Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy
Business:Investing
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.
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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.
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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
[00:14:50] - The powerful notion of the platform-based publisher model
[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
[00:25:19] - How to quantify an economic model in the new paradigm of superfan monetization
[00:28:27] - What the shift in gaming platforms has done to the business model
[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
[01:00:29] - A future with further consolidation on distribution and power
[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
Dev Ittycheria - The Database Evolution - [Invest Like the Best, EP.373]
Nico Wittenborn - Finding the Adjacent Possible - [Invest Like the Best, EP.372]
Mitch Rales: The Art of Compounding - [Art of Investing, Forever Episode]
Marc Lasry - Making Bucks in Credit and Sports - [Invest Like the Best, EP.371]
Bill Gurley & Michael Mauboussin - Putting Theory into Practice - [Invest Like the Best, EP.370]
Tim Ferriss - Curating Curiosities - [Invest Like the Best, EP.369]
Ken Langone - The American Dream - [Invest Like the Best, EP.368]
Robin Dunbar - Optimizing Human Connection (Dunbar's Number) - [Invest Like the Best, EP.367]
Sean Feeney - Reinventing the Restaurant Business - [Invest Like the Best, EP.366]
Dave Fontenot - The Monastery of Code - [Invest Like the Best, EP.365]
Anne-Marie Peterson - The Capital System - [Invest Like the Best, EP.364]
Aravind Srinivas - Building An Answer Engine - [Invest Like the Best, EP.363]
Ali Hamed - Building an Investment Firm - [Invest Like the Best, EP.362]
Cyan Banister - Investing for a Higher Purpose - [Invest Like the Best, EP.361]
Danny Meyer - The Power of Hospitality - [Invest Like the Best, REPLAY]
Chuck Akre - The Three Legged Stool - [Invest Like the Best, REPLAY]
Alex Telford - Unlocking Innovation in Pharma - [Invest Like the Best, EP.360]
Madhavan Ramanujam - How to Price Products - [Invest Like the Best, REPLAY]
Daryl Morey - Systems Thinking in Sports - [Invest Like the Best, REPLAY]
Michael Ovitz - Knowledge Is Power - [Invest Like the Best, EP.359]
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