最佳Mitch Lasky播客 (2024)

1
Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg) 2:26:04

26d ago2:26:04

2:26:04

Here it is: the complete video of the most unbelievable night of Acquired’s nine-year life… our sold out live show at the Chase Center in San Francisco. We joked during the months (months!) of preparation leading up to this event that it was like planning a wedding for 6,000 Acquired fans, and the guest list included Jamie Dimon, Daniel Ek, Emily C…

1
Designer Notes 85: Zach Barth - Part 2 2:30:32

27d ago2:30:32

2:30:32

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Zach Barth, best known for his puzzle games, including SpaceChem, Infinifactory, Shenzhen I/O, and Opus Magnum. They discuss why he made a game about assembly language, how he guaranteed that Fortune’s Foundation is winnable, and whether he knows how to make fun games. This episode was re…

1
The Mark Zuckerberg Interview 1:27:05

1M ago1:27:05

1:27:05

Mark is the iconic founder CEO of our time. At Chase Center on September 10, 2024, he did an unprecedented thing: a live conversation in front of 6,000 people on Meta’s company strategy, sharing stories from early Facebook history, and his thoughts on the future of AI, VR, and AR. Mark was remarkably candid in our discussion, and gave us a window i…

1
Designer Notes 84: Zach Barth - Part 1 2:39:32

2M ago2:39:32

2:39:32

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Zach Barth, best known for his puzzle games, including SpaceChem, Infinifactory, Shenzhen I/O, and Opus Magnum. They discuss why he never originally wanted to make money on his games, why puzzle games are terrible, and whether he has ever played Minecraft. This episode was recorded on Sep…

1
The Secret to Building a Social Gaming Empire: Justin Waldron 1:17:12

2M ago1:17:12

1:17:12

At age 19, Justin Waldron built an app that would go on to have the biggest IPO since Google. That company was Zynga, and it completely changed the way the world played games. Listen now for behind-the-scenes stories that shaped an era of social gaming, as well as Justin Waldron’s own secret for scaling up Zynga and setting it apart from the compet…

1
Chase Center + Summer Update 21:53

3M ago21:53

21:53

Summer greetings from Acquired! Two items for this “mini-episode”: Tickets are now available for our live show at Chase Center in San Francisco, with special guests including Mark Zuckerberg (!). The show is Tuesday, September 10th, with doors opening at 5 PM for an hour of mingling with other listeners before the show starts at 6 PM. Huge thank yo…

1
Microsoft Volume II 4:51:31

3M ago4:51:31

4:51:31

In 1999, Microsoft became the most valuable company in the world. And in 2019, Microsoft became the most valuable company in the world, again. But… what happened in the twenty years in between? The answer, as we discovered in our research, is probably not what you think. In this episode we explore and analyze the browser wars and the DOJ case, Wind…

1
The Secret to the Metaverse: Matthew Ball 1:09:18

3M ago1:09:18

1:09:18

Matt Ball literally wrote the book on the metaverse - with a new update out in late July. So who better to chat all things metaverse and distribution with? In the last several years, Matt has become known as one of the most astute writers and thinkers about the nature of business, innovation, IP, and the deep structural factors that shape the enter…

1
The Secret to Being a 5-Time Founder & #1 Esports Champ: Dennis Fong 1:14:28

4M ago1:14:28

1:14:28

Dennis Fong has had an INSANE career. By age 19, not only had he earned the title as the world’s first esports champion and pro gamer, but also became CEO of a 100-person gaming media company. He's even had a League of Legends character named after him. Since then, he’s gone on to found four additional businesses, all of which have majorly impacted…

1
Designer Notes 83: Mitch Lasky - Part 2 1:54:05

5M ago1:54:05

1:54:05

In this episode, Soren interviews noted game investor Mitch Lasky, best known for his work as a venture capitalist at Benchmark, as the CEO of JAMDAT, and as an executive at Activision and Electronic Arts. They discuss how the industry’s business models have always affected design, why he was wrong about the Halloween pack ruining League of Legends…

1
Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) 3:15:14

5M ago3:15:14

3:15:14

Starbucks. You’d be hard pressed to name any brand that’s more ubiquitous in the world today. With nearly half a billion global customer purchases per week across its stores and 3rd party retail channels, a significant portion of the human population gets their daily fix in the green and white paper cup. (Including our own Ben Gilbert who famously …

1
The Secret to Finding Your Co-Founder: Justin Kan, Robin Chan, Dan Borstelmann 56:51

6M ago56:51

56:51

It was 2007 and Robin Chan was running the mobile data business at Verizon while Justin Kan was rolling out JustinTV’s first prototype - a camera strapped to his head (literally). It was the perfect meetcute: Justin needed inexpensive mobile data to livestream his day-to-day and Robin had access to tons of it (In fact, Robin was the first one to pu…

1
Designer Notes 82: Mitch Lasky - Part 1 1:53:26

6M ago1:53:26

1:53:26

In this episode, Soren interviews noted game investor Mitch Lasky, best known for his work as a venture capitalist at Benchmark, as the CEO of JAMDAT, and as an executive at Activision and Electronic Arts. They discuss how the Doom shareware model was a preview of free-to-play, why a console transition led to EA buying Maxis, and how Jamdat pioneer…

1
Microsoft Volume I 4:23:10

6M ago4:23:10

4:23:10

Microsoft. After nearly a decade of Acquired episodes, we are finally ready to tackle the most valuable company ever created. The company that put a computer on every desk and in every home. The company that invented the software business model. The company that so thoroughly and completely dominated every conceivable competitor that the United Sta…

1
Welcome to Secret Stash 3:18

6M ago3:18

3:18

Welcome to Secret Stash, the podcast spilling all the industry's secrets! Meet your hosts: Justin Kan, co-founder of Stash and previously co-founder at Twitch Archie Stonehill, head of product at Stash Before you jump into the first episode, where we have an incredible first guest, we wanted to share a bit about who we are, why we decided to make t…

1
The Secret to GTM in Games: Mitch Lasky 50:53

6M ago50:53

50:53

Welcome to Secret Stash's first-ever podcast episode, hosted by Justin Kan and Archie Stonehill. Today's guest - legendary investor Mitch Lasky! Since the mid 1990s, Mitch Lasky has been building and investing in some of the biggest game companies in the world. He was one of the first, if not the first, investor to take game developers seriously as…

1
Designer Notes 81: Jake Solomon - Part 2 3:13:37

7M ago3:13:37

3:13:37

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jake Solomon, best known for the XCOM reboot and Midnight Suns. They discuss his first, failed attempt at XCOM, why 75% does not mean 75%, and how many copies of XCOM he sold at Power Gamer in Glen Burnie, MD. This episode was recorded on April 26, 2023.…

1
Renaissance Technologies 3:05:52

7M ago3:05:52

3:05:52

Renaissance Technologies is the best performing investment firm of all time. And yet no one at RenTec would consider themselves an “investor”, at least in any traditional sense of the word. It’d rather be more accurate to call them scientists — scientists who’ve discovered a system of math, computers and artificial intelligence that has evolved int…

1
Artificial Intelligence (Ep. 16) 1:13:29

8M ago1:13:29

1:13:29

In their final episode of Season 2, Mitch and Blake take on the complex and highly speculative topic of the impact of recent improvements in artificial intelligence on the games business. Your hosts acknowledge that the sector is moving so quickly that this episode could be obsolete by the time it airs, and warn that it's difficult at this early mo…

1
Intellectual Property (Ep. 15) 1:10:54

8M ago1:10:54

1:10:54

Mitch and Blake look at the ins and outs of intellectual property licensing in games. After discussing the checkered history of the practice, they look at the creative and business reasons why licensed IP continues to be valuable to game creators. After a quick look at how IP licenses actually function and what to expect from licensors, Mitch and B…

1
Distribution (Ep. 14) 1:10:23

8M ago1:10:23

1:10:23

In perhaps their most important episode of the series, Mitch and Blake explain what they mean when they use the term "distribution" and why it is so important to their understanding of how the video games business functions. Like they did with the term "publishing" last season, they try to recontextualize distribution as a much larger and more impo…

1
Going Global (Ep. 13) 1:07:26

8M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

Mitch and Blake discuss the massive expansion of gaming in emerging markets around the world. The begin with a discussion of the big-picture factors driving this expansion -- primarily mobile technology, but also new business models, payment systems, and demographics. They then take a closer look at the Middle East and North Africa, and how the dif…

1
Hermès 4:06:32

8M ago4:06:32

4:06:32

In luxury, there’s Hermès… and there’s everyone else. Stewarded by one French family over six generations, Hermès sells the absolute pinnacle of the French luxury dream. Loyal clients will wait years simply for the opportunity to buy one of the company’s flagship Birkin or Kelly bags. Unlike every other luxury brand, Hermès: Doesn’t increase supply…

1
Independent Intervention (Ep. 12) 1:03:59

9M ago1:03:59

1:03:59

Mitch and Blake explore the idea of independent game development. They attempt to define "indie" in the video game context -- something that proves more difficult that it might seem on the surface. They discuss the early successful indie developers in the 90s, and examine how the technology and business innovations that revolutionized the industry …

1
A Changing of the Guard (Ep. 11) 1:19:32

9M ago1:19:32

1:19:32

Mitch and Blake expand on last season's discussion of platform-based publishers by introducing a new kind of company: the game-enabling software platform. The five companies they discuss (Epic, Unity, AppLovin, Discord, and Roblox) are all pursuing customer aggregation strategies similar to the platform-based publishers, but -- with the exception o…

1
Choose Your (ad)Venture (Ep. 10) 1:11:00

9M ago1:11:00

1:11:00

Mitch and Blake discuss the nuances of game financing. They begin by explaining how the publishing model of advances against royalties functions, and what the expected costs and benefits are for both the developer and publisher. After a brief discussion of bootstrapping, they do a deep dive on venture capital financing for games. They reveal how ve…

1
The State of Play: 2024 (Ep. 9) 1:18:55

9M ago1:18:55

1:18:55

They're back! Season 2 of the GameCraft podcast kicks off with Mitch and Blake introducing the new 8-episode season, followed by an analysis of the current health of the games business. Mitch and Blake discuss the paradoxical state of the business, where a "golden age" of content is facing some increasing financial headwinds. They compare the games…

1
Novo Nordisk (Ozempic) 3:41:25

9M ago3:41:25

3:41:25

Last year Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, overtook LVMH to become Europe’s most valuable company. And the pull for Acquired to finally tackle healthcare (18% of US GDP!) became too strong for us to resist. While we didn’t know much about Novo Nordisk before diving in, our first thought was, “wow, seems lik…

1
Holiday Special 2023 2:15:36

10M ago2:15:36

2:15:36

Ben has some big news. Actually, double big news! On what has become a holiday tradition here at Acquired, we cozy up to the fire to do our annual review of the show “in public”. We reflect on what can only be described as an absolutely mind-blowing 2023 (LVMH! Jensen! Costco! Charlie! Half a million plus listeners!) and look ahead to some big thin…

1
Designer Notes 80: Jake Solomon - Part 1 2:42:26

11M ago2:42:26

2:42:26

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jake Solomon, best known for the XCOM reboot and Midnight Suns. They discuss how much money he had to give back to Accenture, how to animate multiple units at the same time, and why Sid suddenly started golfing so much. This episode was recorded on April 25, 2023.…

1
Visa 3:42:04

11M ago3:42:04

3:42:04

To paraphrase Visa founder Dee Hock, how many of you know Visa? Great, all of you. Now, how many of you know how it started? Or, for that matter, who started it? Who runs and governs it? Where is it headquartered? What’s its business model? For the 11th largest market cap company in the world, Visa’s history and strategy is almost shockingly unknow…

1
Charlie Munger 1:06:46

12M ago1:06:46

1:06:46

We sit down with the legendary Charlie Munger in the only dedicated longform podcast interview that he has done in his 99 years on Earth. We’ve gotten to have some special conversations on Acquired over the years, but this one truly takes the cake. Over dinner at his Los Angeles home, Charlie reflected with us on his own career and his nearly 50-ye…

1
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang 1:29:07

1y ago1:29:07

1:29:07

We finally sit down with the man himself: Nvidia Cofounder & CEO Jensen Huang. After three parts and seven+ hours of covering the company, we thought we knew everything but — unsurprisingly — Jensen knows more. A couple teasers: we learned that the company’s initial motivation to enter the datacenter business came from perhaps not where you’d think…

1
Designer Notes 79: Trent Kusters - Part 2 2:21:37

1y ago2:21:37

2:21:37

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks, best known for the strategy game Armello. They discuss why Armello has so much output randomness, whether they fudge the odds, and how to turn off a Game-as-a- Service. This episode was recorded on September 8, 2023.…

1
Designer Notes 78: Trent Kusters - Part 1 2:31:12

1y ago2:31:12

2:31:12

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks, best known for the strategy game Armello. They discuss how he faked his way into games journalism, how to sneak risky ideas past licensors, and how to make games feel big. This episode was recorded on September 8, 2023.…

1
Nvidia Part III: The Dawn of the AI Era (2022-2023) 2:52:53

1y ago2:52:53

2:52:53

It’s a(nother) new era for Nvidia. We thought we’d closed the Acquired book on Nvidia back in April 2022. The story was all wrapped up: Jensen & crew had set out on an amazing journey to accelerate the world’s computing workloads. Along the way they’d discovered a wondrous opportunity (machine learning powered social media feed recommendations). Th…

1
Costco 2:58:54

1y ago2:58:54

2:58:54

Costco is not only Charlie Munger’s favorite company of all time (plus he’s on the board, natch), it’s an absolutely fascinating study in how seemingly opposite characteristics can combine to create incredible company value. For instance: Costco has the cheapest prices of any major retailer in America — and also the wealthiest customer base. They p…

1
Designer Notes 77: Cole Wehrle 3:08:30

1y ago3:08:30

3:08:30

In this episode, Soren interviews tabletop designer Cole Wehrle, best known for his work on Root, Oath, Pax Pamir, and John Company. They discuss whether John Company is satire, how the East India Company was like QWOP, and the importance of German postal rates. This episode was recorded on March 22, 2023.…

1
Nike 3:59:43

1+ y ago3:59:43

3:59:43

Nike — it’s perhaps the most iconic and most prolific brand of the modern era. On any given day, swooshes adorn the feet of more people on earth than any other footwear company — by a long shot. If you read Shoe Dog or watched Air, you may think you know its history. But Shoe Dog ends in 1980, and Air… well let’s just say it’s an enjoyable piece of…

1
Porsche (with Doug DeMuro) 3:20:59

1+ y ago3:20:59

3:20:59

Nobody’s perfect — including Porsche. Despite that phrase appearing in their famous 1983 magazine advertisement, they managed to get damn-close to the perfect luxury business (even Bernard Arnault would be jealous!). Porsche is both quality AND quantity, owning the most prestigious brand in its market, while at the same time churning out almost hal…

1
Designer Notes 76: Tanya Short 2:44:04

1+ y ago2:44:04

2:44:04

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Tanya Short, co-founder of Kitfox Games and best known for her work on Moon Hunters and Boyfriend Dungeon. They discuss why her parents had to get a second phone like, how she accidentally made a roguelike, and whether Moon Hunters should have combat. This episode was recorded on March 23, 202…

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