On this week's L.A. Venture podcast, we meet Phil Sanderson — one of the founders and managing director of the venture capital firm Griffin Gaming Partners. Griffin is a $250 million fund investing in the global expansion of gaming, and is based in Santa Monica.
Sanderson has been investing in some of the most innovative gaming entrepreneurs for the last 23 years — including Discord, Thriller, Pandora and Phoenix Labs. Griffin invests in early and late stage, infrastructure and content companies in the gaming industry worldwide.
At Griffin, Sanderson is partnered with Peter Levin, who led digital initiatives at Lionsgate. The two are exploring the relationship between Hollywood and the gaming industry, especially with the recent boom of digital collectibles in the form of NFTs.
Sanderson says gaming is "at the forefront of a lot of innovation." He likes to deal in extremes, and structures his life around the principles of setting goals, having a great team, and being flexible and adaptable and having fun.
In this episode, hear how Sanderson views the future of gaming, why he thinks the gaming industry is in its golden age, what it's like working with top innovators, why he disagrees with the idea gaming is hit-driven, and how he manages to run 240-mile ultramarathons in his free time.
"I think it's becoming what I call 'the new enterprise software'. There's just so many exits."
Phil Sanderson is one of the founders and the managing director of Griffin Gaming Partners.
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