Anyone starting up a new company has a pocket full of dreams, but that usually only go so far without some money in the other pocket. Creators don’t always have ready access to capital and that’s where investors come in.
The experts in the Funding track at Casual Connect USA 2016‘ from both sides of the negotiating table will be focused on the hard details. They’ll tell it like it is and give the tools necessary in landing that next key round of funding.
Mitch Lasky
Mitch Lasky has touched nearly every corner of the video game industry over the past two decades. They worked for the Walt Disney Company as part of the initial team that created Disney Interactive Studios. Later, Mitch worked for five years at Activision where they helped launch titles like Quake 3, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Spider-Man.
They helped make JAMDAT into one of the biggest companies in mobile games after becoming CEO in 2000, helping sell the company to Electronic Arts for $680 million in 2006. Mitch became General Partner at Benchmark Capital in 2007 and has helped orchestrate successful investments in mobile, video game game and other online companies like Snapchat, Riot Games, Gaikai, thatgamecompany, and NaturalMotion.
Phil Sanderson
Phil Sanderson has been working in financial ventures for over 25 years. As
the Managing Director of IDG Ventures, they focus on media technology and information technology investments. Phil is also the Co-Chairman of the VCNetwork and YVCA, two non-profit organizations consisting of more than 1000 venture capitalists.
With their investments, they sit on the boards of companies that include Telltale Games, Simply Hired, Phoenix Labs, Survata, Next Games, Mastermind Studios, Fresh Planet and Free Range Games. Phil has also led investments in BandPage, GuideSpark, AlphaDraft, Plain Vanilla Games, and Freeform.
Clinton Foy
Clinton Foy is currently the Managing Director and General Partner at CrossCut Ventures. The $100 million U.S. dollar VC fund has investments in companies like Super Evil Megacorp, Mobcrush, Little Labs, Instant eSports and Vulcun. Clinton is also co-founder, co-owner, and executive chairman of an eSports franchise called the Immortals.
Clinton’s time in the private industry includes being the international PR representative of Pasona Softbank and an attorney at the Heller Ehrman Venture Law Group. They fully entered the gaming industry as General Counsel, Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs, Corporate Secretary and COO for Square Enix.
Gigi Levy
Angel Investor and founding partner of the NFX Guild, Gigi Levy, will be a part of a insightful panel about the reasons investors say no and now you can get a yes instead. If you are ready to cut the B.S. and discover with Gigi Levy and other investors why they keep telling you no.
Michael Chang
Michael Chang
Michael Chang has worked in investment and senior corporate roles since the late ’90s. The first half of their career, they identified and lead investments for companies like Broadview Intl, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, Apax Partners and Bertram Capital.
Michael then moved on to be Senior Director of Corporate Development at Electronic Arts, where they led EA’s acquisition/investment activity in F2P mobile and PC gaming, notably including the acquisitions of Bight Games, KlickNation, and ESN. Now they work as SVP Corporate Development for NCSoft West, heading up investment and acquisition for the company, currently representing NCSoft on the board of This Game Studio.
Amy Huang-Lee
Amy Huang-Lee has been working in corporate strategy, operations, product management via Bain & Company and a variety of internet companies in China for over a decade. Current AVP of NetEase Capital, they focus on start-up companies in the fields of mobile games, eCommerce, and technology.
NetEase Capital’s portfolio includes game developers in the U.S., Japan and China and NetEase itself maintains a huge presence in China itself, serving as the partner of Blizzard Games in the region. Amy’s experience also includes time in China’s B2C consumer retail industry, giving her a background in operations, sales & marketing, new BU building, negotiations, and Chinese consumer insights.
Kellee Santiago
Kellee Santiago has been one of the most influential minds in helping to push fo
rward video games as a collective medium. They helped co-found thatgamecompany, and was critical in the development of Flow, Flower, and Journey. Kellee is also founder of Indie Fund.
As a partner in Indie Fund, Kellee works to keep indie developers financially independent. They work as the Producer of Games and Apps at Google VR. Kellee also worked as the Head of Developer Relations at Ouya until the sale and dissolution of the company and is also a TED Fellow.
Justin Bailey
Justin Bailey has over a dozen years in strategic planning and corporate development dealing with the interactive entertainment industry. They’ve helped publish a plethora of free-to-play, premium and mobile games.
Justin has helped complete studio acquisitions, evaluated thousands of game pitches, and worked with publishers to adopt new business models. They are currently the CEO and Founder of the crowdfunding of Fig, which is built around backers having an actual investment in the products they put money into. Before that, Justin helped get independent projects published as Chief Operating Officer of Double Fine Productions. Justin is also completely aware of their name’s connection to the famous Metroid password.
Making that Investment Pitch
There isn’t just one sort of investor. What are the right investor for your studio? How should they be approached? What expectations should an indie developer have around their investors? Amy Huang-Lee, AVP of NetEase Capital, will talk about the tricks of the trade and how to land that key deal in “Find the Right Partner & Managing Expectations.”
Getting funding is for more than just for new studios however. Sometimes it’s about expanding into a new area like VR or AR, entering a growing market like Asia or simply expanding existing operations. Our panel with Michael Chang, SVP Corporate Development at NCSoft West, Shanti Bergel, SVP at GREE and Chris Petrovic SVP of Corporate Development, Business Development and Licensing at Zynga, will talk about strategic opportunities and how licensing, fund-raising and acquisition have evolved over the past few years in “Strategic Opportunities in the Games Industry.”
On the other hand, what if your company isn’t getting it’s investment? No matter how good your game is, it’s not uncommon to get rejected. Our panel of game investors including Phil Sanderson, Managing Director, IDG Ventures, Paul Bragiel, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of I/O Ventures, Paul Martino, Managing Director, of Bullpen Capital, Clinton Foy, General Partner and Managing Director of CrossCut Ventures, and Klaas Kersting, CEO and Founder of flaregames will talk about the common reasons why funding is refused and how to pitch in a way to get them to say yes in “Why We’re Not Investing in Your Studio – Straight Talk Straight from Game Investors”.
Maybe domestic investment isn’t working, so partnering with an established studio from China, South Korea or Japan is also a potential way to expand and grow. Since various Asian markets are reaching saturation, they’re looking to partner with Western studios in order to expand. A panel with Will Hummel, Manager of Global Investment, Perfect World, Jim Ying, Senior Advisor, Mobile and Gaming at CV Capital, and Mantin Lu, Director of Product Development at Seasun Games will talk about the potential there in mergers and acquisitions for a smaller studio in the West and other opportunities for investment in “East to West – How Asian Powerhouses Are Entering the West via M&A and Investment”.
Getting Indies Funded
Casual Connect Europe had a popular panel on accessing alternative finance sources, and they’ll be following up on that at Casual Connect USA with “Lipstick on a Pig – Getting Ready for Finance”. Shelley LK, Managing Partner at IPC Ventures, Keith Katz, Co-Founder, Execution Labs, Kellee Santiago, Partner at IndieFund and Richard Bisso, CTO and Co-Founder of Hyperkinetic Studios will talk about what it takes to get an outsider to believe in a project. With their tips, it’s possible to get studio set up in a garage to get funding.
Some indie developers might be considering a different source of capital, namely from crowdfunding. It’s been an important trend for developers, especially for more niche game projects with a small but dedicated audience. Various indies developers and investors, including Justin Woodward, Creative Director and Founder of Interabang Entertainment, Gregory MacMartin, CEO of Interdimensional Games, and Aaron Isaksen, Co-Founder of Indie Fund, will talk about how community investment is changing things for certain developers.
Whether a game is indie or crowdfunded, having a eSports presence can be a huge boon. The audiences it can create also makes eSports attractive to investors. Greg Richardson, Executive Chairman at Rumble will talk about what should be done to unlock the potential of eSports In a session titled “Investing in eSports”.
Whether it’s eSports or VR, Mitch Lasky, General Partner at Benchmark Capital, has an opinion on investing in it. Whether it’s potential in China or innovation in distribution models, there’s plenty of things with potential value creation. Find out if something is saturated or poised to have a big return in the session “Mitch Lasky on Big Game Hunting & Returns”.
On the other side, perhaps you’re looking to get invested in as a start up developer. Sean Lee, Chief Strategy Officer of Wargaming, will talk about the right strategies for different rounds of funding and how to make a spectacular pitch. Find out all the details of making the system work for you with “How to Get Strategic Investors to Eat From Your Hands.”
Attend, Learn and Network
Representatives from developers and strategic investors like NCSoft, GREE, and Wargaming will be at Casual Connect USA’s Investment track and equity investors like Bullpen Capital and IDG Ventures will send executives as well.
Many more venture capitalists and investors will be in attendance looking for game developers to partner with in the year ahead. Several hundred game industry professionals are expected to attend Casual Connect USA, with plenty of networking opportunities both during the conference and in after hours.
With over 300 scheduled speakers and 3,000 anticipated attendees, Casual Connect USA will be a prime place to meet up. The attendees of Casual Connect are provided the means for users to search the different attendees in case they need to make a business meeting, even during the event itself.
Casual Connect USA will take place at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on July 18-20. Find out more at USA.CasualConnect.org.
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