In a revealing conversation on "20 Minutes VC" with host Harry Stebbings, David Helgason, the founder of Unity Technologies, delves into his journey from a passionate programmer to pioneering Unity's game engine. Helgason discusses the challenges of scaling Unity, the decision-making process behind CEO transitions, and the importance of a clear yet flexible founding vision. He reflects on the company's growth, including raising funds during the 2009 financial crisis and the strategic direction towards a broader services ecosystem. Helgason credits Sequoia partner Roelof Botha and angel investor Diane Greene for their significant impact on Unity's success. Furthermore, he shares insights on handling acquisition offers, the relationship with money, and the role of VCs, emphasizing the value of being a "shock absorber" as a board member. As he looks to the future, Helgason expresses a keen interest in climate change solutions and societal issues like democracy erosion.
"And on Monday we released our episode with Roloff Boatha, partner at Sequoia. And one of his great investments at Sequoia was Unity. And so I thought it'd be awesome to welcome back Unity's founder David Helgeson to the hot seat today."
The quote highlights the connection between Sequoia's investment in Unity and the decision to invite David Helgason back to the podcast.
"I was a programmer since I was like eleven. I'm born 77 so basically my entire generation were programmers. I think we learned to program to make video games."
This quote explains David Helgason's early introduction to programming and his generation's common interest in video game development.
"So I joined probably in January 2003. And we were just going to make video games. But as we were trying to sort of work on different ideas, we kept working on the engine."
The quote describes the initial goal of making video games and the shift towards developing the Unity game engine.
"The value of mission statement can sort of be measured in the quality of decisions it helps you make."
This quote emphasizes the role of a mission statement in shaping a company's strategic choices and long-term direction.## Democratization of Game Development
"It's people who are not making games right now. People around the world, it might be underrepresented people. It's just people that don't have access."
This quote emphasizes the focus on including individuals who are currently outside the gaming industry, particularly those who may be underrepresented or lack access to necessary resources.
"When you're sitting next to somebody who's like ten or 100 times better than you at coding, like, why bother? Find something better to do."
This quote reflects the speaker's realization that his strengths lay outside of coding, prompting him to take on other roles within the company that better suited his skills and interests.
"And we decided that we wanted to try, tried to remain founder led. And I basically made a communications plan."
This quote highlights the decision to maintain founder leadership and the strategic move to create a communications plan to improve internal operations and clarity of direction.
"And I was lucky that I ran across Ricitello, who's now CEO. He had recently left Electronic Arts. And of all the sort of. I met a lot of people along the way, but of all the people I had conversations with, he just understood the games industry the best."
This quote explains the process of selecting the new CEO based on his deep understanding of the games industry and alignment with the company's vision for the future.
"I don't think I completely run out of kind of Runway. I think I could have done a little longer, but the opportunity came up. He was happy to take the role and I was super happy to give it to him."
This quote conveys the speaker's confidence in the timing and decision of the CEO transition, suggesting that it was a strategic move rather than a necessity.## CEO Transition
"It's tricky as hell, right? I mean, we had considered it like way earlier, very naively, kind of considered it like we could hire because we were three technical co founders and maybe we should have somebody who had done sales before." "Running companies is like a liberal art, right? It's not an engineering discipline." "Don't just rush into it. Just one impulse."
Speaker B reflects on their initial naivety regarding hiring a CEO and the realization that running a company is more art than science. They advise against rushing the decision to hire a CEO, highlighting the importance of founders in guiding the company through changes.
"So he was the first vc we brought on. We've met other people, but we got an offer from sequoia when we were racing our a round in the spring of 2009." "He's such a calm, such a rational person. He's not going to bring emotions, he's not going to bring kind of irrational or strange things, and you won't be able to ratle him easily."
Speaker B praises Roloff for his calm and rational approach as a board member, implying that these qualities are valuable for board members in supporting and guiding a company.
"A good board member should be a shock absorber for the company, because there will be shocks and people will be ratled and there will be all kinds of crazy things happening and just slowing the process a little bit down and, like, guiding the leadership into kind of a thoughtful process, not necessarily rushing into decisions."
Speaker B shares the metaphor of a board member as a shock absorber, emphasizing the role in stabilizing the company during turbulent times and encouraging thoughtful decision-making.
"I think it often comes down to the fact that vcs are money managers for other people. And it's a bit the same as you get in kind of middle management in companies that you get people that are under pressure from different directions."
Speaker B explains that the root of some negative VC behavior is the pressure of managing other people's money, drawing a parallel to the stress experienced by middle managers in companies.
"When companies are doing well, and we were for quite a while actually doing quite well at Unity M&A interests come, comes in." "I learned from smart people to kind of basically hold those tight to your west as they're happening. So you engage in conversations, just don't spread it too broadly."
Speaker B shares their approach to M&A interest, which includes keeping discussions close and not over-sharing information. They suggest leveraging these opportunities for learning and building partnerships.## Confidence in Future Value
"see far enough ahead that whatever they're offering you now seems small. And if you have confidence in where you're going, ideally you can see a time, maybe in a couple of years or more, where you will be more valuable than whatever was offered."
This quote emphasizes the importance of long-term vision and confidence in the company's growth trajectory, which may lead to greater value than immediate acquisition offers.
"Money. Never interested in me terribly much. Somebody told me that if you had a few million dollars, you're really set."
The speaker expresses a lack of interest in wealth for its own sake, suggesting that reaching a comfortable level of financial security can allow for a more relaxed and enjoyable approach to business.
"Do you think it made you a better leader and decision maker when you had that kind of downside scenario taken off the table, when you knew that at the end of the day you'd be fine, may not be huge, probably."
This quote suggests that financial security can enable leaders to make decisions without the pressure of personal financial consequences, potentially leading to better leadership.
"Do you have trust, of course, in the business around you? Like, can your company grow? Like another phase might be a couple of years of growth or whatever. And importantly, do you trust that the people around you can kind of go with you?"
This quote highlights the importance of trust in both the business's growth prospects and the team's capability to support that growth as key considerations in strategic decisions.
"Yes, probably. I really like the model. Depends on what I'm doing, but actually do like the VC model."
The speaker expresses a preference for the VC model for funding high-growth companies, indicating its suitability for certain types of businesses.
"I read so little these days. It's super embarrassing. And I'm reading stuff around emotions and love and stuff."
This quote reveals the speaker's current reading focus, indicating an interest in emotional intelligence and relationships.
"Today we are changing know as angel and working with a group of angels called Nordic Makers and so on. We are actually trying to evolve it here."
The speaker is actively involved in shaping the European tech scene through angel investing and collaboration with other investors.
"I almost only drink natural wine."
This quote reflects the speaker's personal preference for natural wine, suggesting a choice that aligns with their values or tastes.
"So that was Diane Green, founder of VMware. So I met her in the spring of 2009, just before I met Sequoia."
The speaker credits Diane Green as an influential angel investor who provided valuable support and connections, highlighting the importance of mentorship in the startup ecosystem.
"I'm thinking a lot about climate change and climate technology, climate change fighting technology."
This quote indicates the speaker's future focus on investing in and supporting companies that are developing solutions to combat climate change.