Startup Secrets with Activision Co-Founder Howard Marks

Welcome back to another episode of Leveling Up hosted on Clubhouse! Today’s guest is Howard Marks, the legend behind Activision and Acclaim who has recently been pioneering crowdfunded investing with his company StartEngine. We are also lucky enough to have Alisa Jacobs from Queens Gaming Collective and Jin Yu from Vezt Inc joining us as mediators to this discussion. Howard tells the story of acquiring Activision and bringing it back from the dead, weighing in on some of the classic games it released under him and the strategies he used to keep it afloat to the point where it became a dominant voice in the industry. Our conversation with Howard gets into some of his key motivators, a big one being a passion for disruption, and how it fueled his previous work in gaming and current endeavors in the capital-raising space. We move onto StartEngine and Howard talks about leveraging the Jobs Act to merge crowdfunding and investing, his belief in funding companies and founders on the fringes, his goal to fund thousands of new businesses each month, and a whole lot more. We also open up the floor to a bunch of different people in the Clubhouse chat who ask brilliant questions all centered around building a successful startup, from how to land funding to defending yourself from the competition. Tune in today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [02:12] The story of acquiring Activision, moving to LA, and the innovations that followed.
• [12:53] Alisa Jacobs from Queens Gaming Collective introduces herself and her company.
• [14:48] Further details of Howard’s process of acquiring Activision.
• [17:10] Trouble Activision was in and Howard’s process of reinvigorating it.
• [21:36] Feeling things out, thinking in decades, and utilizing lawyers and bankruptcy.
• [23:48] What drives Howard and why he started StartEngine, and how it has evolved.
• [38:53] How StartEngine is innovating in the landscape of raising capital using crowdfunding.
• [44:02] The three core pillars of a successful crowdfund.
• [45:25] A brief description of how to utilize Clubhouse to connect with new friends.
• [48:29] Qualities Howard looks for in founders that make him want to fund them.
• [51:47] Howard’s belief in having an impossible mission and how he arrived at it.
• [53:59] The mission, values, stated goal, strategy hierarchy.
• [57:44] What industries Howard is most fascinated with.
• [59:12] Whether StartEngine invests in Latin American companies.
• [1:01:45] How to defend yourself against bigger competitors in your industry.
• [1:03:20] When to start raising capital and what investors look for in early-stage companies.
• [1:07:52] The importance of aligned KPIs and OKRs with your investors
• [1:10:25] How the conversation around equity crowdfunding has changed.
• [1:14:39] Hear how servicing companies would get funding from StartEngine.
• [1:17:04] Howard’s perspectives on startup opportunities in the cloud gaming sphere.
• [1:20:47] Creating a minimum viable product and balancing school with entrepreneurship.
• [1:23:45] Advice on getting the gaming and tech community to adopt your technology.
• [1:25:50] What is preventing StartEngine from funding thousands of companies per month.
• [1:27:52] The lack of purpose in pitches by passionate people on Clubhouse.
• [1:32:50] When to know whether to take on more funding if it is available.
• [1:36:11] Howard’s favorite game of all time.

 

Resources From The Interview:

 

• Howard Marks
• StartEngine
• Activision
• MechWarrior 2
• Blizzard
• Alisa Jacobs
• Queens Gaming Collective
• Jin Yu 
• Vezt Inc.
• Angels and Entrepreneurs
• Brandon Beck

 

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