Originally presented at LOGIN 2009, this is a fast-paced and colorful trip through PopCap's first year in China, with advice for any company considering the challenge of entering the Chinese market (or any developing country, for that matter).
Updated Talk delivered to AmCham and MICA in Singapore, Nov 09. New examples include Queenstown, New Zealand and Obolo's blogger relations fiasco. Also, you find new data on ICT ranking in Asia. Enjoy!
Experience excellence - The Philippines AdvantageJanette Toral
A presentation delivered by Raymond Antonio Lacdao of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (http://www.bpap.org) last June 2011 at National Computer Center, Quezon City.
The world needs to Rethink Ageing Consumers. This means revisiting every step of the customer journey and accommodating the relentless effects of physiological ageing seamlessly into the experience.
This presentation is an abridged version of the presentation delivered to the 3rd MRSS Asia Market Research Conference held on Thursday, April 7th in Singapore. The actual presentation includes other graphics, stories and audio visuals to bring it to life. Kim Walker was voted "Best Speaker" for the delivery of this presentation by the 200+ att... more
Sina Weibo is a unique social media platform.
It is used by 250 million people in China, including journalists, business owners and university professors.
How to use weibo to promote your business in China.
Presentation given by Jim James and Christian Dougoud at the GCPR Global meeting in Bangalore. Feb 2012.
Originally presented at GDC 2004, this was a candid, no-holds-barred look at why my first start-up company, Escape Factory, ultimately failed. There are plenty of stories out there about game studios that succeed, but not enough about studios that fail.
This presentation was also in part an attempt to make good on a promise to our angel investor to share all the lessons we learned setting up Escape Factory.
Definitive Guide To Funding Your Video Game MasterpieceJames Gwertzman
Originally presented at the 2007 Casual Connect conference, this presentation delivers a quick tour through all the various funding mechanisms available to start-up video game studios to get their games funded.
PlayFab runs a LiveOps backend services platform that handles more than 35 million monthly active players, on more than 450 live games, from studios and publishers that include Miniclip, Rovio, Hyper Hippo, Capcom, Bandai-Namco, and Atari. Getting to that level of scalability hasn’t been easy, and this talk describes the times when PlayFab nearly went down – and what architecture changes we needed to make each time to reach the next level of growth. This talk also shares some of the unique challenges of operating a shared platform, where problems are often not PlayFab’s fault, but always PlayFab’s responsibility, including game bugs that look like DDoS attacks, platform partners who break their APIs, and the joys of cascading server failures.
This is a presentation I gave at "Career Day" to graduating seniors at my children's school last fall. I'm sure most of the lessons in here went in one ear and out the other, since you can't really understand this stuff until you've been out there for a while.
Talk given in Beijing in April 2009 on new media in China for a group of EU managers. Some interesting data comparing US and China web companies for data lovers.
Updated Talk delivered to AmCham and MICA in Singapore, Nov 09. New examples include Queenstown, New Zealand and Obolo's blogger relations fiasco. Also, you find new data on ICT ranking in Asia. Enjoy!
Experience excellence - The Philippines AdvantageJanette Toral
A presentation delivered by Raymond Antonio Lacdao of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (http://www.bpap.org) last June 2011 at National Computer Center, Quezon City.
The world needs to Rethink Ageing Consumers. This means revisiting every step of the customer journey and accommodating the relentless effects of physiological ageing seamlessly into the experience.
This presentation is an abridged version of the presentation delivered to the 3rd MRSS Asia Market Research Conference held on Thursday, April 7th in Singapore. The actual presentation includes other graphics, stories and audio visuals to bring it to life. Kim Walker was voted "Best Speaker" for the delivery of this presentation by the 200+ att... more
Sina Weibo is a unique social media platform.
It is used by 250 million people in China, including journalists, business owners and university professors.
How to use weibo to promote your business in China.
Presentation given by Jim James and Christian Dougoud at the GCPR Global meeting in Bangalore. Feb 2012.
Originally presented at GDC 2004, this was a candid, no-holds-barred look at why my first start-up company, Escape Factory, ultimately failed. There are plenty of stories out there about game studios that succeed, but not enough about studios that fail.
This presentation was also in part an attempt to make good on a promise to our angel investor to share all the lessons we learned setting up Escape Factory.
Definitive Guide To Funding Your Video Game MasterpieceJames Gwertzman
Originally presented at the 2007 Casual Connect conference, this presentation delivers a quick tour through all the various funding mechanisms available to start-up video game studios to get their games funded.
PlayFab runs a LiveOps backend services platform that handles more than 35 million monthly active players, on more than 450 live games, from studios and publishers that include Miniclip, Rovio, Hyper Hippo, Capcom, Bandai-Namco, and Atari. Getting to that level of scalability hasn’t been easy, and this talk describes the times when PlayFab nearly went down – and what architecture changes we needed to make each time to reach the next level of growth. This talk also shares some of the unique challenges of operating a shared platform, where problems are often not PlayFab’s fault, but always PlayFab’s responsibility, including game bugs that look like DDoS attacks, platform partners who break their APIs, and the joys of cascading server failures.
This is a presentation I gave at "Career Day" to graduating seniors at my children's school last fall. I'm sure most of the lessons in here went in one ear and out the other, since you can't really understand this stuff until you've been out there for a while.
Talk given in Beijing in April 2009 on new media in China for a group of EU managers. Some interesting data comparing US and China web companies for data lovers.
Presentación del programa de aceleración del programa TechBA Monterreal y TechBA Austin, que apoya a las pequeñas y medianas empresas a expandirse a mercados internacionales
LATIF LADID PRESIDENT IPV6 FORUM, CHAIR, EU IPV6 TASK FORCE, EMERITUS TRUSTEE, INTERNET
SOCIETY, LUXEMBURG
- President, IPv6 FORUM (www.ipv6forum.com)
- Chair, European IPv6 Task Force (www.ipv6.eu )
- Emeritus Trustee, Internet Society - ISOC (www.isoc.org)
- IPv6 Ready Logo Program Board (www.ipv6ready.org)
- Senior Researcher @ SnT - University of Luxembourg on multiple European
Commission Next Generation Technologies IST Projects:
· 6INIT: www.6init.org - First Pioneer IPv6 Research Project
· 6WINIT: http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/research/6winit/ · Euro6IX:
www.euro6ix.org . NGNi, http://www.ngni.org · Eurov6 :
www.eurov6.org
. IPv6 Security & Privacy project - Security Expert Initiative (SEINIT
http://www.isoc.org/seinit/portal/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
. European Security Task Force project - SecurIST:
http://www.tssg.org/archives/2007/09/securist_2.html
. u-2010 Emergency & Disaster and Crisis Management
www.u-2010.eu .
. Public Safety Communication Forum
http://www.publicsafetycommunication.eu
. EFIPSANS project www.efipsans.org
. Secricom Safety & Security Project www.secricom.eu
. ceFIMS www.cefims.eu
. OUTSMART http://www.fi-ppp-outsmart.eu
- Member of 3GPP PCG (www.3gpp.org)
- Member of 3GPP2 PCG (www.3gpp2.org)
- Vice Chair, IEEE ComSoc EntNET
(http://committees.comsoc.org/entnet/committee.html)
- Member of UN Strategy Council GAID
- Member of the Future Internet Forum for Member States
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/foi/lead/fif/index_en.htm
- Board member of WSA http://www.wsis-award.org/index.wbp
The benefits of operating a free-to-play "game-as-a-service" are well known: elastic pricing, a direct relationship with your players, longer lifespan, and an opportunity to fine-tune after launch. But to fully realize these benefits, you need to plan your live operations strategy as carefully as you plan your game. This talk will show how you can build an effective LiveOps strategy using PlayFab.
Commander's Intent: Managing Through UncertaintyJames Gwertzman
What do game studios have in common with special forces? They both depend on empowering creative individuals to take initiative and make autonomous decisions, often under stress and uncertainty, while staying aligned with overall goals of an organization. Elite military organizations have been explicitly training their leaders how to do this for over a century whereas game studio leaders rarely, if ever, get formal training in effective delegation. It’s time to change that!
The Future is Operations: Why Mobile Games Need BackendsJames Gwertzman
The future of mobile gaming is in operations. It’s not enough to just have great gameplay — that’s table stakes now. Winning games need to be able to engage their players long after launch and keep them coming back for more. To do that you need a great live operations strategy and the backend tools to execute it. And while it used to be that if you wanted a backend for your game, you had to build it yourself, companies like PlayFab and others are now making it easy for everyone.
Behind the Scenes: Deploying a Low-Latency Multiplayer Game GloballyJames Gwertzman
A deep dive into the guts of running a low-latency multiplayer game on a global scale using Amazon Web Services. You’ll get the details on how the Top 10 F2P shooter Loadout was launched on both PC and PS4 and how PlayFab’s complete backend and live game operations platform is architected to handle the scale these kind of games demand. Delivered on July 7 at the AWS Loft in San Francisco.
Launching a great F2P game isn’t enough these days to win. You need a great live operations strategy as well — and the tools to execute it. We’ll talk about how to build our your operations plan and then take a deep dive into one key component: in-game events.
Technical Disruption and a New Golden Era of GamesJames Gwertzman
Faced with technical disruption, games companies are poised to return to what they do best: focus on high-quality gameplay and entertainment. Speech delivered at the Opening Summit of the International Games Week on April 21, 2015.
With free-to-play games, you need to plan your live operations strategy as carefully as you plan your game. Learn how to use in-game events and promotions to drive retention and monetization of your game.
Online games have suffered from some high-profile failures recently. This talk from 2013 looks at some of the root causes and the need for better tools now that games are now effectively high-performance transaction systems.
Slides from a GDC 2013 talk on how PopCap achieved success in China with a local adapation of Plants vs. Zombies -- and general advice for any western company considering entry into the Chinese market.
Social Games in China - The New Import/Export Business!James Gwertzman
Slides from a GDC 2010 talk on social games in China.
For years, game developers in China and the US seemed to be speaking two different languages (literally!). Top games in China were online, intensely social, based on a free-to-play micro-transaction model, and had low budgets and low production value. Top games in North America, by comparison, were single-player, often console-based, with vast budgets and awesome production values.
Enter Facebook. Which business model seems more relevant now? The tables are turned. Instead of Chinese game developers studying the US market to learn all about production values, smart western game developers are studying the Chinese market to learn as much as they can about succeeding in this new world of micro-transactions -- and some are even trying to enter China themselves, either to acquire talent or to try and tap the vast Chinese market. 1 billion social gamers?
PopCap has had an office in Shanghai for over 2 years, and has experienced both the opportunities and challenges of doing business in China firsthand. Attend this talk for a rapid fire briefing on everything you need to know about online & social gaming in China, direct from PopCap's head of Asia/Pacific operations. Topics will include what's hot in Chinese online and social games, which companies to watch, how to enter the Chinese market, how NOT to enter the Chinese market, how to leverage low-cost Chinese talent, and more.
[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
VAT Registration Outlined In UAE: Benefits and Requirementsuae taxgpt
Vat Registration is a legal obligation for businesses meeting the threshold requirement, helping companies avoid fines and ramifications. Contact now!
https://viralsocialtrends.com/vat-registration-outlined-in-uae/
Improving profitability for small businessBen Wann
In this comprehensive presentation, we will explore strategies and practical tips for enhancing profitability in small businesses. Tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by small enterprises, this session covers various aspects that directly impact the bottom line. Attendees will learn how to optimize operational efficiency, manage expenses, and increase revenue through innovative marketing and customer engagement techniques.
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
Premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions for Modern BusinessesSynapseIndia
Stay ahead of the curve with our premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions. Our expert developers utilize MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js to create modern and responsive web applications. Trust us for cutting-edge solutions that drive your business growth and success.
Know more: https://www.synapseindia.com/technology/mean-stack-development-company.html
RMD24 | Retail media: hoe zet je dit in als je geen AH of Unilever bent? Heid...BBPMedia1
Grote partijen zijn al een tijdje onderweg met retail media. Ondertussen worden in dit domein ook de kansen zichtbaar voor andere spelers in de markt. Maar met die kansen ontstaan ook vragen: Zelf retail media worden of erop adverteren? In welke fase van de funnel past het en hoe integreer je het in een mediaplan? Wat is nu precies het verschil met marketplaces en Programmatic ads? In dit half uur beslechten we de dilemma's en krijg je antwoorden op wanneer het voor jou tijd is om de volgende stap te zetten.
3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
What is the TDS Return Filing Due Date for FY 2024-25.pdfseoforlegalpillers
It is crucial for the taxpayers to understand about the TDS Return Filing Due Date, so that they can fulfill your TDS obligations efficiently. Taxpayers can avoid penalties by sticking to the deadlines and by accurate filing of TDS. Timely filing of TDS will make sure about the availability of tax credits. You can also seek the professional guidance of experts like Legal Pillers for timely filing of the TDS Return.
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to ma...Lviv Startup Club
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to make small projects with small budgets profitable for the company (UA)
Kyiv PMDay 2024 Summer
Website – www.pmday.org
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/startuplviv
FB – https://www.facebook.com/pmdayconference
Unveiling the Secrets How Does Generative AI Work.pdfSam H
At its core, generative artificial intelligence relies on the concept of generative models, which serve as engines that churn out entirely new data resembling their training data. It is like a sculptor who has studied so many forms found in nature and then uses this knowledge to create sculptures from his imagination that have never been seen before anywhere else. If taken to cyberspace, gans work almost the same way.
Attending a job Interview for B1 and B2 Englsih learnersErika906060
It is a sample of an interview for a business english class for pre-intermediate and intermediate english students with emphasis on the speking ability.
Implicitly or explicitly all competing businesses employ a strategy to select a mix
of marketing resources. Formulating such competitive strategies fundamentally
involves recognizing relationships between elements of the marketing mix (e.g.,
price and product quality), as well as assessing competitive and market conditions
(i.e., industry structure in the language of economics).
Enterprise Excellence is Inclusive Excellence.pdfKaiNexus
Enterprise excellence and inclusive excellence are closely linked, and real-world challenges have shown that both are essential to the success of any organization. To achieve enterprise excellence, organizations must focus on improving their operations and processes while creating an inclusive environment that engages everyone. In this interactive session, the facilitator will highlight commonly established business practices and how they limit our ability to engage everyone every day. More importantly, though, participants will likely gain increased awareness of what we can do differently to maximize enterprise excellence through deliberate inclusion.
What is Enterprise Excellence?
Enterprise Excellence is a holistic approach that's aimed at achieving world-class performance across all aspects of the organization.
What might I learn?
A way to engage all in creating Inclusive Excellence. Lessons from the US military and their parallels to the story of Harry Potter. How belt systems and CI teams can destroy inclusive practices. How leadership language invites people to the party. There are three things leaders can do to engage everyone every day: maximizing psychological safety to create environments where folks learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo.
Who might benefit? Anyone and everyone leading folks from the shop floor to top floor.
Dr. William Harvey is a seasoned Operations Leader with extensive experience in chemical processing, manufacturing, and operations management. At Michelman, he currently oversees multiple sites, leading teams in strategic planning and coaching/practicing continuous improvement. William is set to start his eighth year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches marketing, finance, and management. William holds various certifications in change management, quality, leadership, operational excellence, team building, and DiSC, among others.
5 Things You Need To Know Before Hiring a Videographer
Pop Cap’s First Year In China
1. PopCap’s first year in China:
work-in-progress
A post-mortem
James Gwertzman
Vice President, Asia/Pacific
2.
3.
4. 1P- 37P2F3
1.1GWERTZMAN/JAMES.MR*ADT
1 UA 977V 13SEP TU SEASFO HK1 710A 911A/O $ E
2 JL 1M 13SEP TU SFONRT HK1 100P 340P#1/O $ E
3 JL 795M 17SEP SA NRTPVG HK1 705P 905P/O $ E
4 CA1856Y 19SEP MO SHAPEK HK1 755P 955P/O $
5 CA 123Y 22SEP TH PEKICN HK1 855A 1150A/O $
6 JL 962M 24SEP SA ICNKIX HK1 1220P 200P/O $ E
7 JL 60M 24SEP SA KIXLAX HK1 530P 1155A/X $ E
8 AS 513Q 24SEP SA LAXSEA HK1 215P 449P/O $ E
P- 1.P8F206-652-0888 ASA TOURS/YIHRU
5. Casual Games: QQ Mini game platform
Tencent launched QQ
Mini game platform since
2003. it is so far the
biggest casual game
platform in the world.
So far, QQ mini game
platform provides 50 mini
games from 5 main
categories.
Market share 55%
Registered users 156MM
PCU 2.5MM
6. QQ Show –Global #1 Virtual Fashion Community
200 million+ registered
accounts, each has
paid experience
User generated
fashion,includes
clothes,decorations,
hair style,etc.
Customize your own
style and show
yourself
Subscriber 25,000,000
7.
8.
9.
10. Our existing games were already very
popular in China.
But, our existing
business models could not work.
12. Was Asia worth it?
It’s HUGE
(3.3 billion people, more than half under 30)
The number of Internet users is growing FAST
(20% CAGR since 2000, from 121 million to 411 million)
Broadband connections are growing FASTER
(28% CAGR since 2003, more than 292 million by 2010)
Incomes are RISING
(only 6% of Chinese are “middle-class”, but that’s more than all of Germany)
Casual games are HOT
(50% growth in China last year, projected 39% of market by 2010)
13. By the numbers…
Population Internet Users Penetration Growth (2000-2007)
China 1,317,431,495 137,000,000 10.4% 508.9%
Japan 128,646,345 86,300,000 67.1% 83.3%
India 1,129,667,528 40,000,000 3.5% 700.0%
Korea, South 51,300,989 34,120,000 66.5% 79.2%
Indonesia 224,481,720 18,000,000 8.0% 800.0%
Vietnam 85,031,436 14,913,652 17.5% 7356.8%
Taiwan 23,001,442 14,500,000 63.0% 131.6%
Malaysia 28,294,120 13,528,200 47.8% 265.6%
Pakistan 167,806,831 12,000,000 7.2% 8861.9%
Thailand 67,249,456 8,420,000 12.5% 266.1%
Philippines 87,236,532 7,820,000 9.0% 291.0%
Hong Kong 7,150,254 4,878,713 68.2% 113.7%
Singapore 3,654,103 2,421,000 66.3% 101.8%
Australia 20,984,595 14,729,191 70.2% 123.2%
New Zealand 4,274,588 3,200,000 74.9% 285.5%
Asia 3,346,211,434 411,830,756 12.3% 240.0%
North America 334,538,018 233,188,086 69.7% 115.7%
European Union 493,119,161 252,818,939 51.3% 167.8%
14. Clearly we could not be…
“The World’s Leading Developer and
Publisher of Casual Games”
… without a presence in Asia.
29. The study also revealed that multinationals face a severe
and growing talent shortage in China. This is a
bottleneck to growth that will only worsen as they
compete with each other and domestic companies for Holding on to skilled staff in China is getting as
employees with critical skill sets needed for the mass hard as protecting intellectual property for
market. Candidates lacking English language skills and Western technology and media
quot;softquot; skills, such as communications and managerialfirms, executives told an industry summit this
capabilities, were the top two reasons cited by week.
multinational recruiters for the current talent shortage for
multinational positions. Poaching is rampant.
-- IBM Institute for Business Value (2007) biggest problem we have there is that
quot;The
they are taking people -- Chinese people we
train, people we send,quot; Robert Lerwill, chief
executive of UK media group Aegis AGS.L told
the Reuters Global Technology, Media and
Telecoms Summit in Paris.
quot;The current HR challenges in China include
recruiting, training and qualification, integration and -- Reuters (2007)
retention, and the introduction of HR policies and
procedures,quot; Schoof told the audience, with a particular
emphasis on retention of local Chinese managers.
-- Mercer’s 8th annual Expat Management Forum
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35. Sept. 1
Finally hired Studio Head
Cao Long (EA Pogo China)
$300,000 40
35
$250,000
30
$200,000
25
$150,000 20
15
$100,000
10
$50,000
5
$- -
Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08 Jan-09
Headcount Expenses Revenue
52. Regulatory Issues
• Game companies must work with:
– General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP)
– Ministry of Culture (MoC)
– Ministry of Information Industry (MII)
– State Copyright Bureau
– Ministry of Public Security
– Bureau of State Secrecy
– State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration (SASAC)
– State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT)
– State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)
54. China Will Punish Foreign Internet Game Companies Who Break Rules
Posted By ChinaTechNews.com Editor On March 18, 2009 @ 5:01 am In Internet, Law & Policy | No Comments
The General Administration of Press and Publication of China will soon fix a new measure to regulate
the cooperation between Chinese and foreign online games service providers and the new measure
may focus on punishing foreign game operators who adopt arbitrary rules during the cooperation with
their Chinese partners.
According to news on Sina.com, GAPP will hold a seminar featuring attendance of top game
executives on March 18 when it will announce a range of new measures.
GAPP says that foreign companies in China must comply with China's laws and regulations. To protect
Chinese companies' rights, concerned departments have rolled out these measures with the purpose
of creating a fair environment for online game operations. Under the new measure, if a foreign
game operator is involved in a lawsuit as a result of their unfair clauses against
their Chinese partners, their game products may be suspended in China.
In addition, GAPP will strengthen the approval procedure for online
games, which is believed to be a heightening of threshold for foreign games to
enter the Chinese market, though Kou Xiaowei, deputy chief of sci-tech and digital publishing
department under GAPP, stressed that GAPP would treat both Chinese and foreign game service
providers equally without discrimination during the approval process.
55.
56.
57.
58. Looking ahead…
• First products launch end of this year
– Modest expectations…
– Validate our thinking, team, etc
– Gain experience
• “real” products launch next year
– The real test…
– That’s when we know if we are on the right track
Editor's Notes
Thank youFun presentation to assembleNot right to call “post-mortem” since patient is not dead yet – in fact, the end has not yet been written.
Chinese proverb – “diamond is not polished without rubbing, nor is a man perfected without trials”. Yùbùzhóu, bùchéngqì; rénbùxué, bùzhīyìA thousand-mile journey starts with the first step qiānlǐzhīxíng, shǐyūzúxiàthe past few years have been very excitingSetting up APAC is most challenging but also most rewarding things I’ve done yetToday I’m going to share our story in two parts:first, describe how we spent the last few yearsSecond, share some of our lessons from that timeShould be fun for anyone:Thinking about expanding overseas to any country interested specifically in china just like a good storyTime for Q/A at the end
It all started back in 2005 when sprout was acquired by PopCapI became PopCap’sBizDev director
Few months later joined my first ever trade mission to ChinaAt that point, PopCap’s global revenue was < 5%, and we knew there were opportunities to expand overseasI had lived in tokyo for 2 years for microsoft, and decided to revisit my old stomping groundsFascinating trip. thanks again to Wistar and washington stateIf you ever wonder where some of your tax dollars go….We met some great companiesFirst time I learned about item-buy models, avatar items, etc.
And then the same trip, we visited an internet café… and 2 people were playing popcap games!No marketing, no localization, but here were people enjoying our games!
And then later, in a subway.. I heard the sounds of zuma…
This was my huge “light bulb” moment…. Clearly people enjoyed our games.However, we could never build a business here with the same models we use in NAM and EUR.
To build a business, would require following very different business models.We would need to look a lot more like QQ, and much less like PopCap.We would need to think about games as a service, instead of games as a productFree to play, instead of pay to playSell items instead of games.Today in 2009, this is not a crazy idea anymore.But back in 2005, when PopCap had only 35 people total, it seemed heretical.
Clearly this was going to require a big investment. So was it worth it?Clearly, yes.
These numbers are already several years old, but even then the velocity was clear…APAC was already a bigger market than NAM or EUR, and still had lots of growth ahead.
We had to build a presence in Asia… the only question was how and when.
This is my attempt to break down the past few years… roughly 4 chunks:Homework – trying to figure out a strategyGetting buy-in to that strategy, and figuring out how to execute itExecution around our existing, legacy business Execution around these new, exciting business models
The homework phase frankly isn’t that interesting… I basically started travelign over to APAC as often as I could, for several weeks at a time, visitign as many companies as I could and learning as much as I could.It was a really fun time – hired Wei MingThen hit the roadI thought about the best way to communicate that year, and decided if this was a TV show then this would be the montage segment with a catchy sound track.
Here’s what I learned during that year…We were not the first western game company to notice Asia. In fact, EA was there ahead of us, and in fact was trying to launch their Pogo service in China throughout that year.However by the time that year ended, it was clear that Pogo was a failure. Why? What went wrong?I treated EA as if I was a b-school professor… what mistakes did they make?I interviewed everyone I could find associated with it… finally I figured out a pattern.And then I realized that other western companies struggling in China fit the same pattern.So out of this year of homework, came our strategy…
Build vs. license --- because our IP wasn’t worth anything. Only finished products mattered.Shanghai w/ local team – because that’s where the expertise was, and that was the only way to avoid distractionsPartner for operations – critical. Operations is HARD, and very competitive, and very local. Plus legally, as a foreign company, we couldn’t even do it ourselves if we wanted.Stay in Asia – politically sensitive. We needed 100% local decision making. No approval by HQ. well, the only way we could get 100% local decision making was to keep everything.
Around this time I finally got around to reading innovator’s dilemma.. Very relevant.Free-to-play is clearly a disruptive technology. But most established companies have a history of not adapting disruptive technologies – they wait till it’s too late, and let startups do it instead. Why?Lots of reasons.. But ultimately the only solution is to create your own startup, as far away as possible.Shanghai, anyone?
Another point – this was NOT about saving money“outsourcing” is a fundamentally different businessIt’s very hard to start with outsourcing and then shift to building new productsEntirely different team skill-set and expectations
So then began phase 2… building internal support for our strategy, and at the same time figure out some of the details for execution.This was the hardest phase, by far.
We tried LOTS of different ideas.Acquire team? Couldn’t find one we liked at a reasonable price.Find the right partner? Made lots of contacts, but nothing real.Try to hire a china GM? Couldn’t find the right person.Take local investor? Couldn’t see the value.But actually, we were making steady progress all year. Each trip = more contacts, more comfort, most experience.Finally, after a year of hard work, we saw the way forward.
During this time I came across this phrase from “Mr. China”, himself, Jack Perkowski. I love this phrase. It sums up China perfectly.
Finally it was time for execution phase….We spent last year setting up our office, hiring our team, and investing in our legacy businessThen this year we’ve been finally working 100% on the new business models that brought us here in the first place
Some interesting graphs..Steady rise in headcountRevenue/expenses are even more interestingNotice we’re cash-flow positive already in 2009, and revenue is continuing to grow.That’s a happy outcome of the investments we made last year
As a side note, it’s interesting to look at my own travel scheduleLast year was the hardest, since I didn’t move my family out until the summerBut now I’m traveling by comparison much less.This sort of thing is not for the faint of heart… you can’t do it with just a few trips out.
So let’s talk about what we’ve learned along the way.Expectations were reversedThings I expected to be hard, were easyThings I expected to be easy, were hard
Going in, HR was my biggest concernHard to retain staffHard to find good managersHard to be successful as a western bossPeople did a good job terrifying me. I was convinced my whole team would walk away.
Hiring was easier than we had thoughtBenefit of great timingWe have a good “pitch”Build great products for local marketBenefited from timingTake advantage of early pioneers like Ubisoft & EAAs well as successful local companiesWould have been MUCH harder 5 years ago
Here are some highlights from a recent survey we did… really good.The only negatives were about compensation – and who is ever really happy about compensation? And lack of promotion opportunities, which is more of a communication problem than anything else.
The key is really my management team, shown here. They’re all rock stars. Really terrific.Used a mix of:LinkedInLocal recruitersReferralsIndividuals we encountered during our “homework” phaseI’ve relaxed a bit as the bossNo longer worried about doing everything wrongManagement 101 really mattersBuilding loyalty = trust & respectI manage here the same way I manage back home – not too many lessons.
I don’t think I realized, however, how important my own role would be as overall head of the region.Most important part of the job – bridging cultures and offices.you can’t hire someone for this role – must be an old-timer at the company, which ironically, I am.Pushing to improve communications Newsletters, calls, etc.Regular visits bringing out key people
Most important hire is probably our studio head…Originally we thought we’d hire this person first.We looked for a long time, didn’t happenEntrepreneur – do it himself. Risk-averse – won’t join until you have more traction
So we needed to wait until we had more traction, which was fine.He came on board last fall, and immediately helped us hire the rest of our studio as well as finalize our product strategy
Another component to our strong culture --- having funFrom the very beginning I’ve spent a lot of time really pushing this.Team bonding isn’t what happens on once-a-year offsites, it’s what you do every day.
We work hard to create healthy culture… turns out being western helps because people come in with open minds and expectations that things will be different. Open to being creative. In turn, we need to deliver.Challenges still exist:- Getting team to say “no”- Hearing what really is going on
Office was harder than expected… took longer, was more painful.I took it very seriously.Communicate culture to teamShow our commitmentHelp with hiringDifferentiate ourselvesGetting the quality I wanted was hardLots of companies available…But had to push really hardFinal punch list was very longBut speed & price were still very competitive
This is where we started… in china, all offices come as empty boxes.
In the meantime, we actualy started out in one of our employee’s apartments. Rented a table and started work.
And of course the plan itself went through LOTS of changes. I was a real stickler for this.
One crazy thing about the process --- it was easier for them to mock up a design in 3D than to show me paint chips, renderings, etc. so we communicated the design in 3D.
The decision to go to shanghai was easy, and has worked out wellGood talent poolRelatively easy city for westernersCost structure is still reasonableWe considered other cities, but ruled them out.
One area that beat expectations was IP protection, at least so farThis is another area where people terrify you. so many horror stories.
So at first we set up our office like a fortress.No communication in or outDon’t trust anyone localReally went against my judgement; how can you manage if you don’t trust your own managers?No way to run a businessIn the end, I gave up. I decided we couldn’t. we were in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy
swung to other extreme – trust the teamShare early versions of new gamesOpen flow of informationShare dataWe need to trust them eventually….EtcBig dose of education.. Why it mattersMuch better…We’ve had no MAJOR issues, luckily.Even now, I’m here, the entire office is there, 100% local. And I have full confidence in the team.Not without issues, however.
We did have one big problem. Screenshot of a future product got leakedPromise of more,sourcecode, etc.Who was it???? Terrible – really hurt trust and morale. Took very aggressive stanceManaged entire process through local staffApproached BBS…They wanted letter… got lawyers involvedPushed hard to get IP addressFinally got information taken down and IP addresssSent a message – we take this seriouslyNo problems since…
As a result, we pulled back a little bit, but just a little.Top employees, held to global standardAccess to same information, same sources, etcGiven admin access to their PC’s, allowed USB ports, etc.Interns or certain junior staff, limitedPC’s not on network…We don’t dangle temptationWe don’t distribute unlocked builds of new games too far out in advanceManagers don’t want too openAfraid of repercussions in the event of leaks
So much has been written about doing business in China… telling other people how to succeed in china is a huge industryNot just books – consultants, experts, etc.
Pleasantly surprised dealing with Internet companiesVery different than traditional SOE’sCompared to Chinese companies, we’re the slow onesYounger, more international, increasingly familiar dealing with western companies, willing to hire western lawyers to help them
Business in China is treacherousImportance of working with local partnersOther parts of asia much easierVery hard for western companies to compete directly with local companies…“by the book” vs. “gray area”We’re no different
We’re used to “everything is okay, unless illegal”Here everything is illegal, unless it’s licensedBiggest issue is getting the license… not easy
Some recent high-profile cases…Setting precedent
This is a very interesting example of the kind of thing that we all need to parse very carefully
One area of relative success I want to highlight… our localization effortsGood example of “investing in our legacy business”But results are paying off --- japan is a big market; here is one of our HUG’s listed as #1 on JP casual game portalTakin the time to localize with high quality23 different japanese fonts for Twist!!!
Family is having a great timeThat’s really important…Now, want to close with a video my team put together… give you a good feeling for our office and the team. Short.
Looking ahead… big test comes this year and nextLaunching first set of products…Signing up first set of local operators