in eight winter holidaymakers. Many winter sports policies still have exclusions whereby an insurer doesn’t provide cover for certain activities – e.g. off-piste skiing when not accompanied by a fully qualified ski instructor. Ethos raises $35 million. The life insurtech successfully raised $35 million in a Series B financing round, led by Accel with participation from Google Ventures (GV), Sequoia Capital and Arrive, a subsidiary of Roc Nation - which would be Jay-Z’s record label. Founded in 2016, Ethos describes itself as a “new kind” of life insurance that is built for people who do not have time for fine print, extra doctors appointments, or hidden fees. The company is licensed in 49 states and has already processed thousands of applicants for life insurance coverage. Slice Labs which provides on demand insurance for a range of industries, and AXA XL have launched a new cyber insurance policy specifically designed for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Powered by Slice the AXA XL branded cyber insurance coverage provides U.S. SMBs with comprehensive cyber insurance protection along with real-time intelligence to proactively counteract cyber risks. It’s designed for companies under $20 million in annual revenue and offers limits from $250 thousand up to $3 million. Customers can buy acquire policies and submit claims through a bot. Munich Re partners with Plug and Play Ventures in China. Munich Re has partnered with the Silicon Valley-based accelerator and corporate innovation platform, to collaborate with emerging insurtech startups in China. The startups accepted into the programme will receive funding from Plug and Play Ventures, and access to the resources of the founding anchor partner Munich Re. All that and much more on this week's episode of Insurtech Insider. Subscribe so you never miss an episode, leave a review on iTunes and every other podcast app. Spread the fintech love by sharing or tweeting this podcast. This episode of Insurtech Insider was produced by Laura Watkins and edited by Alex Woodhouse. Special Guest: Tobias Taupitz.
How I Raised It - The podcast where we interview startup founders who raised capital.
Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Phill Rosen of Even Financial, makers of an open API for financial services. The company raised $18.8 million of Series A venture funding led by GreatPoint Ventures. The Goldman Sachs Group, Canaan Partners, F-Prime Capital Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Jacob Gibson, Jason Owen, American Express Ventures, Arab Angels, Plug and Play Ventures and Valuestream Ventures also participated in the round. In this episode, Phill discusses the unique dynamics of raising capital for a B2B financial services company operating in a highly-regulated industry, how to raise from large strategic investors / customers, when to use a convertible note vs. doing a priced round, tips for building a data room, and much more.