News broke late yesterday that Lance Tokuda is stepping down from his role as chief executive of social game- and app-maker RockYou. Coming barely more than a month after the company announced substantial layoffs, we started wondering where RockYou is headed. So I got on the phone with chief operating officer Lisa Marino to find out.
Marino emphasized that both Tokuda’s decision (he will remain at RockYou working on “innovation and strategic initiatives”) and the layoffs were part of a larger reorganization at RockYou as it focuses on social games. The company was already making games, such as Zoo World, but Marino said it was doing too many other things — if you asked people in the industry what RockYou did, you’d get “a mixed bag of answers.”
So RockYou laid off part of its workforce (it never said how much), hired new employees with what Marino called “the right DNA to build the good games” (such as former EA executive Jonathan Knight), and in the last month alone, it shut down more than 50 applications. RockYou has become “a really different place,” Marino said.
And we’ll see the fruits of this new focus in the next few months, she added, as RockYou unveils new products that will make it “very relevant” in the social games industry.
When I asked how RockYou hopes to stand out against giants like Zynga, Marino said the company isn’t just a game-maker. Yes, it’s focused on making games, but it’s also “a social entertainment company”. There’s a media and advertising side to RockYou’s business, which it uses to make money from its own games (so it’s not just tied to virtual goods) and to help other developers do the same.
“This was an aggressive move and a proactive move,” Marino said. “We’ve got a lot of money in the bank.”
Revenue is still strong, she added, with RockYou set to make more money in the fourth quarter of 2010 than it did in Q3 or Q2 (but not as much as Q1).
RockYou has raised $127 million in funding, so if its investors (including Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners) want to see a healthy return, they’ll need a bigger exit than rival Slide’s $228 million acquisition by Google.
Tokuda’s departure from the CEO role fit into that restructuring, Marino said, and it also came from his realization that as the company grows, it will need a “been here, done that” CEO with more experience growing organizations. For now, Marino and the rest of the current executive team are managing RockYou while the company searches for a replacement.
“Because the management team is doing well, we have the luxury of being patient to find the right candidate,” she said.
[Photo of Lance Tokuda at the Facebook Developer Garage via Flickr/Niall Kennedy]
Next Story: Google Wave to ride again as open source Apache project Previous Story: Idiocy: EPA rates 2011 Nissan Leaf ‘gas mileage’ at 99 MPG
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
It's funny how an athlete seems to do his job to the best of his ability when there are question marks surrounding his future payment. Although, you can't really blame them because we are all guilty of doing it.
If you were given four years of guaranteed money, would you find yourself working harder than you did the previous year to get that money, or just enough to not get fired?
I bet during that fourth year, right before your evaluation, your work would suddenly bumped up on your priority list.
The point being, we aren't judging athletes for suddenly "breaking out" when money is involved, but simply informing them that we notice.
We notice in the way we draft them in fantasy sports or how we judge how much our favorite team should pay them, but for some reason there is always some franchise out there who seems to ignore the trend and signs an inconsistent player to a long-term deal based only on the previous season.
Adrian Beltre will be that player this season. No one epitomizes the contract year player like him.
Organizations need to use a player's history as a resume rather than solely looking at just the previous season before handing them over a huge contract.
If not, you end up with a Milton Bradley scenario in Chicago, basing an entire contract on one season instead of saying to yourself, "If I give a crazy, injury-prone athlete more money, I wonder what he'll do?"
bench craft company reviews
Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bonanza
On this day after Thanksgiving, we thought we'd create a feast of small business resources ourselves. Please dig in and enjoy every tasty morsel. This bonanza.
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bench craft company reviews
Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bonanza
On this day after Thanksgiving, we thought we'd create a feast of small business resources ourselves. Please dig in and enjoy every tasty morsel. This bonanza.
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The new BFFs show off their curves while celebrating Thanksgiving abroad.
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Here is a look at real-estate news in today's WSJ:
bench craft company reviews
News broke late yesterday that Lance Tokuda is stepping down from his role as chief executive of social game- and app-maker RockYou. Coming barely more than a month after the company announced substantial layoffs, we started wondering where RockYou is headed. So I got on the phone with chief operating officer Lisa Marino to find out.
Marino emphasized that both Tokuda’s decision (he will remain at RockYou working on “innovation and strategic initiatives”) and the layoffs were part of a larger reorganization at RockYou as it focuses on social games. The company was already making games, such as Zoo World, but Marino said it was doing too many other things — if you asked people in the industry what RockYou did, you’d get “a mixed bag of answers.”
So RockYou laid off part of its workforce (it never said how much), hired new employees with what Marino called “the right DNA to build the good games” (such as former EA executive Jonathan Knight), and in the last month alone, it shut down more than 50 applications. RockYou has become “a really different place,” Marino said.
And we’ll see the fruits of this new focus in the next few months, she added, as RockYou unveils new products that will make it “very relevant” in the social games industry.
When I asked how RockYou hopes to stand out against giants like Zynga, Marino said the company isn’t just a game-maker. Yes, it’s focused on making games, but it’s also “a social entertainment company”. There’s a media and advertising side to RockYou’s business, which it uses to make money from its own games (so it’s not just tied to virtual goods) and to help other developers do the same.
“This was an aggressive move and a proactive move,” Marino said. “We’ve got a lot of money in the bank.”
Revenue is still strong, she added, with RockYou set to make more money in the fourth quarter of 2010 than it did in Q3 or Q2 (but not as much as Q1).
RockYou has raised $127 million in funding, so if its investors (including Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners) want to see a healthy return, they’ll need a bigger exit than rival Slide’s $228 million acquisition by Google.
Tokuda’s departure from the CEO role fit into that restructuring, Marino said, and it also came from his realization that as the company grows, it will need a “been here, done that” CEO with more experience growing organizations. For now, Marino and the rest of the current executive team are managing RockYou while the company searches for a replacement.
“Because the management team is doing well, we have the luxury of being patient to find the right candidate,” she said.
[Photo of Lance Tokuda at the Facebook Developer Garage via Flickr/Niall Kennedy]
Next Story: Google Wave to ride again as open source Apache project Previous Story: Idiocy: EPA rates 2011 Nissan Leaf ‘gas mileage’ at 99 MPG
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
It's funny how an athlete seems to do his job to the best of his ability when there are question marks surrounding his future payment. Although, you can't really blame them because we are all guilty of doing it.
If you were given four years of guaranteed money, would you find yourself working harder than you did the previous year to get that money, or just enough to not get fired?
I bet during that fourth year, right before your evaluation, your work would suddenly bumped up on your priority list.
The point being, we aren't judging athletes for suddenly "breaking out" when money is involved, but simply informing them that we notice.
We notice in the way we draft them in fantasy sports or how we judge how much our favorite team should pay them, but for some reason there is always some franchise out there who seems to ignore the trend and signs an inconsistent player to a long-term deal based only on the previous season.
Adrian Beltre will be that player this season. No one epitomizes the contract year player like him.
Organizations need to use a player's history as a resume rather than solely looking at just the previous season before handing them over a huge contract.
If not, you end up with a Milton Bradley scenario in Chicago, basing an entire contract on one season instead of saying to yourself, "If I give a crazy, injury-prone athlete more money, I wonder what he'll do?"
bench craft company reviews
Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bonanza
On this day after Thanksgiving, we thought we'd create a feast of small business resources ourselves. Please dig in and enjoy every tasty morsel. This bonanza.
<b>News</b> - Jennifer Aniston, Chelsea Handler Flaunt Bikini Bods in <b>...</b>
The new BFFs show off their curves while celebrating Thanksgiving abroad.
Real Estate <b>News</b>: Home Mortgage Rates Stabilize - Developments - WSJ
Here is a look at real-estate news in today's WSJ:
bench craft company reviews
Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bonanza
On this day after Thanksgiving, we thought we'd create a feast of small business resources ourselves. Please dig in and enjoy every tasty morsel. This bonanza.
<b>News</b> - Jennifer Aniston, Chelsea Handler Flaunt Bikini Bods in <b>...</b>
The new BFFs show off their curves while celebrating Thanksgiving abroad.
Real Estate <b>News</b>: Home Mortgage Rates Stabilize - Developments - WSJ
Here is a look at real-estate news in today's WSJ:
bench craft company reviews
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