Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga and an early Facebook investor, has a unique perspective on both sides of platform dependency. He built a multi-billion dollar gaming company on Facebook, and now invests in companies facing similar challenges with AI platforms.

In this episode, we explore Mark's "Proven Better New" framework for product development, which has guided his success across multiple ventures. We dig into why gaming consistently predicts enterprise technology evolution, how to evaluate platform risk versus distribution opportunity, and his fascinating approach to public market investing.

Mark shares specific examples of how he bottom-ticked Meta at $89 and loaded up on Spotify below IPO price by identifying "generational buying opportunities" when founder-led companies announce bad earnings.

Check out the episode to hear Mark's candid stories about early Facebook, finding talent in unexpected places, and why he's bullish on Snapchat despite market skepticism. 

‍

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to WorldofDaaS.com for our podcast, newsletter and events.

We post videos every week on all things tech, data, and venture capital, so make sure you subscribe, and follow @WorldOfDaaS

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Mark Pincus on X at @markpinc.