In this episode of Speed, Matt Curtis joins host Keith Lucas to redefine what speed actually means: not raw execution velocity, but the time between a decision and the evidence that validates it. He shares the three habits behind it — clean data, cheap mistakes, and experience as a compression algorithm — and explains why small teams die of distraction while big ones die of dependencies.
Speed: Moving Fast Towards What Matters is a six-episode limited series featuring six startup founders and operators who exemplify personal speed and have wrestled with it organizationally — exploring the systematic principles of speed and the critical tactics that make it sustainable as you scale.
In this episode
00:00 – Welcome to Speed & introducing Matt Curtis
05:51 – Redefining speed: the time from decision to evidence
06:08 – Three levers for speed: clean data, cheap mistakes, and experience as a compression algorithm
10:25 – "Fail fast, fail often": removing ego from iteration
11:29 – Small teams vs. big teams: distraction vs. dependencies
13:52 – GREE's "slow is steady, steady is fast" and the limits of focus
15:51 – Vision + iteration: the one-two punch that built Roblox
19:31 – Splendid Games: how Roblox development has changed in 10 years
23:58 – Where AI fits into Splendid Games' workflow
26:13 – Is speed vs. quality really a trade-off?
29:27 – Quality as an accumulation of evidence, not perfectionism
31:51 – How Matt recovers: work hard, rest hard
The Guest: Matt Curtis
Matt Curtis has spent 15+ years at the intersection of games, platforms, and the communities that power them. Now he's getting back into his passion: building. He recently co-founded Splendid Games, a new game development studio focused on Roblox, which just wrapped its closed alpha, and he advises select companies navigating the creator economy and platform ecosystems. Previously, Matt spent six years as VP of Developer Relations at Roblox, and before that a decade at Zynga, GREE, and Kabam leading titles that collectively generated over $1B in revenue, including Words with Friends 2, CSR2 Racing, Zynga Poker, and The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth.
Connect with Matt:
- linkedin.com/in/matthewcurtisroblox
- https://www.splendidgames.gg/
The Host: Keith Lucas
Keith Lucas joined Roblox as employee #7 and later served as CPO and CTO, leading product, engineering, and operations as the company scaled. He went on to serve as COO of Instrumental and now advises leaders across AI, gaming, creator platforms, and enterprise technology. He is also the author of IMPACT and host of Speed.
Connect with Keith:
- linkedin.com/in/kvlucas
- https://keithvlucas.com/
Get the book: Impact — https://keithvlucas.com/impact/
Contact us: [email protected]
CREDITS
Produced by : Leah Barnum
Social Media: Julia Guagliardi - www.stillwaters-creative.com
Editor: Jon Keur - www.wayfarerecording.com
Content Designer: Natalie Leroux - www.studioeightyseven.com
Studio lighting/Setup - www.175productions.com
