Jack Wang is a principal at Project A Ventures and leads their gaming investment focus. Project A is one of the leading venture capital companies in Europe with offices in Berlin, Munich and London.
In addition to $500 million in assets under management, Project A provides its portfolio companies with a wide range of operational support services. Project A was founded in 2012 and since then has supported more than 60 start-ups in 12 countries. The portfolio includes companies such as Catawiki, WorldRemit, Homeday, Spryker, Sennder, KRY, Trade Republic, and Voi.
Wang joins us for Investor Connector at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #7, a fringe event that pairs pre-selected developers who are seeking funding with investors.
We caught up with Wang ahead of the event for his thoughts on investment and how the current pandemic has affected anyone seeking investment.
PocketGamer.biz: What kind of companies/projects are you interested in?
Jack Wang: I am looking for seed to Series A start-ups in gaming and esports. This includes companies tackling any aspect of the game development tech stack, start-ups catering to the mass gamer community, start-ups serving the massive sports uprising and of course indie game studios.
What are the key advantages for founders when they raise investment from your company?
Project A is the only true ‘operational’ VC in Europe – this includes more than 110 employees that make up our platform team, from key areas such as software engineering, business intelligence, marketing, recruiting and many more dedicated to supporting our portfolio companies.
Do you need a pitch deck, and if so, what information should a founder be sure to include to interest you enough to want to know more and have a meeting?
A video demo or an early access key is actually best for gaming investors – nothing beats hands-on experience. The Pitch deck also never hurts in the earlier stages of course.
What do you expect to learn from a founder at the first meeting?
Why their vision for the problem they are tracking is different to the status quo. Insights to the problem they are solving that are unique to them.
Could you give any advice for developers or teams for pitching over video calls?
Most founders I have spoken to are very well-rehearsed on development calls. Don’t be afraid to mix it up a bit with product demos in pitch decks.
How has the investment cycle changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, typically, how long is it taking to close deals?
It has gotten a lot faster actually – some deals only take one to two weeks to close. Especially in gaming as there are more eyeballs on screens than ever before during the lockdown.
What trends do you see emerging in games over the pandemic that are likely to persist post-pandemic? Conversely, what trends do you think are short term?
I think casual, hypercasual games on mobile consumption will remain largely the same. Game streaming will also remain largely the same as most people have subscribed to their favourite streamers.
More hardcore games requiring high-end gaming PCs will go down in consumption time. Generally, people will move to more ‘bite sized’ consumption than the longer sessions that covid lockdown has provided time for.
Want to meet Jack Wang at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #7?
You could meet Wang and many more investors online by signing up for Investor Connector at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #7. So if you’re seeking funding, sign up here.
Please note you can only sign up for the Investor Connector if you’re a registered attendee of Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #7. Book your tickets now.
