Venture Games

In Episode 30 of Venture Games, my guest Jeremy Born, CEO at NFT Genius, discusses his company's recent fundraise; his optimism around the future of the Flow blockchain; building the Gaia NFT marketplace; the future of the Ballerz NFT collection; and why NFTs aren't dead.

In Episode 29 of Venture Games, my guests Troy Jones, CEO at StatusPro, and Andrew Hawkins (“Hawk”), President at StatusPro, discuss transitioning from playing football (D1 / NFL) to building the first officially licensed NFL Virtual Reality game, NFL PRO ERA; their thoughts on the potential and development of the VR market; and the future of sports games in VR.

In Episode 28 of Venture Games, my guest Guha Bala, President at Velan Studios, discusses starting Vicarious Visions with his brother Karthik while in high school, which they later sold to Activision; his thoughts on innovation in the gaming industry today; the creative process behind the breakout hit Knockout City; and the future of Velan Studios.

In Episode 27 of Venture Games, my guest Josh Neuman, President at Melon, discusses transitioning from the music industry to the gaming industry; Melon’s recent $5M fundraise; his thoughts on virtual concerts and the metaverse; and bringing some of the world’s largest brands including the NFL and Chipotle to Roblox.

In Episode 26 of Venture Games, I'm joined by Ed Smith. Ed Smith is one of two African-American engineers to work in the gaming industry in the early 70s, and the only African-American engineer to work on a hybrid gaming and personal computer. Ed discusses how he was able to overcome the challenges he faced to lead a four-decade career in tech, and shares some of the knowledge he learned along the...

In Episode 25 of Venture Games, my guest Mike Pappas, CEO & Co-Founder at Modulate, discusses his company’s novel approach to voice moderation in gaming; how improved moderation might impact gaming culture for the better; and striking the right balance between player protection and player expression.

In Episode 24 of Venture Games, my guest Aron Beierschmitt, CEO & Co-Founder at Laguna Games, discusses pivoting from web2 to web3 games to build Crypto Unicorns; why Laguna Games picked unicorns as its theme; some technical considerations around web3 gaming and the associated fees; and community engagement in web3 games

In Episode 23 of Venture Games, my guest Nick Bhardwaj, Partner at The Tribe Group, discusses his past experience at NaturalMotion, which was later acquired by Zynga; parallels between the gaming industry’s shift to mobile/freemium and the emergence of web3 gaming; some considerations when building for crypto-native vs. traditional gamer audiences; and some ways to help bridge the gap between web...

In Episode 22 of Venture Games, my guest Timmu Tõke, CEO and Co-Founder at Ready Player Me, discusses the importance of avatars and digital identities in the metaverse; his thoughts on interoperability; NFTs and PFPs; and his opinion on whether the future of the metaverse will look like Ready Player One.

In Episode 21 of Venture Games, my guest Charles Hudson, Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, discusses investing in early stage companies as a solo GP; co-founding Bionic Panda Games, an early, Android-focused mobile gaming startup; his thoughts on the Metaverse and blockchain gaming; and his reflections on diversity in the VC/tech ecosystem.

In Episode 20 of Venture Games, my guest Marlon Nichols, Managing General Partner at MaC Venture Capital, discusses his firm’s thesis of investing in culture and companies impacting culture; his investment in PlayVs; his investment in Faze Clan; and some of his thoughts on diversity in the VC/startup ecosystem.

In Episode 19 of Venture Games, my guest Manuel Bronstein, Chief Product Officer at Roblox, discusses the evolution of social gaming to become truly immersive shared experiences; his past work experience in social gaming at Xbox Live and Zynga to now leading product at a global UGC platform; and thoughts on the Metaverse, NFTs, and blockchain.

In Episode 18 of Venture Games, my guest Dan Porter, CEO at Overtime, discusses how his work at Teach for America influenced his thinking on culture/diversity, his time building OMGPop/Draw Something and whether the game would have the same impact today, and how Overtime has succeeded despite the ongoing challenges many sports media brands are facing today.

In Episode 17 of Venture Games, my guest Ian Proulx, CEO at 1047 Games, the studio behind Splitgate, discusses what inspired him to build Splitgate, how he remained optimistic despite a slow, challenging start for his company, advice for founders facing similar initial challenges, his plans to maintain Splitgate’s momentum, and the future of 1047 Games and the Splitgate universe.

In Episode 16 of Venture Games, my guest Kai Bond, Partner at Courtside Ventures, discusses founding multiple startups, the continued convergence of sports/culture with gaming and the investment implications of these trends, some of his thoughts on NFTs/blockchain in gaming, and the diversity challenges in tech/VC.

In Episode 15 of Venture Games, my guest Jen Richard, Principal at Bonfire Ventures, talks about transitioning from entertainment to VC, working as an early employee at multiple startups, why LA is a great city for venture capital, Bonfire’s recent investment in Topia, and her thoughts on diversity in the VC industry.

In Episode 14 of Venture Games, my guest Cordel Robbin-Coker, Co-Founder & CEO at Carry1st, discusses building an African games publisher, the regional nuances in the African gaming industry, the journey of raising venture funding from US investors for African startups, and the future of the African gaming landscape.

In Episode 13 of Venture Games, my guest Maria Salamanca, Partner at Unshackled Ventures, discusses her transition from politics to venture capital, how Unshackled Ventures invests in immigrant founders and helps them navigate the immigration process, her role as a founding board member of LatinxVC, and her thoughts on the diversity challenges in the VC industry.

In Episode 12 of Venture Games, my guest Jonathan Pan, Strategic Planning & Operations Lead at Facebook Gaming, discusses his time at Amazon Games as Head of Community of Esports, his role as an esports instructor, working at Riot Games in the (relatively) earlier days of the company, and his thoughts on big tech companies’ ambitions in the gaming industry.

In Episode 11 of Venture Games, my guest Lo Toney, Founding Managing Partner at Plexo Capital, discusses his firm’s strategy of investing in LPs and startups with a focus on underrepresented founders, leading the migration of Zynga Poker to mobile, how he thinks about investing in emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America, his thoughts on how diversity in VC has improved since he has been...

In Episode 10 of Venture Games, my guest Peter Rojas, partner at Betaworks Ventures, talks about co-founding Gizmodo and Weblogs Inc. (Engadget, Joystiq, acquired by AOL), his views on social gaming, which he sees as one of the most promising areas in gaming right now, and his candid thoughts on the diversity challenges in the venture capital industry, as one of the few Latinx VC investors.

In Episode 9 of Venture Games, my guest Jamil Moledina, gaming industry veteran and CEO at Hexagram, talks in detail about his career in the gaming industry, including working at a number of gaming startups and Google Play, and how immersing himself into the world of video games since he was a child has helped him succeed despite the hardships of being a minority.

In Episode 8 of Venture Games, my guest Molly Fowler, CEO at Dorm Room Fund, talks about transitioning from a career in politics to enter the world of venture capital, the benefits of investing in student entrepreneurship, and Dorm Room Fund’s initiatives to combat the diversity challenges in the industry, through masterclasses and mentorship programs for different groups of people who are underre...

In Episode 7 of Venture Games, my guest Chris Fralic, Board Partner at First Round Capital, who was recently named to the 2021 Forbes Midas List of Best VC Investors talks about his early investment in Roblox, being an early employee at Half.com, some big wins and big misses throughout his 15+ year VC career, mentorship, and helping launch Ted Talks.

In Episode 6 of Venture Games, my guest Blake Robbins, Partner at Ludlow Ventures, talks about cold emailing startups at age 17, becoming a partner at Ludlow at a young age, breaking into gaming Twitter through brute force, and introducing Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, to pro gamer "Nadeshot", to help create 100 Thieves, one of the leading gaming orgs/brands.