Best Mitch Lasky Podcasts (2024)

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

2h 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

5d 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

22d 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
Three Moves Ahead 618 - Workers & Resources 1.0 1:29:50

24d ago1:29:50

1:29:50

Len and Jon are joined by Sin Vega and Well There's Your Problem's Justin Roczniak (donoteat01) to revisit Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic for its 1.0 release. We discuss what's changed and been added since we last checked it out in Early Access, why it's so captivating, and who it's actually for.…

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

25d 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
Three Moves Ahead 617 - Down the Well (EU5 Megacast 4 Preview) 32:51

1M ago32:51

32:51

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma!Len, Lambert, and Lorris get in and out of this month's deluge of dev diaries in a downright snappy three hours, despite nitpicking EU5's depiction of the British Isles for long enough to kill a non-map gamer. Please be cautious when listening …

1
Three Moves Ahead 616 - The Future of Anbennar and EU5 1:30:08

2M ago1:30:08

1:30:08

Len, Lorris, and Lambert sat down with JayBean, the creator of the popular Anbennar fantasy total conversion mods for Europa Universalis 4, Crusader Kings 3, and Victoria 3. We asked him what he's most excited about from what we've seen of EU5 so far, what changes he might make to the mod with these new systems, and how Paradox Tinto can better sup…

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

2M 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
Three Moves Ahead 615 - Homeworld 3 1:11:46

2M ago1:11:46

1:11:46

Len, Luke, and Ian warp in to discuss Homeworld 3, a space strategy sequel more than two decades in the making. We discuss its use of space terrain, the more intimate storytelling in the campaign, the co-op Wargames mode, and what it has and hasn't preserved from its pantheonic predecessors.By Idle Thumbs

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

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

2M 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

2M 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
Three Moves Ahead 614 - To Four Hours... And Beyond! (EU5 Megacast 3 Preview) 32:29

2M ago32:29

32:29

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma!Len, Lambert, and Lorris are here to explore the question of how long a podcast about an unreleased game can be before someone in our lives physically intervenes. We not only have Tinto Talks and the Johan Files to cover, but now Tinto Maps, Sa…

1
Three Moves Ahead 613 - Total War Warhammer 3: Thrones of Decay 1:29:16

3M ago1:29:16

1:29:16

Len and Rowan are joined by Nathan from the YouTube channel The Great Book of Grudges to discuss the Thrones of Decay patch, Creative Assembly's apology tour, and the state of Immortal Empires in 2024. Rowan grapples with why Warhammer 3 just isn't doing it for her, Nathan marvels at the current contentment of the community, and Len chews a hole in…

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

3M 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

3M 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
Designer Notes 82: Mitch Lasky - Part 1 1:53:26

3M 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
Three Moves Ahead 612 - Manor Lords 1:17:35

4M ago1:17:35

1:17:35

Len, Ian, and Jon are joined by our official unofficial historical consultant, Dr. Bret Devereaux, to discuss Manor Lords. We clear up what it is and what it isn't, how it portrays the historical realities of medieval burgage, and how Early of an Early Access game it really is.By Idle Thumbs

1
Three Moves Ahead 611 - Going the Distance (EU5 Megacast 2 Preview) 37:08

4M ago37:08

37:08

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma!Len, Lambert, and Lorris are back to discuss the next four Europa Universalis V dev diaries and The Johan Files, an edited compilation of all of Johan's relevant forum posts that has more than doubled in size since we last talked. We decided to…

1
Microsoft Volume I 4:23:10

4M 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

4M 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

4M 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

4M 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
Designer Notes 81: Jake Solomon - Part 2 3:13:36

4M ago3:13:36

3:13:36

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.Games discussed: Civilization Revolutio…

1
Three Moves Ahead 610 - Millennia 1:24:02

5M ago1:24:02

1:24:02

It's a full house this week, as Len is joined by Ian Boudreau, Luke Plunkett, Mike Williams, and Ruth Cassidy to perform a bit of an autopsy on Millennia, C Prompt and Paradox's take at a Civ-like historical 4X. We all came away with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths about it, to varying degrees, and we spend a fair bit of time trying to explain w…

1
Three Moves Ahead 609 - Europa Universalis 5 Confirmed?! (Patreon Preview) 29:48

5M ago29:48

29:48

This is a preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma!Join Len, FatherLorris, and Lord Lambert as we get the NoCB Cast band back together to talk for 3.5 hours about Paradox Tinto's "Project Caesar," which is probably Europa Universalis 5. Okay, let's be real: it's definitely Europa Universalis 5. We b…

1
Renaissance Technologies 3:10:19

5M ago3:10:19

3:10:19

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
Three Moves Ahead 608 - Balatro 1:00:54

5M ago1:00:54

1:00:54

Len, Jon, and Mike Williams deal out a hand or two of Balatro. It's poker? Sort of? Not really? Poker with boss battles. Poker with booster packs. Poker with tarot cards? We don't hold our opinions close to our chest as we try to apply some kind of taxonomy to this indie surprise hit.By Idle Thumbs

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

5M 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

5M 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

6M 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
Three Moves Ahead 607 - The Strategy Games of Steam Next Fest 2024 1:13:32

6M ago1:13:32

1:13:32

Len, Jon, and Mike Williams sit down to discuss the strategy and strategy-adjacent demos that caught our eyes in Steam Next Fest. Jon played 50 (!) of them, and several were actually good! Also like, where are all the aliens, for real though?By Idle Thumbs

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

6M 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 4:09:36

6M ago4:09:36

4:09:36

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

6M 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

6M 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
Three Moves Ahead 606 - 2024 Look Ahead 1:18:31

7M ago1:18:31

1:18:31

Len, Mike Williams, and Nerium Strom take a look at the strategy and strategy-adjacent games coming in 2024, discuss which ones we're most interested in, make some predictions, and discuss the awful state of the industry for workers this year so far.By Idle Thumbs

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

7M 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

7M 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) 3:44:55

7M ago3:44:55

3:44:55

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
Three Moves Ahead 605 - Warhammer 40,000 Tabletop 1:24:30

7M ago1:24:30

1:24:30

Is this a Winter of Wargaming? Len and Ian are joined by Brian "Chef Lu Bu" Smawley to dig into Warhammer 40K as a setting through the lens of the flagship tabletop miniatures game (particularly the recent 10th Edition). We go over a bit of lore, run through the factions, talk about our favorites, discuss how we got into the hobby, and why it may o…

1
Three Moves Ahead 604 - Mega-Sized 2023 Recap! 2:14:03

8M ago2:14:03

2:14:03

Len, Rowan, and Ian gather 'round the Yule Log for an extended discussion on the year that was 2023 in strategy games. There was a lot of good and a lot of bad. There were a lot of people talking about "Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year" that didn't really know what they were talking about. We share our personal picks and tease out a theme to en…

1
Holiday Special 2023 2:25:44

8M ago2:25:44

2:25:44

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
Three Moves Ahead 603 - Against the Storm 1.0 1:25:49

8M ago1:25:49

1:25:49

Len, Rowan, and Luke have gathered around the hearth to revisit Against the Storm for its 1.0 launch. With one veteran and two greenhorns in tow, we discuss how this survival city-builder has changed since Early Access and why it's still so satisfying and refreshing to play.By Idle Thumbs

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

8M 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
Designer Notes 80: Jake Solomon - Part 1 2:42:26

8M 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.Games discussed: Sopwith, Sil…

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