Understanding How to Sell VCs on Your Game, Part I: Nabeel Hyatt, Spark Capital
Nabeel Hyatt, a venture partner with Spark Capital, is in a unique position to understand game design as a VC, because he first began his career as a developer himself. Founder of Conduit Labs, a game studio acquired by Zynga in 2010, Hyatt then became a general manager at the social game giant, where he led development of Adventure World. Hyatt joined Spark just in time to be there when OMGPOP, a game company backed by Spark, was acquired by Zynga for around $200 million.
Notably, Spark stuck with the company even after struggling with a string of unsuccessful titles, so he was there when the company finally hit its stride with the cross-platform iOS/Facebook game Draw Something (see Figure 15-1). When it comes to hearing developers pitch him their ideas for a game company, “I’m always happy to hear from folks with a dream,” says Hyatt.
What Interests Hyatt in a Gaming Startup
Besides user growth and revenue, Hyatt’s number one metric for games that interest him as investment prospects ...
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