What strategic pivots and challenges did Kevin Lin face in transforming Justin.tv into Twitch, a platform that forever changed gaming and live streaming?
Eden and Kevin welcome Kevin Lin, the co-founder of Twitch, to delve into his remarkable journey from a gamer in New Orleans to a pivotal figure in the live streaming industry. Kevin shares his early experiences with games like Magic the Gathering, which helped him forge connections and navigate the challenges of growing up as an Asian-American. He recounts the pivotal moments and strategic decisions that transformed Justin.tv into Twitch, emphasizing the importance of building strong relationships with game developers and overcoming technical hurdles.
Kevin reflects on the significance of customer obsession, the power of community, and the evolution of Twitch's company culture. He provides valuable entrepreneurial insights into fundraising, audience understanding, and maintaining a strong company identity. Post-Twitch, Kevin has ventured into the blockchain space, exploring new avenues while balancing creative freedom with commercial success.
Kevin Lin is the pioneering former co-founder of Twitch, the world's largest live social video platform for gamers and creators, which was sold to Amazon for over $1 billion in 2014. As Twitch's long-time COO, he played a key role in bringing live, shared video experiences to millions worldwide. Kevin is a highly respected entrepreneur in digital media, influencing esports, gaming, and content creation. As the current CEO of Metatheory, angel investor and advisor, he supports both his hometowns of New Orleans and Taipei, as well as Asian American founders and creatives.
Discussion points:
(00:00) Intro of Kevin Lin, Kevin’s journey as an Asian-American in New Orleans, his early gaming experiences, challenges faced, and educational path to the gaming industry
(08:05) Evolution of Twitch Gaming Platform - Personal journey to joining Justin.tv, challenges faced, growth, fundraising, and importance of monetization for creators in live-streaming
(15:00) Navigating Challenges in Gaming Industry - content rights, bandwidth, and revenue models
(22:00) Founders of Twitch prioritize creators, customer obsession, and healthy debate in their journey from Justin.tv to Twitch
(31:19) Hiring, process, and referrals in startups, interview process for startups includes cultural fit, structured scoring, referrals, delegating and founder's role
(47:35) Securing Twitch's funding and sale, challenges in fundraising, success with right investors and perseverance
(57:16) Twitch's journey to acquisition by Amazon, maintaining identity and innovating in gaming, expanding into video-on-demand, and balancing creative freedom with financial viability
(1:07:00) Twitch, MetaTheory, future plans, and other surprising post-Twitch ventures, blockchain game development, challenges of creating engaging games, managing remote teams, and incorporating social elements for habit creation
(1:12:00) Lighting round questions
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The Gaming Founders Podcast is brought to you by Eden Chen, CEO of Pragma, and Kevin Zhang, Partner at Upfront Ventures.
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