Mitch Lasky's guest appearances

Mitch Lasky

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Behind the Bets with Doug Kezirian

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

Acquired

Naval Ravikant

Mark Cuban

Reid Hoffman

Elon Musk

Bill Gates

James Beshara

Josh Wolfe

Annie Duke

Frank Chen

James Loftus

David Helgason

Kyle Samani

Sheryl Sandberg

David Tisch

Wade Foster

OwlTail

We sit down Benchmark’s legendary gaming investors Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins (now also of the excellent Gamecraft podcast fame) to discuss the history and future of gaming business models. This episode is the perfect bookend to our Nintendo/Sega gaming series this season on Acquired — no one is more qualified than Mitch and Blake to breakdown how the business side of the industry has evolved so radically from the Periscope quarter-drop days to the forever games and platform based publishers of today.Regardless if you’re a gamer, understanding the incredible innovation that’s taken place over the past two decades in gaming and what it portends for other industries is critical for any founder and investor to understand. Tune in!ACQ2 Show + LP Program: Subscribe to our interview show, ACQ2!  Become an LP and support the show. Help us pick episodes, Zoom calls and more. Sponsors:Thanks to our fantastic partners, any member of the Acquired community can now get: All of your product growth powered by Statsig Up to 10% off your first year of business insurance with Vouch A free trial of PitchBook + links to research reports! Links The Gamecraft Podcast  Mitch and Blake on Twitter The Genius of the System Mitch’s old “Investing in Content” blog post  That Game Company and Sky  Riot and the League of Legends dota-allstars.com growth hack Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

We sit down Benchmark’s legendary gaming investors Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins (now also of the excellent Gamecraft podcast fame) to discuss the history and future of gaming business models. This episode is the perfect bookend to our Nintendo/Sega gaming series this season on Acquired — no one is more qualified than Mitch and Blake to breakdown how the business side of the industry has evolved so radically from the Periscope quarter-drop days to the forever games and platform based publishers of today.Regardless if you’re a gamer, understanding the incredible innovation that’s taken place over the past two decades in gaming and what it portends for other industries is critical for any founder and investor to understand. Tune in!ACQ2 Show + LP Program:<ul> <li><a href="https://pod.link/acquiredlp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Subscribe to our interview show, ACQ2!</a></li> <li> <a href="https://acquired.fm/lp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Become an LP</a> and support the show. Help us pick episodes, Zoom calls and more.</li> </ul>Sponsors:Thanks to our fantastic partners, any member of the Acquired community can now get:<ul> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/statsigacquired" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">All of your product growth powered by Statsig</a></li> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquired-vouch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Up to 10% off your first year of business insurance with Vouch</a></li> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredpitchbook" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A free trial of PitchBook + links to research reports!</a></li> </ul>Links<ul> <li><a href="https://www.gamecraftpod.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Gamecraft Podcast</a></li> <li> <a href="https://twitter.com/mitchlasky?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mitch</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/blakeir" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Blake</a> on Twitter</li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Genius-System-Hollywood-Filmmaking-Studio/dp/0816670102" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Genius of the System</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131013193226/http://mitchlasky.biz/investing-in-content/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mitch’s old “Investing in Content” blog post</a></li> <li> <a href="https://thatgamecompany.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">That Game Company</a> and <a href="https://thatgamecompany.com/sky/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sky</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.hotspawn.com/dota2/guides/dota-allstars-com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Riot and the League of Legends dota-allstars.com growth hack</a></li> </ul>Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Benchmark’s Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins on The Art of Business in Gaming

My guest today is Mitch Lasky. Mitch is a partner at Benchmark and one of the leading figures in the video game industry. Over the last 30 years, he has built, led, and invested in a number of the best gaming companies in the world, including Activision, EA, Riot, Snapchat, and Discord. I couldn’t think of a better person to break down the anatomy of great gaming businesses and Mitch does not disappoint. His insights are remarkable. Please enjoy this excellent conversation with Mitch Lasky. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page  here. ----- This episode is brought to you by  Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you're a professional equity investor and haven't talked to Canalyst recently, you should give them a shout. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/Patrick.  ----- Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include  Tobi Lutke,  Kevin Systrom,  Mike Krieger,  John Collison,  Kat Cole,  Marc Andreessen,  Matthew Ball,  Bill Gurley,  Anu Hariharan,  Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes[00:02:31] - [First question] - Why there aren’t more famous gaming investors[00:05:08] - The most important features of the modern gaming business model[00:07:11] - Developing his aesthetic taste and investing decision skill[00:08:03] - What makes a game fun [00:09:26] - How delivering a pleasurable active user experience differs from passive content and media[00:11:09] - The developers of Doom being the first real modern video game company[00:13:09] - Half-Life’s important role in the development of the gaming industry[00:17:54] - How some of the big game aggregators get started in the first place[00:19:58] - What Riot can teach non-gaming businesses about business writ large[00:21:10] - Ways that the change from physical games to downloads changed monetization[00:31:47] - The impact of Apple’s privacy changes on gaming revenue[00:34:11] - How the access to professional game engines and a lower friction environment will change the industry[00:37:04] - Whether or not there is a step beyond mobile[00:39:42] - Ways platforms like Twitch and Discord have influenced gaming[00:42:26] - What he’s learned about games that allow them to seemingly exist forever[00:45:17] - Signs of a healthy gaming community[00:46:21] - The role of celebrities and influencers and generating retained audiences[00:47:45] - Whether or not crypto will unlock new opportunities for in-game monetization [00:52:50] - Key categories of motivators that could replace a ponzi-style in-game inflation [00:54:36] - Contrasting League of Legends versus a Ready Player One style world[00:58:22] - Emerging technologies and trends that may revolutionize the industry [01:02:41] - The most genius game pattern he’s ever played[01:04:44] - What attributes will define the great game investors in the coming decades[01:06:59] - How much his experience lends itself to investing in other sectors[01:11:07] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

My guest today is <a href="https://twitter.com/mitchlasky" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mitch Lasky</a>. Mitch is a partner at Benchmark and one of the leading figures in the video game industry. Over the last 30 years, he has built, led, and invested in a number of the best gaming companies in the world, including Activision, EA, Riot, Snapchat, and Discord. I couldn’t think of a better person to break down the anatomy of great gaming businesses and Mitch does not disappoint. His insights are remarkable. Please enjoy this excellent conversation with Mitch Lasky. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/99764091/lasky-the-business-of-gaming" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> here</a>. ----- This episode is brought to you by <a href="https://canalyst.com/request-demo/?utm_source=invest_like_the_best&amp;utm_medium=sponsored_content&amp;utm_campaign=Invest%20Like%20The%20Best&amp;utm_term=july_27_2021_shownotes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Canalyst</a>. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you're a professional equity investor and haven't talked to Canalyst recently, you should give them a shout. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at <a href="http://canalyst.com/Patrick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">canalyst.com/Patrick</a>.  ----- Today's episode is brought to you by <a href="https://www.brex.com/?partnerId=best" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brex</a>. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at <a href="https://www.brex.com/?partnerId=best" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">brex.com/best</a>. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">joincolossus.com/episodes</a>.  Past guests include <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/64592621/lutke-building-a-modern-business?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Tobi Lutke</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/60313963/krieger-how-to-build-a-great-product?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Kevin Systrom</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/60313963/krieger-how-to-build-a-great-product?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Mike Krieger</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/34646260/collison-growing-the-internet-economy?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> John Collison</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/15230717/cole-how-to-operate-lessons-in-brand-distribution-and-leadership?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Kat Cole</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/58516750/andreessen-making-the-future?tab=blocks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Marc Andreessen</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/69430337/ball-the-future-of-media-movies-the-metaverse-and-more?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Matthew Ball</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/12224182/gurley-all-things-business-and-investing?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Bill Gurley</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/99792081/hariharan-lessons-in-growth-investing?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Anu Hariharan</a>, <a href="https://joincolossus.com/episodes/91241527/thompson-platforms-ecosystems-and-aggregators?tab=transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Ben Thompson</a>, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/newsletter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. Follow us on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@patrick_oshag</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/JoinColossus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@JoinColossus</a> Show Notes[00:02:31] - [First question] - Why there aren’t more famous gaming investors[00:05:08] - The most important features of the modern gaming business model[00:07:11] - Developing his aesthetic taste and investing decision skill[00:08:03] - What makes a game fun [00:09:26] - How delivering a pleasurable active user experience differs from passive content and media[00:11:09] - The developers of Doom being the first real modern video game company[00:13:09] - Half-Life’s important role in the development of the gaming industry[00:17:54] - How some of the big game aggregators get started in the first place[00:19:58] - What Riot can teach non-gaming businesses about business writ large[00:21:10] - Ways that the change from physical games to downloads changed monetization[00:31:47] - The impact of Apple’s privacy changes on gaming revenue[00:34:11] - How the access to professional game engines and a lower friction environment will change the industry[00:37:04] - Whether or not there is a step beyond mobile[00:39:42] - Ways platforms like Twitch and Discord have influenced gaming[00:42:26] - What he’s learned about games that allow them to seemingly exist forever[00:45:17] - Signs of a healthy gaming community[00:46:21] - The role of celebrities and influencers and generating retained audiences[00:47:45] - Whether or not crypto will unlock new opportunities for in-game monetization [00:52:50] - Key categories of motivators that could replace a ponzi-style in-game inflation [00:54:36] - Contrasting League of Legends versus a Ready Player One style world[00:58:22] - Emerging technologies and trends that may revolutionize the industry [01:02:41] - The most genius game pattern he’s ever played[01:04:44] - What attributes will define the great game investors in the coming decades[01:06:59] - How much his experience lends itself to investing in other sectors[01:11:07] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Mitch Lasky - The Business of Gaming - [Invest Like the Best, EP.293]

Mitch Lasky is a General Partner @ Benchmark, one of the world’s leading VC funds with a portfolio including the likes of Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, eBay, WeWork, Yelp and many more revolutionary companies of the last decade. As for Mitch himself, Mitch has made investments or is on the boards of Snapchat, Riot Games, Discord, Outpost Games and Cyanogen, just to name a few. Prior to Benchmark, Mitch was CEO @ JAMDAT Mobile where he led the mobile gaming company from a 10 employee startup to a 700 employee global business leading their IPO on the NASDAQ in 2004 and later negotiating their sales to Electronic Arts for $680m. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Mitch made his way from leading a 700 person gaming company to IPO to being General Partner with Benchmark? 2.) What does the investment decision-making process look like at Benchmark? Why does Mitch believe small is beautiful when it comes to VC teams? What is it that makes the Benchmark partnership the very special partnership it is? 3.) What makes Mitch say that "venture is very much like Hollywood? What does he mean by this? How does he apply this to talent evaluation? The hits-driven nature of the business? 4.) Why does Mitch struggle when analysing the future for VR? What is it about the current crop of innovation around VR that makes Mitch nervous? Where does Mitch see potential within the realms of VR &amp; AR? 5.) How does Mitch view the continued rise of eSports? Does he believe that the industry will ever be as large as the traditional sports industry? What aspects of the industry does Mitch think is highly investable or not investable? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Mitch’s Fave Book: The Genius of System Mitch’s Fave Blog: Above The Crowd Mitch’s Most Recent Investment: Outpost Games As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Mitch on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC. eShares is the No 1 Cap Table Management platform, allowing for equity management, 409A valuations, and liquidity, all in one place. eShares is made for companies of all sizes with over 5,000 trusted customers including the likes of Squarespace, Kickstarter, and DoorDash just to name a few. To try out the must have service of the industry, simply head over to esharesinc.com it is a must. Fond is the employee engagement suite with 3 core products, rewards: a recognition platform for rewarding achievements and milestones, perks: a premium corporate discounts program to show employees you care about them and then finally engagement IQ, a free employee engagement survey that allows you to measure the health of your organization. To check it out head over to fond.co

<a href="https://twitter.com/mitchlasky" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mitch Lasky</a> is a General Partner @ <a href="http://benchmark.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Benchmark</a>, one of the world’s leading VC funds with a portfolio including the likes of Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, eBay, WeWork, Yelp and many more revolutionary companies of the last decade. As for Mitch himself, Mitch has made investments or is on the boards of Snapchat, Riot Games, Discord, Outpost Games and Cyanogen, just to name a few. Prior to Benchmark, Mitch was CEO @ JAMDAT Mobile where he led the mobile gaming company from a 10 employee startup to a 700 employee global business leading their IPO on the NASDAQ in 2004 and later negotiating their sales to Electronic Arts for $680m. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Mitch made his way from leading a 700 person gaming company to IPO to being General Partner with Benchmark? 2.) What does the investment decision-making process look like at Benchmark? Why does Mitch believe small is beautiful when it comes to VC teams? What is it that makes the Benchmark partnership the very special partnership it is? 3.) What makes Mitch say that "venture is very much like Hollywood? What does he mean by this? How does he apply this to talent evaluation? The hits-driven nature of the business? 4.) Why does Mitch struggle when analysing the future for VR? What is it about the current crop of innovation around VR that makes Mitch nervous? Where does Mitch see potential within the realms of VR &amp; AR? 5.) How does Mitch view the continued rise of eSports? Does he believe that the industry will ever be as large as the traditional sports industry? What aspects of the industry does Mitch think is highly investable or not investable? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Mitch’s Fave Book: <a href="http://amzn.to/2ttkcAx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Genius of System</a> Mitch’s Fave Blog: <a href="http://abovethecrowd.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Above The Crowd</a> Mitch’s Most Recent Investment: <a href="https://www.outpostgames.com/login?next=%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Outpost Games</a> As always you can follow <a href="https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Harry</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/twentyminutevc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Twenty Minute VC</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/mitchlasky" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mitch</a> on Twitter here! <a href="https://www.snapchat.com/add/hstebbings" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.</a> <a href="https://esharesinc.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">eShares</a> is the No 1 Cap Table Management platform, allowing for equity management, 409A valuations, and liquidity, all in one place. eShares is made for companies of all sizes with over 5,000 trusted customers including the likes of Squarespace, Kickstarter, and DoorDash just to name a few. To try out the must have service of the industry, simply head over to <a href="https://esharesinc.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">esharesinc.com</a> it is a must. <a href="https://fond.co/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fond</a> is the employee engagement suite with 3 core products, rewards: a recognition platform for rewarding achievements and milestones, perks: a premium corporate discounts program to show employees you care about them and then finally engagement IQ, a free employee engagement survey that allows you to measure the health of your organization. To check it out head over to <a href="https://fond.co/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fond.co</a>

20VC: Benchmark's Mitch Lasky on The Snapchat Journey From Series A to IPO, Why Small Is Beautiful In Venture Partnerships & Why Venture Is Very Much Like Hollywood