StartupNation

DECEMBER 19, 2020

This time, I connected with 15 startup and SME leaders from my network to discover how they are tackling the current crisis, and what advice they had to offer to others in the same boat. In times of crisis, it’s imperative for startups to build a solid analytics strategy to understand how their businesses are functioning at a granular level.

strategy 90

strategy opportunity social gaming advice 90

TechCrunch

JANUARY 19, 2022

Carry1st , a South African publisher of social games and interactive content across Africa, has raised a $20 million Series A extension led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). In a statement, the company said it intends to acquire more users by expanding into game co-development with studios.

social gaming 101

social gaming investing investment communities 101

TechCrunch

AUGUST 19, 2021

. “The game lives in the minds of the people, a shared social experience. As an analogue, they referred to the social gaming explosion a decade ago. Because we had social media platforms and mobile phones then, we were socializing over those — so we naturally looked for ways to play over them,” they said.

social gaming 100

social gaming collaboration opportunity board 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

The growth of Facebook and social gaming led by Zynga – Another obvious trend is Facebook. Notice that I didn’t say “social networking.” Much like iPhone is the only mobile platform in town, Facebook is the only “closed network” social networking platform in town. We’re only in the second inning on mobile.

VC 255

VC venture capital networking innovation 255

TechCrunch

AUGUST 24, 2021

Much like the realm of esports boasts individual standout players who command their own followings, the social gaming world has its own stars who make original in-game content. “Especially because it was super clear that there was this really strong loop of content creation leading to gameplay leading to content creation.”

social gaming 99

social gaming frameworks enablement ventures 99

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series of posts and I need to file this one under both Raising Venture Capital and Startup Advice. Facebook Apps, iPhone Apps, Social Games and now The Real-time Web (finally a new, sexier buzzword to replace Web 2.0. Usually in a tech / software startup 70-80% of your costs will be people.

venture capital 334

venture capital advice VC social gaming 334

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

Other times the partner wants to test whether there is support before sinking in tons of due diligence time. If you can answer at the highest level you should. “The new VP is very supportive of us – we’ve met him three times.&#. - Either way, don’t assume that the entire room is up to speed on your company.

advice 318

advice VC pitching venture capital 318

TechCrunch

JANUARY 17, 2023

Since its launch in 2018, Carry1st, a publisher of social games and interactive content across Africa, has raised funding from investors such as Google via its Africa Investment Fund and Avenir Growth Capital. The game, The President, is loosely based on a fictionalized Donald Trump and was developed by Nairobi-based Mekan Games.

ventures 104

ventures startup social gaming financing 104

TechCrunch

APRIL 20, 2021

Amy Chang, who sold her business intelligence startup Accompany to Cisco, is joining Pragma’s board of directors. Meanwhile, the broader platform is currently in private beta testing with studios including One More Game (started by started by Pat Wyatt, one of Blizzard’s first employees) and Mitchell’s Mountain Top Studios.

social gaming 86

social gaming startup board development 86