When David Perry started his video game company, he filled his office dartboard with the names of companies he thought would someday want to buy his business.
Why would an entrepreneur with a startup business that had no revenue or employees be thinking about potential acquirers so early? For Perry, it came down to something he calls “down the track thinking”.
Wealthpreneur Spotlight
David Perry, a Restless Polymath
Some people say they’ve done it all, but David Perry has pushed the boundaries of that phrase. Perry sold his game streaming company, Gaikai, to Sony for a staggering $380 million in 2012 and he is still pushing the entrepreneurship envelope.
Perry’s journey began when he left northern Ireland at age 17 and ventured to London. There, he pursued his game development dream by founding Shiny Entertainment in 1993. The company’s breakout success came from the cult classic game Earthworm Jim, which featured a quirky hero: an earthworm sporting a muscular spacesuit. Earthworm Jim’s popularity transcended the gaming world, spawning action figures, a comic book series, and even a Saturday morning cartoon.
After nine years at Shiny overseeing the creation of multiple Earthworm Jim titles and other games like MDK, Perry decided to embark on a new chapter. When Shiny was acquired by Atari for $47 million, Perry became Shiny’s president and collaborated with the Wachowskis on a series of games based on their sci-fi action film, The Matrix. The first installment, Enter the Matrix, achieved commercial success but faced criticism for its focus on side characters. Perry acknowledged this shortcoming and created a sequel, The Matrix: Path of Neo, which allowed players to control Neo and experience iconic scenes firsthand.
Perry’s story extends far beyond traditional game development roles like designer and studio head. He has donned the hats of consultant, investor, and innovator. His relentless curiosity once led him to attend a payroll class, much to the amusement of the instructor and his fellow students! Perry believed that understanding all aspects of an industry would better equip him to navigate its complexities.
Perry is now the CEO of GoVYRL, Inc., which is currently developing Carro, an e-commerce partnership network used by over 30k Shopify brands. Carro helps brands partner with each other to gain attention, sales, and new customers.
How Perry’s Gaikai Revolutionized Gaming
Gaikai, a company focused on cloud gaming technology, is Perry’s most profitable venture to date. Its platform allowed users to play games without the hassle of downloading massive files, an innovative approach that solidified its acquisition by Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony. Perry’s hands-on approach began at Gaikai’s inception, when he personally built the first servers on his living room table.
Perry describes his business philosophy with a moving train analogy. A train full of people represents an industry. Most people are sitting comfortably inside the train watching the countryside go by. There are some people scrambling behind the train, hoping to jump on. Only a select few people are obsessing over where the train is going and the upcoming stops along their journey.
Perry describes himself as one of the people thinking about where the train is going next, which is why he identified companies he could sell Gaikai to before he earned a dollar of revenue. Perry calls this perspective “down the track thinking”.
Sony was in the bullseye of Perry’s dartboard of potential acquirers. When a business partner suggested they name the company Gaikai, a Japanese word that roughly translates to “open sea”, Perry agreed. Although the word gaikai may be difficult for the average English speaker to pronounce, Perry knew the name would be irresistible to Sony.
Perry and his partners went further by using Japanese words as product names and designing the company for the global gaming market. This move differentiated Gaikai from most video game makers at the time whose games were designed solely for American customers.
Years later, when Perry was ready to sell Gaikai, he approached all the big video game makers about buying his company. As Perry hoped, Sony was thrilled to see how well Perry and his partners designed Gaikai to fit Sony’s culture.
The Wealthpreneur Lesson
Considering your list of potential acquirers when you make key decisions is a great way to inspire better strategic thinking. Regardless of how close you are to selling, developing a list of potential acquirers today will help you make better decisions tomorrow.
Many Wealthpreneurs try to time their transition to coincide with a peak in the economy, but it’s impossible to know when that moment will arrive. Thoughtful Wealthpreneurs are constantly balancing current economic conditions with financial goals, freedom, health, and future opportunities.
