20 VC: Niccolo De Masi @ Glu Mobile on Private Market Valuations, Being A Public Market CEO & The Trends Of Mobile Gaming
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
The Twenty Minute VC
4.4 • 637 Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2016
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Niccolo De Masi is the CEO & Chairman @ Glu Mobile, one of the world's hottest gaming companies with title including the current No 1 Game in the App Store with the Kendall and Kylie Game, Glu is also the maker of the Kim Kardashian game and the likes of Deer Hunter and many more. Prior to Glu, Niccolo was CEO at mobile entertainment company Hands On Mobile and before that Niccolo was the CEO at London listed mobile entertainment company, Monstermob Group Plc.
We would like to say a special thank you to Mattermark for providing all the data used in the show today and you can check out Mattermark Search here!
1.) How Niccolo came to be CEO at one of the world's hottest gaming companies, Glu Mobile?
2.) How did Niccolo make the transition from feature phone business to smartphone business with Glu so successfully? How did Glu's public market status affect the transition?
3.) How important is transparency within organisations as a leader, whether it be Founder or CEO? What are the important elements to communicate with your team and your investors?
4.) Why are private market valuations so misaligned with the public market? What will happen to the plethora of newly made unicorns?
5.) How does Niccolo source potential acquisition targets, what does he look for in, so called 'well valued assets'? What makes them well valued?
6.) What is Niccolo's turnaround strategy for his acquisition targets? How can Glu's platform elevate companies that are in distress?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Niccolo's Fave Book: The Rise and Fall Of The Great Powers
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the 20 minute VC with your host, Harry Stebbings, and what I think is the best |
| 0:05.3 | Founders Friday episode we've ever had on the show. Now, for one, it's the first time we've welcomed |
| 0:11.1 | a public market CEO onto the show. And joining us today is Niccolo Damasi, CEO at Gloomobile, |
| 0:17.7 | the gaming company behind the wildly successful Kim Kardashian game, Deer Hunter, |
| 0:23.8 | and of course the current number one in the app store for games with the Kendall and Kylie |
| 0:28.3 | Jenna game, just to name a few of their amazing portfolio. And prior to Glu, Niccolo was CEO |
| 0:34.2 | at Hands on Mobile and before that CEO at Monster Mob, a London-listed mobile |
| 0:39.7 | entertainment company. Now, the reason I say today's interview is my favourite Founders Friday ever, |
| 0:45.3 | is because Niccolo cuts through all the bravado of current market analysis and simply tells it |
| 0:50.7 | how it is in a refined thought through an academic perspective. |
| 0:58.4 | And I enjoyed it so much that we'll actually be doing a news night with Niccolo, |
| 1:03.1 | a show once a month analysing the latest news and market trends and hearing Niccolo's thoughts and perspectives on the goings on in the industry. |
| 1:07.0 | And I can't wait to hear what you think of that. |
| 1:09.0 | And before we dive into the episode, I'd love to say a huge thank you to Mattermark for providing all the data used in today's episode with Niccolo. And a must for everyone is the Mattermark Daily, a curated list of startup and VC articles by my good friend Nick Frost, who you can find on Twitter at Thinker. However, it is now time for the games to begin, if you're pardon the pun considering the guest. |
| 1:31.1 | I thought that one was rather good, actually. |
| 1:32.3 | The man himself, Niccolo Damasi, CEO and chairman at Gloomobile. |
| 1:37.8 | 4.3.2.1.0. |
| 1:44.0 | You have now arrived at your destination. |
| 1:47.0 | Niccolo, a very warm welcome to this show. |
| 1:48.9 | It's a real pleasure to have you on. |
| 1:50.1 | I'm such huge fan of yours, having listened to your interview with Kara and Jason, |
| 1:53.6 | and being a big fan of Glue, so thanks so much for joining us today. |
... |
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