The next three years of this blog

After 500+ blog posts, I have decided to pivot my blog in a slightly different direction. While I will continue to write about newsworthy items in the gaming space, over the next three years I will primarily document my learnings and journey as I pursue a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration). I recently started the DBA program at Grenoble Ecole de Management, a three-year program that I will be doing in addition to my full-time job. I will use my blog to share both the key learnings from my research as well as insights into pursuing a DBA.

As part of the DBA, my research will focus on how tech companies prioritize new, innovative projects, particularly those that appeal to a new market (Blue Ocean). As these projects are new and unique, building projections and a P&L is more guesswork than science. In my experience, there is never a lack of great ideas for new projects but there is very little methodology around how to prioritize and which to greenlight. Many projects proceed due to a persuasive champion (or get killed for lack thereof) rather than actual data, very similar to how baseball operated in the pre-Moneyball days. The spreadsheets people build to “scientifically” determine ROI are so filled with assumptions, given that they are looking at a virgin space, that they are less than useless.

In addition to the traditional hurdles in prioritizing new, innovative projects, the evolving state of the industry adds a new challenge. I will layer on to my research how the Metaverse will impact the gaming space and what we should be building. While I am far from an expert currently on the Metaverse, so are the so-called experts (I’m looking at you Zuck). Rather than wild claims, I will break down how the key drivers around the Metaverse and how they will impact our business.

Overall, I plan to use my DBA research to advance the practice of prioritizing new games and technology projects and help everyone commit resources to best satisfy customers (current and future). As I learn best practices and new techniques, I will share them here for those who are interested.

Author: Lloyd Melnick

I am GM of Chumba at VGW, where I lead the Chumba Casino team. Previously, I was Director of StarsPlay, the social gaming vertical for the Stars Group. I was also Sr Dir at Zynga's social casino (including Hit It Rich! slots, Zynga Poker and our mobile games), where I led VIP CRM efforts and arranged licensing deals. I have been a central part of the senior management team (CCO, GM and CGO) at three exits (Merscom/Playdom, Playdom/Disney and Spooky Cool/Zynga) worth over $700 million. View all posts by Lloyd Melnick