The $200 million sale to Take Two

We dive into his experience incubating multiple startups at Betaworks and discuss whether pretty design can serve as a value proposition. He shares the story of accidentally spending $10k on Facebook ads in just one hour and his attempts at breaking into the Chinese market. Paul also reflects on his transition from being a founder to a venture capitalist, posing the question: Would Paul-the-VC invest in Paul-the-founder? We explore the dilemma of whether to invest in a team with a great dynamic but a weak idea. Currently, Paul Murphy is an investor at Northzone, an early-stage venture capital firm based in London.

Facebook purchased GIPHY for $400 million and Take Two purchased Dots for $200 million –– what do these two acquisitions have in common? Three things: both are 9-figure exits, both happened in 2020 and both were incubated by Paul Murphy. In this episode, we focus on Paul’s experience in incubating and growing Dots, a series of casual and highly addicting mobile games, towards their eventual sale, and Paul's subsequent transition to venture capital.