Press Start To Continue: One More Role Of Founders

When I read that my old friend Mark Pincus has returned to Zynga as CEO, it struck me as an important example of the unique role that a founder plays at a startup. This moment highlights the importance of founders, precisely because Zynga already had a capable and accomplished CEO. Don Mattrick is a seriously experienced and successful executive, whether at EA, where he ran a global collection of studios, at Microsoft, where he launched the Kinect and ran XBox, or at Zynga, where over the past two years, he's led the company through the challenging transition from relying on the Facebook platform to becoming a major player in mobile gaming.

Moreover, Don and Mark have always had a good working relationship. Mark was instrumental in recruiting Don to Zynga, and one of the things I know from my personal conversations with Mark is that he's placed a tremendous value on what Don has taught him, especially in managing a large-scale company and integrating traditional gaming into Internet gaming. So why make a change?

I think the key lies in the very nature of Don's accomplishments as CEO. By navigating the shift to the mobile platform, Don was able to open up a great set of opportunities for Zynga. But that same shift effectively returned the company back into a startup phase. As an eight-year-old startup, Zynga finds itself in a place where the ability to create popular videogames is necessary but not sufficient. It needs a world-class founders’ skills. And, in particular, Zynga may now need an Internet founder with the particular skills that Mark has.

Founders have the abilities to scan a complex and uncertain environment, and gather a team that can set out to reach a destination that may be barely visible in the distance. Founders make hard decisions quickly, even in the absence of data, and have the determination to trade short-term pain for long-term gain. It is these attributes – among others – that led me to name my partner Jeff Weiner one of the co-founders of LinkedIn, even though he joined the company over five years after it was incorporated (companies that endure have many founding moments).

Beyond being Zynga’s founder, what makes Mark particularly suited to leading Zynga right now is that he understands the intersection of a number of key underlying internet technologies such as big data, analytics, and social – in addition to having a knack for building fun games. In an early market like mobile gaming, Zynga will need to integrate these new techniques and technologies into its games from inception. While I haven't been a part of the conversation, I imagine that Mark and Don have been talking about these needs (and thus possibly transition) for a while. Having been a founder himself (at the age of 17 no less), Don certainly appreciates the unique things a dedicated founder can do – especially founders with experience in specific technologies.

I've known Mark since I was an executive at PayPal, and it's been a delight to watch him evolve as a founder and executive over the last decade and a half. It’s been especially rewarding to hear what he's learned from Don these past two years. He comes back with a founder’s zeal, including starting with a $1 / year salary, which is part of a founder’s dedication.