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Craft brews, mouthwatering appetizers and a spinning DJ fueled Built in LA’s latest Digital Leaders event this past Wednesday. As part of Built in LA’s ongoing initiatives to nurture the Silicon Beach ecosystem, the evening brought together entrepreneurs, founders, incubators and investors from all around LA for a night of networking and a panel discussion on the gaming industry. Sponsored by Cooley LLP, this quarterly event took place at 41 Ocean Club in Santa Monica.
With the casual yet exclusive ambiance and a drink on hand the laidback environment allowed entrepreneurs to meet each other and network. Investors from all across Los Angeles and San Francisco were also in attendance as they searched for new ventures and listened-in on what was happening in the LA tech scene.
Of Los Angeles’ top 150 digital leaders invited to the event, a few notable attendees included Chris DeWolfe, Former CEO of MySpace, Michael Dubin, CEO and Founder of Dollar Shave Club and Gil Elbaz, CEO and Founder of Factual. In light of entrepreneurs like these and the investors mingling amongst the crowd, it was to no one’s disappointment when the night continued well beyond what was scheduled.
So as the evening moved on, some stayed with their conversations and others moved to the gaming industry panel discussion. While the topics discussed varied, the panel agreed that mobile gaming is exploding. Walter Driver, CEO of Scopely, said “smart phones and tablets represent the biggest platform in the world.” Their potential is unmatched because never before have game developers “been able to syndicate to such a wide audience.”
Alex Seropian, CEO of Industrial Toys, went further saying that the democratization of mobile games, especially free-to-play games, has created potential opportunities for new entrants. “You can get into this market with an idea, a creative impulse, and a lot of energy,” he says.
Robin Kaminsky, CEO of 1st Street Partners, explained the gaming industry, overall, is increasingly a division between free-to-play games and blockbusters such as Grand Theft Auto. Gone are the days when “you used to make a lot of money with bad games… that business is done,” she says. Because of the growing selection of high-quality games and free games, people now don’t have to settle for the mediocre games that used to fill the middle of the spectrum.
The panel concluded with high hopes for the gaming industry and tech more generally in Los Angeles. All in all the night proved to be a fantastic showcase for all the great activity that is happening in Los Angeles and the entrepreneurs that make Silicon Beach’s future so bright.
Built In LA Second Digital Leaders Panel: Walter Driver, Co-Founder and CEO of Scopely; Alex Seropian, Founder and CEO of Industrial Toys; and Robin Kaminsky, Co-Founder and CEO of 1st Street Partners. Robert Nashak, formerly EVP at BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment & Games, moderated the discussion.
Photos from the evening:
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Photo Credit:
Christopher Doody
https://www.doodyphree.com/
