williamsjoan

[williamsjoan]

Report: Amazon to double down on gaming with a new streaming service

Earlier this week, when Razer announced that it would integrate Amazon’s Alexa into its gaming platform, I wondered if this was a strong signal of how Amazon may be starting to lay the groundwork for its own strategy to do more in gaming. By coincidence, today The Information reports just that: Amazon is now developing its own streamed gaming service, according to its sources. It’s already talking with publishers to stream their titles on the platform, and it aims to launch it next year.

A streamed gaming service from Amazon not only would complement what Amazon is already offering in streamed media — which today includes video, music, photo storage and more — but it will put Amazon squarely in competition with those that are working on, or have already launched, their own streamed gaming efforts. Players include Sony’s PlayStation Now, Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, and Electronic Arts.

To be clear, Amazon already offers streamed gaming in a limited format. Prime subscribers get access to “Twitch Prime,” which provides users with free games every month, along with selected free in-game perks. This is separate to Twitch’s mainstay product, a video streaming service that works alongside other games creating a social network of sorts, where users watch each other playing and commenting on playing games.

When Amazon acquired Twitch in 2014, many wondered if that would lead to it launching a bigger gaming service. That possibility was bolstered when Amazon acquired UK cloud gaming backend specialist GameSparks (in 2017 as we first reported, although only confirmed by Amazon in 2018). GameSparks’ technology has already been deployed in Amazon’s AWS service — which has a dedicated business targeting games publishers providing everything they need, from gaming technologies to server space, analytics, backend services and more.

That is also strong sign of how Amazon has quickly integrated the tech into its infrastructure already, and already has all the tools it needs to build a consumer service of its own.

So it has definitely taken a while, but perhaps Amazon’s own, bigger, direct-to-consumer gaming effort is what’s finally taking shape.

The idea is that Amazon’s gaming service would go head-to-head not only with console-based gaming platforms, but also a number of other big players that are tapping into the boom we’ve seen in streamed media services. Consumers now have faster, more reliable and cheaper broadband connections and are using them to replace legacy hardware and services in areas like music, television and more.

For those who are selling services in those other areas — and Amazon is one of them, by way of its Prime-fuelled Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video and its Fire TV service — providing a gaming platform not only could make the overall service more “sticky” but could attract new consumer Prime subscribers who might come specifically for the games.

But those are not the only weapons Amazon has in its artillery. As we noted this week, we’ve seen very little application of Amazon’s AI muscle — all the voice services that have completely excited consumers, and its work in augmented reality — in media services beyond the Echo devices.

In gaming, we are starting to see small moves there — such as Razer’s integration of Alexa voice commands to control its game console — but there are ways that you could imagine that technology being incorporated into actual gameplay, which could help set Amazon apart from the very big field of competition.

There are some juicy tid-bits in the Information story around the bigger news that Amazon is eyeing up a streamed gaming service that point to some of the challenges it might be facing.

It notes that Jason Kilar, the executive who used to lead Hulu, at one point was being tapped to join Amazon — where he had worked in the past — to lead the new gaming effort. That never came to pass, however — perhaps one reason why a gaming platform has been such a long time in coming.

Another issue is getting games publishers on board to a service. For many, their bread and butter comes from the sale of games that are played on consoles — usually games that are specific to one particular proprietary console — so a service that is constructed Netflix- or Amazon Prime-style, where a consumer pays a single monthly fee to access whatever content they want, when she or he wants it, could eat into those margins.

That lament is very familiar: it’s the same one from the film and music industries, whose physical sales have been massively impacted by streamed services. In those cases, we’ve seen studios and labels gradually come around by way of licensing deals and simple market forces, so it will be interesting to see if that plays out the same here.

(Also worth considering Amazon’s existing structure for Prime Video: some films are free, including the growing selection of Amazon-produced content, but there are many shows and films that you can only watch if you pay a separate fee.)

We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment for this story and will update as we learn more.

Report: Amazon to double down on gaming with a new streaming service published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

EE teases new Samsung Galaxy, promises "something big is coming"

British carrier EE is teasing "Something BIG" on its coming soon page - a Samsung Galaxy. It doesn't say which one, but there are only two things it could be. The foldable Samsung Galaxy F was rumored to be exclusive to EE and with a 7.3" screen (when unfolded), it's certainly big. The phone was allegedly shown off at CES behind closed doors. Samsung wants to start selling it during the first half of this year. The other option is the Galaxy S10. The core trio will have screens ranging from 5.8" to 6.4", then there's the 5G model. EE already has dibs on OnePlus' 5G phone, so the...

EE teases new Samsung Galaxy, promises "something big is coming" published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Mayfield, among the oldest venture firms, gets a new partner as it celebrates 50 years in the business

Venture firms can come and go, as anyone who lived through the boom and bust of the late ’90s internet bubble can attest. Some firms have staying power, however, and among these is Mayfield, founded 50 years ago, just ahead of Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital (both founded 47 years ago) and Menlo Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, which celebrate their 43rd and 42nd birthdays this year, respectively.

Indeed, to ensure it continues to stick around, Mayfield decided it was time to strengthen its bench as it sailed into 2019, and its newest partner toward that end is Patrick Sayler, most recently the CEO of Gigya, a Mayfield-backed company where Sayler started as a VP and who, on his 30th birthday, three years into his tenure with the company, was asked by its board to take over as CEO.

Given that SAP spent $350 million in 2017 to acquire Gigya —  it helped online properties manage customer identities and profiles and raised roughly $100 million from investors) — that decision seems to have panned out. We had a quick exchange with Sayler earlier this week about the experience, as well as asked what he’ll be focused on now as a first-time VC.

TC: Why were you asked to take over Gigya three years into career with the company, and what was that transition like?

PS: I had been one of the first employees and had established myself as a business leader on the team.  We were going through a pivot from an advertising focused business to a SaaS enterprise business, and the previous CEO had stepped down for personal reasons. This was an incredible opportunity but a trying one as a first-time CEO, as I was suddenly in charge of people that used to be my peers or even senior to me.

TC: Any interesting details you can share about how that acquisition by SAP came together a year and a half ago?

PS: We also found ourselves working together on a long list of shared customers. As time went on, we both realized that what we could accomplish together outweighed what we could do apart.

TC:  When did you start talking with Mayfield about joining as a partner, and have you ever invested before as an angel investor?

PS: I’ve been 100 percent focused on running a startup for the past seven years. This next  career move is as much about the opportunity to work with the team at Mayfield as it is about joining venture. Along my journey, I realized how lonely the founder-CEO role can be. I couldn’t have imagined navigating this without great people surrounding me and in particular, the investors at Mayfield, so when Navin [Chadda], Mayfield’s managing director and one of my previous board members, brought up the idea of joining Mayfield, I was super excited about the opportunity to take my own learnings and serve other entrepreneurs in the same way.

TC: Will your focus be on cyber security? What’s your mandate at Mayfield?

PS: I’m going to focus on B2B companies, primarily in the applications versus the infrastructure space, given my experience over the last decade.

Beyond that, I want to keep an open mind and follow great entrepreneurs who want to grow into world-class CEOs.  There are many interesting areas of focus I’ll look forward to digging into. For example, I’m very intrigued on the impact of privacy, including regulation like GDPR and changing consumer sentiment, and how that creates opportunities within B2B.

TC: How many deals will you be expected to lead each year?

PS:  The firm makes 8 to 10 investments a year, but there’s no target or quota for each partner.

TC: How will your own experience as a CEO of a venture-backed company influence how you talk with founders?

PS: It starts with empathy.  Running a startup is the hardest job in the world. My own experience was anything but a straight line, requiring multiple product pivots, go-to-market changes, management team rebuilds, and tough fundraises.  This can be the case even during the ‘ups,’ where you know something bad can happen around the corner, but it especially can happen during down periods, when you think it’s all your fault. I am hoping to encourage CEOs to take the long view.

I also learned so much from being part of a CEO coaching group — both through guidance from the leader and from my peers — and I plan to share that playbook with other CEOs.

Finally, I had the opportunity to get a deep understanding of achieving product market fit and go-to-market approaches, as Gigya went through multiple pivots; I hope to draw from those experiences.

TC: What did you learn as the CEO of a venture-backed company that you want to avoid doing as a VC?

PS:  I’m fortunate to have a wealth of operating experience as a startup CEO to draw upon, but I also need to realize that every business and market is different.  It’ll be important to keep a beginner’s mind as I meet with entrepreneurs.

Mayfield, among the oldest venture firms, gets a new partner as it celebrates 50 years in the business published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Tencent picks up 36% ownership of Warhammer: Vermintide 2 dev Fatshark

Reports from the Swedish website DI Digital say that the deal sets Tencent back around $56 million in exchange for a 36 percent stake, making the Chinese company a minority owner in Fatshark. ...

Tencent picks up 36% ownership of Warhammer: Vermintide 2 dev Fatshark published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Mortal Kombat 11’s Cover Art Has Arrived and as Usual, it Features Scorpion

The official reveal event for Mortal Kombat 11 is finally set to go down next week but ahead of that time, director Ed Boon has given us something to help satiate that wait.

Over on Twitter today, Boon formally revealed what will be the cover art for Mortal Kombat 11. The art features the franchise’s most-notable character Scorpion wielding a Kunai in one hand with his other outstretched. The background of the image is entirely yellow to reflect Scorpion’s attire. We can also see the klassic Mortal Kombat dragon logo behind Scorpion’s model.  You can see the full image in Boon’s tweet attached at the bottom of the page.

In short, this art is pretty freaking awesome. It’s simplistic to be certain, but it doesn’t need to be anything more komplex than it is. While we still haven’t seen actual gameplay footage from MK11 just yet, all of the visuals continue to be quite enticing.

If you didn’t already know, we’ll also be attending the Mortal Kombat 11 reveal event next week and should be able to go hands-on with the game. If there are any lingering questions that you have about MK11, be sure to let us know down in the komments and we’ll be sure to try and get you some answers.

Mortal Kombat 11 is slated to land later this spring on April 23 and will be arriving on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Kurrently, you can pre-order the game over on Amazon if you’re interested.

Happy to share with everyone the official cover art for Mortal Kombat 11 here!! pic.twitter.com/rltjktR3ZH

— Ed Boon (@noobde) January 10, 2019

The post Mortal Kombat 11’s Cover Art Has Arrived and as Usual, it Features Scorpion by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.

Mortal Kombat 11’s Cover Art Has Arrived and as Usual, it Features Scorpion published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

How to get your money’s worth from your startup lawyer

You will never know as much as your lawyers do about the legal services they provide to you. It is a classic asymmetry of information, where the party that knows less gets the worse deal. In this case, that is you, the startup founder.

As an attorney and a co-founder of a venture-backed startup that made it over the finish line, I have been on both sides of the table. Through that experience, I’ve adopted an approach for managing legal spend which you can use to help ensure that you get the most from the money you put toward legal fees.

Have you had a great experience with a startup lawyer? Tell us in this brief survey.

Overview of Common Fee Structures

There are really only three legal fee structures: flat, hourly and contingency. In addition to these, attorneys may charge differently for consultations (free vs. paid), may or may not require a retainer to be paid before starting work, and perhaps will entertain certain forms of deferred compensation, such as delayed payment or equity in lieu of cash (though most will not, knowing that odds are well stacked against your startup).

Flat fees. Always good for self-contained, relatively routine legal tasks, such as business formation and subsequent stock issuance, standard IP assignments, employee handbooks, employee compensation plans, trademarks, etc. In the ideal case, you are paying your lawyer to do something they have done a hundred times before, with only minor tweaks along the way – it is predictable work that comes at a predictable price. Recent changes to the California Rules of Professional Conduct (effective 11/1/2018) have provided further guidance to lawyers and clients concerning flat fee structures, making them relatively more transparent in theory, if not in practice.

The key question for flat fees, of course, is how much should your particular matter cost? The most accurate answer here, unsurprisingly, is that “it depends” – on the experience of the attorney, on the particular legal task at hand, on your unique business circumstances, etc. While the typical business incorporation might be $2,000 all-in, a seed financing (assuming common forms are used) could be anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000).

What are the exact flat fees you should pay? We’ll have more on that soon.

Hourly fees. This is the preferred method of billing for most attorneys, not necessarily because it results in more total fees, but because the lawyer has at least some assurance she will not end up working “for free” when the client inevitably has additional questions, makes unexpected changes, or requires counsel on ancillary topics. The particular hourly rate you pay depends primarily on the experience of the attorney, usually measured in years (the absolute minimum I would suggest you consider is three years), with most solo practitioners charging somewhere between $175 to $300 per hour, boutique firms charging between $300 and $500 per hour, and large firms charging anywhere between $400 (junior associates) to $950 (experienced partners) per hour — though everything in Manhattan is more expensive.

Contingency fees. While conceptually intriguing to some, contingency fees (usually 30 percent to 40 percent of the amount potentially awarded in a given legal matter, hence the contingency) are not typically relevant for early-stage startups where the goal is generally to avoid litigation. For that reason, I will focus mostly on flat versus hourly fees.

Finally, when it comes to retainer fees, it is helpful to know that lawyers must follow strict trust accounting practices (see Rules of Professional Conduct 4-100; and also Rule 4-200 for attorney fees in general). You can even reference these rules if you ever find yourself in a fee dispute. Remember, too, that government administrative or filing fees (e.g. the cost of filing for a trademark) are always distinct from the fees paid to compensate your lawyer and therefore should be itemized separately on any billing statement you receive.

How to Keep the Fees Down

Given that background, there are a number of things you can do to help keep your lawyer fees in check:

1. Hire lawyers who have experience with the particular task you are asking them to perform. Most lawyers have a specialty of some sort (however broadly defined) in which they are most adept and therefore efficient. The last thing you want to do is pay a lawyer to educate themselves in a new practice area. Lawyers will generally list their core practice areas on their website, and it is in these areas they are most likely to be proficient. It would be a mistake in my opinion to hire a lawyer to do any work outside the explicitly enumerated practice areas shown on their website. If you are considering hiring a true business generalist, then at least try to get a sense for the practice areas in which he or she most often provides counsel and be sure there is significant overlap with your needs, including experience working with startups specifically; also, consider ratcheting up the required minimum level of experience to at least 7-10 years.

2. Educate yourself and then let your lawyer know you understand the basics. Today there are numerous high-quality, free templates and other resources available for the most common legal tasks facing startups (see links below). If you need new Terms of Service, for example, carefully read one of the many templates available, insert comments where you see fit, and pass on this marvelous example of intellectual aspiration to your attorney for final drafting. This will let the attorney know you have a basic understanding of what the assignment entails and at the very least reduce perceived asymmetries of information, improving your relative bargaining position.

a. Startup documents: Docracy, Upcounsel, Cooley Go. b. Financing documents – Y Combinator, NVCA, SeriesSeed.

3. Ask to be notified when a certain dollar amount has been billed, or to receive an informal billing update at the end of each week (even if the billing is not strictly itemized). When subject to hourly billing, it is always a good idea to stay informed of where exactly you stand. While providing detailed off-cycle billing can be a burden for lawyers, providing an informal billing update to a client generally is not and most attorneys will oblige. Also, it never hurts to ask your lawyer for time/cost estimates before starting an assignment — here again you can request the attorney notify you when they surpass their estimate; if only subconsciously, you have anchored the amount the attorney believes is appropriate to bill on the matter, which can provide you leverage on future assignments if they ultimately exceed that amount.

4. Ask for an “emerging company” discount. Most lawyers who work with startups are willing to provide discounts to smaller companies: in the case of large firms, to attract the most well-funded startups; and in the case of smaller firms or solo practitioners, to better serve their primary client type — small, undercapitalized enterprises. Remember, too, most solo practitioners are themselves entrepreneurs who have taken the risk of launching their own businesses (albeit a law firm) so they can be surprisingly sympathetic to other founders in the same situation.

5. Consider deferred fee structures. Deferred fee structures generally involve payment in something other than cash, or payment at a time in the future; there are two primary types: (a) payment of fees delayed until close of pending investment; and (b) equity (or other consideration) offered in lieu of cash. I once heard of an attorney who accepted a vintage Martin acoustic guitar as full payment for fees in the high four-figure range. Although I would very carefully consider any deferred fee structures — because they can create a misalignment of incentives (or worse, an outright conflict of interest) — they can in certain situations be a workable choice for cash-strapped startups and risk-tolerant attorneys.

6. Get clarity on costs, expenses, billing rates for administrative assistants, paralegals, etc. One advantage to working with firms who staff assistants, paralegals, junior and senior associates — all of whom support the partners of a firm — is that billable rates generally range from lowest to highest, respectively. Whenever possible, you can request that paralegals and junior associates do the most routine (yet time-consuming) work, leaving critical negotiations to the partners and high-level drafting to senior associates. Finally, make sure you understand in advance what costs and expenses the firm will pass on to you (e.g. photocopying, postage, couriers, travel) and whenever possible, ask if these costs can be waived or reduced.

Follow these tips from the outset and with some experience, you can be sure that you will efficiently allocate resources against your legal service needs.

On that note, have you already had a great experience with a startup lawyer? TechCrunch is looking for the ones founders love to work with the most. Fill out this quick survey to tell us about your experiences and we’ll share the results with you.

Daniel T. McKenzie, Esq., manages the Law Offices of Daniel McKenzie, specializing in the representation of startups and startup founders. Prior to establishing his law offices, Daniel McKenzie co-founded and served as lead in-house counsel for Reelio, Inc., backed by eVentures, and acquired in 2018 by Fullscreen (a subsidiary Otter Media and AT&T).

DISCLAIMER: This post discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. TechCrunch, the author and the author’s firm expressly disclaim all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post.

How to get your money’s worth from your startup lawyer published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Red Dead Online is Today Adding Its Own Battle Royale Game Mode Called Gun Rush

Rockstar Games is today pushing out a new update for Red Dead Online, the multiplayer component of Red Dead Redemption 2, and with it will come an entirely new game mode that’s basically just a variant of the hyper-popular battle royale genre.

Gun Rush, a 32-player mode, will focus on survival and outlasting your fellow cowboy to become the last man standing. According to Rockstar, Gun Rush will require you to gather guns and ammo while the play area around you will slowly begin to close in. This new game mode will be available for both solo and team variants of play.

We had heard some rumors back in November that Rockstar would look to add a battle royale game mode to Red Dead Online at some point and it seems like those rumors were spot-on. Of course, with the popularity of the genre nowadays mixed with the pull that Red Dead Redemption 2 has had since releasing last October, this shouldn’t be that shocking of a revelation.

While this is the only major new component of today’s update to Red Dead Online, Rockstar promises that more improvements and additions are in the pipeline. Here is what they outlined would be coming to the game in the near future:

Daily Challenges: Tackle new challenges each day covering every aspect of the game, from sharpshooting to evading the law.

Law and Bounty Upgrades: Some changes are coming to the way the Law and Bounty systems work in Red Dead Online to reduce the enticements for griefing. Soon, players will get a bounty for committing crimes and will be incentivized to pay them off within an allotted time. Wait too long and bounty hunters from each of the states will track the player forcing them to either pay up or escape.

Parley Changes: We’re making the Parley system easier to trigger so that you can avoid aggressive players more quickly. In addition, it will be easier to trigger Feuds, Posse Feuds and Leader Feuds to take on attacking players instructured competition.

Proximity-Based Player Blips: Player location blips will soon appear only over short distances, reducing the range at which you are visible to others, decreasing the likelihood of being targeted by another player across large areas. Down the line, we’re also looking to introduce the ability to identify players who grief and kill indiscriminately with a progressively darkening blip that becomes more visible and at a longer range, so everyone in a session can identify potentially dangerous opponents at a glance and from a safe distance.

Furthermore, Rockstar teased that as the year progresses they’ll look to add new Dynamic Events, Showdown Modes, Races, weapons, and story missions to Red Dead Online. Lastly, it was said that Rockstar plans for Red Dead Online to continue being in this beta form for at least a few more months, as they continue to work on stabilizing the experience for all players.

Red Dead Online is available now as a part of Red Dead Redemption 2 for both PS4 and Xbox One. Gun Rush should be making its way to the game later today if it hasn’t been pushed out already.

The post Red Dead Online is Today Adding Its Own Battle Royale Game Mode Called Gun Rush by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.

Red Dead Online is Today Adding Its Own Battle Royale Game Mode Called Gun Rush published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

EE teases new Samsung Galaxy, promises "something big is coming"

British carrier EE is teasing "Something BIG" on its coming soon page - a Samsung Galaxy. It doesn't say which one, but there are only two things it could be. The foldable Samsung Galaxy F was rumored to be exclusive to EE and with a 7.3" screen (when unfolded), it's certainly big. The phone was allegedly shown off at CES behind closed doors. Samsung wants to start selling it during the first half of this year. The other option is the Galaxy S10. The core trio will have screens ranging from 5.8" to 6.4", then there's the 5G model. EE already has dibs on OnePlus' 5G phone, so the...

EE teases new Samsung Galaxy, promises "something big is coming" published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Mayfield, among the oldest venture firms, gets a new partner as it celebrates 50 years in the business

Venture firms can come and go, as anyone who lived through the boom and bust of the late ’90s internet bubble can attest. Some firms have staying power, however, and among these is Mayfield, founded 50 years ago, just ahead of Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital (both founded 47 years ago) and Menlo Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, which celebrate their 43rd and 42nd birthdays this year, respectively.

Indeed, to ensure it continues to stick around, Mayfield decided it was time to strengthen its bench as it sailed into 2019, and its newest partner toward that end is Patrick Sayler, most recently the CEO of Gigya, a Mayfield-backed company where Sayler started as a VP and who, on his 30th birthday, three years into his tenure with the company, was asked by its board to take over as CEO.

Given that SAP spent $350 million in 2017 to acquire Gigya —  it helped online properties manage customer identities and profiles and raised roughly $100 million from investors) — that decision seems to have panned out. We had a quick exchange with Sayler earlier this week about the experience, as well as asked what he’ll be focused on now as a first-time VC.

TC: Why were you asked to take over Gigya three years into career with the company, and what was that transition like?

PS: I had been one of the first employees and had established myself as a business leader on the team.  We were going through a pivot from an advertising focused business to a SaaS enterprise business, and the previous CEO had stepped down for personal reasons. This was an incredible opportunity but a trying one as a first-time CEO, as I was suddenly in charge of people that used to be my peers or even senior to me.

TC: Any interesting details you can share about how that acquisition by SAP came together a year and a half ago?

PS: We also found ourselves working together on a long list of shared customers. As time went on, we both realized that what we could accomplish together outweighed what we could do apart.

TC:  When did you start talking with Mayfield about joining as a partner, and have you ever invested before as an angel investor?

PS: I’ve been 100 percent focused on running a startup for the past seven years. This next  career move is as much about the opportunity to work with the team at Mayfield as it is about joining venture. Along my journey, I realized how lonely the founder-CEO role can be. I couldn’t have imagined navigating this without great people surrounding me and in particular, the investors at Mayfield, so when Navin [Chadda], Mayfield’s managing director and one of my previous board members, brought up the idea of joining Mayfield, I was super excited about the opportunity to take my own learnings and serve other entrepreneurs in the same way.

TC: Will your focus be on cyber security? What’s your mandate at Mayfield?

PS: I’m going to focus on B2B companies, primarily in the applications versus the infrastructure space, given my experience over the last decade.

Beyond that, I want to keep an open mind and follow great entrepreneurs who want to grow into world-class CEOs.  There are many interesting areas of focus I’ll look forward to digging into. For example, I’m very intrigued on the impact of privacy, including regulation like GDPR and changing consumer sentiment, and how that creates opportunities within B2B.

TC: How many deals will you be expected to lead each year?

PS:  The firm makes 8 to 10 investments a year, but there’s no target or quota for each partner.

TC: How will your own experience as a CEO of a venture-backed company influence how you talk with founders?

PS: It starts with empathy.  Running a startup is the hardest job in the world. My own experience was anything but a straight line, requiring multiple product pivots, go-to-market changes, management team rebuilds, and tough fundraises.  This can be the case even during the ‘ups,’ where you know something bad can happen around the corner, but it especially can happen during down periods, when you think it’s all your fault. I am hoping to encourage CEOs to take the long view.

I also learned so much from being part of a CEO coaching group — both through guidance from the leader and from my peers — and I plan to share that playbook with other CEOs.

Finally, I had the opportunity to get a deep understanding of achieving product market fit and go-to-market approaches, as Gigya went through multiple pivots; I hope to draw from those experiences.

TC: What did you learn as the CEO of a venture-backed company that you want to avoid doing as a VC?

PS:  I’m fortunate to have a wealth of operating experience as a startup CEO to draw upon, but I also need to realize that every business and market is different.  It’ll be important to keep a beginner’s mind as I meet with entrepreneurs.

Mayfield, among the oldest venture firms, gets a new partner as it celebrates 50 years in the business published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Tencent picks up 36% ownership of Warhammer: Vermintide 2 dev Fatshark

Reports from the Swedish website DI Digital say that the deal sets Tencent back around $56 million in exchange for a 36 percent stake, making the Chinese company a minority owner in Fatshark. ...

Tencent picks up 36% ownership of Warhammer: Vermintide 2 dev Fatshark published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Mortal Kombat 11’s Cover Art Has Arrived and as Usual, it Features Scorpion

The official reveal event for Mortal Kombat 11 is finally set to go down next week but ahead of that time, director Ed Boon has given us something to help satiate that wait.

Over on Twitter today, Boon formally revealed what will be the cover art for Mortal Kombat 11. The art features the franchise’s most-notable character Scorpion wielding a Kunai in one hand with his other outstretched. The background of the image is entirely yellow to reflect Scorpion’s attire. We can also see the klassic Mortal Kombat dragon logo behind Scorpion’s model.  You can see the full image in Boon’s tweet attached at the bottom of the page.

In short, this art is pretty freaking awesome. It’s simplistic to be certain, but it doesn’t need to be anything more komplex than it is. While we still haven’t seen actual gameplay footage from MK11 just yet, all of the visuals continue to be quite enticing.

If you didn’t already know, we’ll also be attending the Mortal Kombat 11 reveal event next week and should be able to go hands-on with the game. If there are any lingering questions that you have about MK11, be sure to let us know down in the komments and we’ll be sure to try and get you some answers.

Mortal Kombat 11 is slated to land later this spring on April 23 and will be arriving on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Kurrently, you can pre-order the game over on Amazon if you’re interested.

Happy to share with everyone the official cover art for Mortal Kombat 11 here!! pic.twitter.com/rltjktR3ZH

— Ed Boon (@noobde) January 10, 2019

The post Mortal Kombat 11’s Cover Art Has Arrived and as Usual, it Features Scorpion by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.

Mortal Kombat 11’s Cover Art Has Arrived and as Usual, it Features Scorpion published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

How to get your money’s worth from your startup lawyer

You will never know as much as your lawyers do about the legal services they provide to you. It is a classic asymmetry of information, where the party that knows less gets the worse deal. In this case, that is you, the startup founder.

As an attorney and a co-founder of a venture-backed startup that made it over the finish line, I have been on both sides of the table. Through that experience, I’ve adopted an approach for managing legal spend which you can use to help ensure that you get the most from the money you put toward legal fees.

Have you had a great experience with a startup lawyer? Tell us in this brief survey.

Overview of Common Fee Structures

There are really only three legal fee structures: flat, hourly and contingency. In addition to these, attorneys may charge differently for consultations (free vs. paid), may or may not require a retainer to be paid before starting work, and perhaps will entertain certain forms of deferred compensation, such as delayed payment or equity in lieu of cash (though most will not, knowing that odds are well stacked against your startup).

Flat fees. Always good for self-contained, relatively routine legal tasks, such as business formation and subsequent stock issuance, standard IP assignments, employee handbooks, employee compensation plans, trademarks, etc. In the ideal case, you are paying your lawyer to do something they have done a hundred times before, with only minor tweaks along the way – it is predictable work that comes at a predictable price. Recent changes to the California Rules of Professional Conduct (effective 11/1/2018) have provided further guidance to lawyers and clients concerning flat fee structures, making them relatively more transparent in theory, if not in practice.

The key question for flat fees, of course, is how much should your particular matter cost? The most accurate answer here, unsurprisingly, is that “it depends” – on the experience of the attorney, on the particular legal task at hand, on your unique business circumstances, etc. While the typical business incorporation might be $2,000 all-in, a seed financing (assuming common forms are used) could be anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000).

What are the exact flat fees you should pay? We’ll have more on that soon.

Hourly fees. This is the preferred method of billing for most attorneys, not necessarily because it results in more total fees, but because the lawyer has at least some assurance she will not end up working “for free” when the client inevitably has additional questions, makes unexpected changes, or requires counsel on ancillary topics. The particular hourly rate you pay depends primarily on the experience of the attorney, usually measured in years (the absolute minimum I would suggest you consider is three years), with most solo practitioners charging somewhere between $175 to $300 per hour, boutique firms charging between $300 and $500 per hour, and large firms charging anywhere between $400 (junior associates) to $950 (experienced partners) per hour — though everything in Manhattan is more expensive.

Contingency fees. While conceptually intriguing to some, contingency fees (usually 30 percent to 40 percent of the amount potentially awarded in a given legal matter, hence the contingency) are not typically relevant for early-stage startups where the goal is generally to avoid litigation. For that reason, I will focus mostly on flat versus hourly fees.

Finally, when it comes to retainer fees, it is helpful to know that lawyers must follow strict trust accounting practices (see Rules of Professional Conduct 4-100; and also Rule 4-200 for attorney fees in general). You can even reference these rules if you ever find yourself in a fee dispute. Remember, too, that government administrative or filing fees (e.g. the cost of filing for a trademark) are always distinct from the fees paid to compensate your lawyer and therefore should be itemized separately on any billing statement you receive.

How to Keep the Fees Down

Given that background, there are a number of things you can do to help keep your lawyer fees in check:

1. Hire lawyers who have experience with the particular task you are asking them to perform. Most lawyers have a specialty of some sort (however broadly defined) in which they are most adept and therefore efficient. The last thing you want to do is pay a lawyer to educate themselves in a new practice area. Lawyers will generally list their core practice areas on their website, and it is in these areas they are most likely to be proficient. It would be a mistake in my opinion to hire a lawyer to do any work outside the explicitly enumerated practice areas shown on their website. If you are considering hiring a true business generalist, then at least try to get a sense for the practice areas in which he or she most often provides counsel and be sure there is significant overlap with your needs, including experience working with startups specifically; also, consider ratcheting up the required minimum level of experience to at least 7-10 years.

2. Educate yourself and then let your lawyer know you understand the basics. Today there are numerous high-quality, free templates and other resources available for the most common legal tasks facing startups (see links below). If you need new Terms of Service, for example, carefully read one of the many templates available, insert comments where you see fit, and pass on this marvelous example of intellectual aspiration to your attorney for final drafting. This will let the attorney know you have a basic understanding of what the assignment entails and at the very least reduce perceived asymmetries of information, improving your relative bargaining position.

a. Startup documents: Docracy, Upcounsel, Cooley Go. b. Financing documents – Y Combinator, NVCA, SeriesSeed.

3. Ask to be notified when a certain dollar amount has been billed, or to receive an informal billing update at the end of each week (even if the billing is not strictly itemized). When subject to hourly billing, it is always a good idea to stay informed of where exactly you stand. While providing detailed off-cycle billing can be a burden for lawyers, providing an informal billing update to a client generally is not and most attorneys will oblige. Also, it never hurts to ask your lawyer for time/cost estimates before starting an assignment — here again you can request the attorney notify you when they surpass their estimate; if only subconsciously, you have anchored the amount the attorney believes is appropriate to bill on the matter, which can provide you leverage on future assignments if they ultimately exceed that amount.

4. Ask for an “emerging company” discount. Most lawyers who work with startups are willing to provide discounts to smaller companies: in the case of large firms, to attract the most well-funded startups; and in the case of smaller firms or solo practitioners, to better serve their primary client type — small, undercapitalized enterprises. Remember, too, most solo practitioners are themselves entrepreneurs who have taken the risk of launching their own businesses (albeit a law firm) so they can be surprisingly sympathetic to other founders in the same situation.

5. Consider deferred fee structures. Deferred fee structures generally involve payment in something other than cash, or payment at a time in the future; there are two primary types: (a) payment of fees delayed until close of pending investment; and (b) equity (or other consideration) offered in lieu of cash. I once heard of an attorney who accepted a vintage Martin acoustic guitar as full payment for fees in the high four-figure range. Although I would very carefully consider any deferred fee structures — because they can create a misalignment of incentives (or worse, an outright conflict of interest) — they can in certain situations be a workable choice for cash-strapped startups and risk-tolerant attorneys.

6. Get clarity on costs, expenses, billing rates for administrative assistants, paralegals, etc. One advantage to working with firms who staff assistants, paralegals, junior and senior associates — all of whom support the partners of a firm — is that billable rates generally range from lowest to highest, respectively. Whenever possible, you can request that paralegals and junior associates do the most routine (yet time-consuming) work, leaving critical negotiations to the partners and high-level drafting to senior associates. Finally, make sure you understand in advance what costs and expenses the firm will pass on to you (e.g. photocopying, postage, couriers, travel) and whenever possible, ask if these costs can be waived or reduced.

Follow these tips from the outset and with some experience, you can be sure that you will efficiently allocate resources against your legal service needs.

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Daniel T. McKenzie, Esq., manages the Law Offices of Daniel McKenzie, specializing in the representation of startups and startup founders. Prior to establishing his law offices, Daniel McKenzie co-founded and served as lead in-house counsel for Reelio, Inc., backed by eVentures, and acquired in 2018 by Fullscreen (a subsidiary Otter Media and AT&T).

DISCLAIMER: This post discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. TechCrunch, the author and the author’s firm expressly disclaim all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post.

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Red Dead Online is Today Adding Its Own Battle Royale Game Mode Called Gun Rush

Rockstar Games is today pushing out a new update for Red Dead Online, the multiplayer component of Red Dead Redemption 2, and with it will come an entirely new game mode that’s basically just a variant of the hyper-popular battle royale genre.

Gun Rush, a 32-player mode, will focus on survival and outlasting your fellow cowboy to become the last man standing. According to Rockstar, Gun Rush will require you to gather guns and ammo while the play area around you will slowly begin to close in. This new game mode will be available for both solo and team variants of play.

We had heard some rumors back in November that Rockstar would look to add a battle royale game mode to Red Dead Online at some point and it seems like those rumors were spot-on. Of course, with the popularity of the genre nowadays mixed with the pull that Red Dead Redemption 2 has had since releasing last October, this shouldn’t be that shocking of a revelation.

While this is the only major new component of today’s update to Red Dead Online, Rockstar promises that more improvements and additions are in the pipeline. Here is what they outlined would be coming to the game in the near future:

Daily Challenges: Tackle new challenges each day covering every aspect of the game, from sharpshooting to evading the law.

Law and Bounty Upgrades: Some changes are coming to the way the Law and Bounty systems work in Red Dead Online to reduce the enticements for griefing. Soon, players will get a bounty for committing crimes and will be incentivized to pay them off within an allotted time. Wait too long and bounty hunters from each of the states will track the player forcing them to either pay up or escape.

Parley Changes: We’re making the Parley system easier to trigger so that you can avoid aggressive players more quickly. In addition, it will be easier to trigger Feuds, Posse Feuds and Leader Feuds to take on attacking players instructured competition.

Proximity-Based Player Blips: Player location blips will soon appear only over short distances, reducing the range at which you are visible to others, decreasing the likelihood of being targeted by another player across large areas. Down the line, we’re also looking to introduce the ability to identify players who grief and kill indiscriminately with a progressively darkening blip that becomes more visible and at a longer range, so everyone in a session can identify potentially dangerous opponents at a glance and from a safe distance.

Furthermore, Rockstar teased that as the year progresses they’ll look to add new Dynamic Events, Showdown Modes, Races, weapons, and story missions to Red Dead Online. Lastly, it was said that Rockstar plans for Red Dead Online to continue being in this beta form for at least a few more months, as they continue to work on stabilizing the experience for all players.

Red Dead Online is available now as a part of Red Dead Redemption 2 for both PS4 and Xbox One. Gun Rush should be making its way to the game later today if it hasn’t been pushed out already.

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EE teases new Samsung Galaxy, promises "something big is coming"

British carrier EE is teasing "Something BIG" on its coming soon page - a Samsung Galaxy. It doesn't say which one, but there are only two things it could be. The foldable Samsung Galaxy F was rumored to be exclusive to EE and with a 7.3" screen (when unfolded), it's certainly big. The phone was allegedly shown off at CES behind closed doors. Samsung wants to start selling it during the first half of this year. The other option is the Galaxy S10. The core trio will have screens ranging from 5.8" to 6.4", then there's the 5G model. EE already has dibs on OnePlus' 5G phone, so the...

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Mayfield, among the oldest venture firms, gets a new partner as it celebrates 50 years in the business

Venture firms can come and go, as anyone who lived through the boom and bust of the late ’90s internet bubble can attest. Some firms have staying power, however, and among these is Mayfield, founded 50 years ago, just ahead of Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital (both founded 47 years ago) and Menlo Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, which celebrate their 43rd and 42nd birthdays this year, respectively.

Indeed, to ensure it continues to stick around, Mayfield decided it was time to strengthen its bench as it sailed into 2019, and its newest partner toward that end is Patrick Sayler, most recently the CEO of Gigya, a Mayfield-backed company where Sayler started as a VP and who, on his 30th birthday, three years into his tenure with the company, was asked by its board to take over as CEO.

Given that SAP spent $350 million in 2017 to acquire Gigya —  it helped online properties manage customer identities and profiles and raised roughly $100 million from investors) — that decision seems to have panned out. We had a quick exchange with Sayler earlier this week about the experience, as well as asked what he’ll be focused on now as a first-time VC.

TC: Why were you asked to take over Gigya three years into career with the company, and what was that transition like?

PS: I had been one of the first employees and had established myself as a business leader on the team.  We were going through a pivot from an advertising focused business to a SaaS enterprise business, and the previous CEO had stepped down for personal reasons. This was an incredible opportunity but a trying one as a first-time CEO, as I was suddenly in charge of people that used to be my peers or even senior to me.

TC: Any interesting details you can share about how that acquisition by SAP came together a year and a half ago?

PS: We also found ourselves working together on a long list of shared customers. As time went on, we both realized that what we could accomplish together outweighed what we could do apart.

TC:  When did you start talking with Mayfield about joining as a partner, and have you ever invested before as an angel investor?

PS: I’ve been 100 percent focused on running a startup for the past seven years. This next  career move is as much about the opportunity to work with the team at Mayfield as it is about joining venture. Along my journey, I realized how lonely the founder-CEO role can be. I couldn’t have imagined navigating this without great people surrounding me and in particular, the investors at Mayfield, so when Navin [Chadda], Mayfield’s managing director and one of my previous board members, brought up the idea of joining Mayfield, I was super excited about the opportunity to take my own learnings and serve other entrepreneurs in the same way.

TC: Will your focus be on cyber security? What’s your mandate at Mayfield?

PS: I’m going to focus on B2B companies, primarily in the applications versus the infrastructure space, given my experience over the last decade.

Beyond that, I want to keep an open mind and follow great entrepreneurs who want to grow into world-class CEOs.  There are many interesting areas of focus I’ll look forward to digging into. For example, I’m very intrigued on the impact of privacy, including regulation like GDPR and changing consumer sentiment, and how that creates opportunities within B2B.

TC: How many deals will you be expected to lead each year?

PS:  The firm makes 8 to 10 investments a year, but there’s no target or quota for each partner.

TC: How will your own experience as a CEO of a venture-backed company influence how you talk with founders?

PS: It starts with empathy.  Running a startup is the hardest job in the world. My own experience was anything but a straight line, requiring multiple product pivots, go-to-market changes, management team rebuilds, and tough fundraises.  This can be the case even during the ‘ups,’ where you know something bad can happen around the corner, but it especially can happen during down periods, when you think it’s all your fault. I am hoping to encourage CEOs to take the long view.

I also learned so much from being part of a CEO coaching group — both through guidance from the leader and from my peers — and I plan to share that playbook with other CEOs.

Finally, I had the opportunity to get a deep understanding of achieving product market fit and go-to-market approaches, as Gigya went through multiple pivots; I hope to draw from those experiences.

TC: What did you learn as the CEO of a venture-backed company that you want to avoid doing as a VC?

PS:  I’m fortunate to have a wealth of operating experience as a startup CEO to draw upon, but I also need to realize that every business and market is different.  It’ll be important to keep a beginner’s mind as I meet with entrepreneurs.

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Tencent picks up 36% ownership of Warhammer: Vermintide 2 dev Fatshark

Reports from the Swedish website DI Digital say that the deal sets Tencent back around $56 million in exchange for a 36 percent stake, making the Chinese company a minority owner in Fatshark. ...

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Mortal Kombat 11’s Cover Art Has Arrived and as Usual, it Features Scorpion

The official reveal event for Mortal Kombat 11 is finally set to go down next week but ahead of that time, director Ed Boon has given us something to help satiate that wait.

Over on Twitter today, Boon formally revealed what will be the cover art for Mortal Kombat 11. The art features the franchise’s most-notable character Scorpion wielding a Kunai in one hand with his other outstretched. The background of the image is entirely yellow to reflect Scorpion’s attire. We can also see the klassic Mortal Kombat dragon logo behind Scorpion’s model.  You can see the full image in Boon’s tweet attached at the bottom of the page.

In short, this art is pretty freaking awesome. It’s simplistic to be certain, but it doesn’t need to be anything more komplex than it is. While we still haven’t seen actual gameplay footage from MK11 just yet, all of the visuals continue to be quite enticing.

If you didn’t already know, we’ll also be attending the Mortal Kombat 11 reveal event next week and should be able to go hands-on with the game. If there are any lingering questions that you have about MK11, be sure to let us know down in the komments and we’ll be sure to try and get you some answers.

Mortal Kombat 11 is slated to land later this spring on April 23 and will be arriving on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Kurrently, you can pre-order the game over on Amazon if you’re interested.

Happy to share with everyone the official cover art for Mortal Kombat 11 here!! pic.twitter.com/rltjktR3ZH

— Ed Boon (@noobde) January 10, 2019

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