Kristian Segerstrale

“We have barely scratched the surface of what’s possible in getting people to pay for things that don’t exist,” … Kristian Segerstrale CEO Playfish

One fish, two fish, redfish, Playfish. Kristian Segerstrate, Sebastien de Halleux, Sami Lababidi, and Shukri Shammas are rewriting that little book and in the process, they’re revolutionizing the on-line gaming industry. In 2007, they founded Playfish, a small on-line gaming company. In October 2008, they secured 17 million in venture capital to develop their on-line games. They chose the fast growing, but revenue negative company, Facebook as the platform to launch their new games. Their first game was a hit and it allowed them to raise more funding to produce new games. The games also produced a huge revenue stream for Facebook, which for the first time, began to run in the black. In November 2009, just a little over two years old, Playfish was sold to Electronic Arts for a staggering $275 million. That got our attention, but we still wondered would people really plop down hard-earned cash on imaginary products inside these games? Then we ran across an announcement by First Planet Company in December 2009 that the virtual Crystal Palace Space Station that orbits the Planet Calypso was sold in an auction $330,000. Remember, at one time, people were buying up swamp land in Florida. If Kristian Segerstrate is correct – that there is big money in the virtual world, then we’re rolling out our virtual Red Carpet and welcoming him with open arms.