The world needs more entrepreneurs! This presentation aims to encourage, inspire and assist young entrepreneurs in transforming their passions into businesses and changing the world in the process. It includes 6 tips to launch your own startup, illustrated by lessons learned from launching Playfish and other ventures. These slides accompanied a talk given at the Founder Institute and later at the Betagroup.

1. Make mistakes and innovate!
Sebastien de Halleux – Playfish Co-Founder - VP of BD, EA interactive
1

2. Belgian
Civil Engineer
Tech Entrepreneur
Glu Mobile: nasdaq IPO ($337m)
Playfish: sold to EA ($400m)
facebook.com/sdehalleux
2

3. Entrepreneurship journey
Startup launch sequence
Illustrated Playfish examples

4. 2.5 years post launch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZZj8pyHnXY
4

5. Why launching matters
World in crisis Create
needs value
innovation and jobs
Make meaning Getting
and live longer started is
toughest
Watch: www.bluezones.com
Read: “The Art of the Start” – G Kawasaki
5

6. startup launch sequence
6

7. 6 Start with people: team and attitude
Sami, our ninja CTO
Meet: Betagroup 
Connect: online interest groups (Ruby, Flash, J2EE, deviantArt)
7

8. 5 Define your passion, choose a problem
Act: team + pen & paper + lots of <your favourite drink>
Outcome: state your selected problem as a vision

9. People spend $50bn on video games today
Why?

10. Games generate emotions
Joy Fear Wonder
Achievement Frustration
Greed
Suspense Horror

11. But what about social emotions?
Love
Friendship
Pride
Envy Anger

12. Movies make people cry – Could games?
12

13. What about people who matter to you?
13

14. Change how the world plays games
14

15. 4 Brainstorm transformative solutions
aim to change the world, not just your town or your country
Act: team + pen & paper + lots of <your favourite drink>
Outcome: a series of potential solutions
15

16. You + your friends = strong emotions
16

17. Your friends are now accessible
17

18. Games as social experiences
with friends and family
Cooperation Communication
Friendship
Competition Expression
18
Photo credit: jay1441

19. 3 Filter your solutions down to
ONE BIG IDEA
Are you solving the problem you initially selected?
Does anyone care (enough to use or to pay) ?
Can it be built (by you or by someone else)?
Would it scale (success x 1 billion) ?
Why now? Any tectonic shifts?
Outcome: one liner description of your idea
19

20. Fun games for friends
20

21. Using social design
21

22. to reach 1 billion users
access
barriers Lower cost
PS3
More social
Xbox More immediate
360
More real
Wii
iPhone / mobile
Free-to-play / online / social
0 10m 50m 100m 500m 1Bn audience

23. monetizing via micro-transactions
23

24. Scale is the new challenge
game game social
client server graph
canvas Fast Secure Rest
page CDN protocol API

25. 25

26. the cloud

27. Blue Ocean check: Playfish
Create Eliminate
a new utility distribution costs
Fun from playing with friends Design for viral distribution
Reduce Raise
development costs monetization ceiling
Release early, run as service Micro-transactions & advertising
27

28. “No battle plan ever survives contact
with the ennemy” – von Moltke
2 Build don’t plan
Forecasts are usually (dramatically) wrong
Keep your plan short
Prototyping is key to test your ideas
Timebox your development
Help others visualise your solution
Planning: www.sequoiacap.com/ideas
Building: must be able to hand prototype over to a test user
28

29. Self-expression
Collaboration
Competition

31. redder = smarter*
1
31
* Source: 500,000 datapoints from Playfish’s hit social game ‘Who Has The Biggest Brain?’
The game is available at http://apps.facebook.com/biggestbrain

32. 1 Make mistakes, and iterate
Measure Nurture Evolve
Think: what will your feedback loop consist of?
Build: an offering capable of adapting quickly to feedback

33. Product success = create hits
+$$
time
-$$
Success = F (P, Q)
price quantity

34. Service success = nurture hits
+$$
time
-$$ Success = F(α, β, γ)
virality, engagement, monetization

35. Monthly active users (millions)
50
40
30 12 months 20m
20
10
0
Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08

36. 55m
20 months 50m
Monthly active users (millions)
50
40
30
20
10
0
36

37. 0 When traction, think BIG, think FAST
Ensure cash is not a limiting factor
Go global early – new growth model
Hire the very best people you can afford
Create constant feedback loops
Change the world
37

38. Playfish story
Oct 2007 2008 Nov 2009
Playfish starts in UK Opened offices Acquired by EA
$3m seed in US, China, Arctic for $400m
4 founders Raised $18m
Created great games
Dec 2007 Oct 2009 2010
Who Has the Biggest Brain? 12 live games FIFA & MADDEN
1st game released 200 million games distributed First billion $ franchises
Sent to 100 friends 60 million monthly active users on Facebook
High growth, high margin

39. The global startup
Tromsø
London
San Francisco Beijing
39

40. Getting ready to launch
6 Start with a team and an attitude
5 Define your passion, chose your problem
4 Brainstorm transformative solutions
3 Filter your solutions down to ONE BIG IDEA
2 Build don’t plan
1 Make mistakes and iterate
0 When traction, think BIG, think FAST

41. Thank you!