The Rise of UGC: Uri Marchand, Founder of Overwolf

The Rise of UGC: Uri Marchand, Founder of Overwolf

Author: Eden Chen and Kevin Zhang April 26, 2023 Duration: 44:11

The Gaming Founders Podcast Episode 6: The Rise of UGC: Uri Marchand, Founder of Overwolf

Today’s guest is Uri Marchand, Co-Founder and CEO of Overwolf, one of the biggest platforms for creators to build, share and monetize mods, user-generated content, and companion apps for their favorite games. After 13 years, 98,000 creators, and 33 million players a month, Overwolf now functions across more than 1000 supported games.

In this episode, you’ll hear Uri discuss the early days solving problems like Skype freezing when a text came in, Overwolf’s many ups and downs raising and running out of money, the many necessary pivots until finding their lane as a platform for third-party creators, and the continual scaling challenges and pressure to grow the business.

Discussion points:

  • Overwolf’s origin story
  • Solving problems in the early days - Skype, Starcraft, World of Warcraft
  • Failed strategies early on, and challenges finding funding
  • Pinpointing problems that plague developers
  • 2015’s first app for League of Legends
  • Acquisitions and integrations - at the time, creators wanted people to stay out of their creations
  • Building a modding strategy, hiring more staff, and acquiring Curseforge
  • The five-year gap in fundraising from Series A to B, team growth driven by P&L
  • Careful, planned scaling and growth - avoiding toxic pressure to grow too quickly
  • The Tel Aviv tech space
  • Communication, core values, and target numbers changing over time
  • Lessons learned? You can’t plan one year ahead in startups. Detailed vision for 90 days is now the standard for Overwolf.
  • Overwolf is strictly tools and services for third-party creators - and will remain so

The Gaming Founders Podcast is brought to you by Pragma, a venture-backed backend game engine founded by the engineering leaders who built the platforms for some of the largest live service games including League of Legends, Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Plants vs. Zombies 2. Pragma powers services like accounts, matchmaking, and player data for the world’s most ambitious live service games. CEO of Pragma Eden Chen was also the founder of Fisherman Labs and Lightmark Capital and was previously an investment banker at Citigroup and Lehman Brothers. Kevin Zhang leads the healthcare and gaming practices at Upfront Ventures. Upfront has backed standout teams across all technology sectors with a current focus in healthcare, fintech, consumerization of enterprise software, gaming, computer vision, and AgTech/ sustainability.

Resources:


Behind every game you love, there's a story of how it almost didn't happen. The Gaming Founders Podcast pulls back the curtain on those pivotal moments, moving past the polished headlines to the real decisions and struggles that define a company's path. Hosts Eden Chen, a CEO building developer tools, and Kevin Zhang, a venture capitalist, bring a dual perspective to their conversations. They sit down with the people who actually built the studios, platforms, and technologies shaping play, focusing not on gossip but on the tangible lessons from the trenches. In each episode, you'll get an unfiltered look at the origin stories, the specific tactics that helped companies navigate crises, and the hard-won insights about team building, funding, and creative survival. This isn't just a series of interviews; it's a masterclass in building something that lasts within the volatile and thrilling world of games. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a developer with a side project, or simply fascinated by the business of creativity, this podcast offers a rare, grounded look at the resilience and strategy required to make it. Tune in for honest dialogue that cuts through the hype, providing a real-world education from those who have already played the game.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 19

The Gaming Founders Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Fireside Chat with Mike Seavers at the Online Services Summit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:44
What happens when your game studio scales from 300 to 5,000 people in record time?Mike Seavers, SVP of Technology at Scopely and veteran technical leader from Riot Games and Epic Games, joins hosts Eden Chen (CEO, Pragma…
From Struggling Startup to Gaming Giant: Bing Gordon's EA Odyssey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:49
Today Bing Gordon, co-founder of Electronic Arts, joins hosts Eden Chen and Kevin Zhang to share his remarkable journey from a sports-obsessed kid in suburban Detroit to pioneering the modern gaming industry. Gordon deta…
Pivoting To Survive: Stan Vishnevskiy's Journey on Founding Discord [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:32
What desperate "Hail Mary" move saved Discord when it was about to fail? (Exclusive interview with rarely-interviewed co-founder)Discord almost died at launch. Then a desperate Reddit post changed everything. In this rar…
The Twitch Tactics: Kevin Lin's Streaming Journey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:37
What strategic pivots and challenges did Kevin Lin face in transforming Justin.tv into Twitch, a platform that forever changed gaming and live streaming?Eden and Kevin welcome Kevin Lin, the co-founder of Twitch, to delv…
Stirling Rank's Rise with Ready or Not [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:49
In this episode, Eden and Kevin speak with Stirling Rank, COO and co-founder of Void Interactive. Stirling had an unconventional journey from high school filmmaking to creating the indie game hit Ready or Not. In the dis…