Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 7)

SM: What else should I have asked you? RZ: I would like to give you some reasons why I think we have a good model. I think that our model differs from other models in the casual gaming space, such as the download model or subscription models.

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 6)

SM: Can you describe the games that people are playing in these tournaments? RZ: We had about 150 games on the site. They are classic casual games. They go from puzzle and word games to suduko and card games. We develop all the games in-house.

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 5)

SM: Let me ask you some ramp questions. In 2003, you launched the site. In 2005, it started becoming profitable. What was your revenue ramp between 2003 and 2005? RZ: In 2003, we had very little. Revenue, in euros, was 14,000. In 2004, we had 2.3 million and in 2005 we had 10.8 million.

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 4)

SM: Who were your primary partners in the early days of King? RZ: We partnered with Lycos, T-Online, and major portals.

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 2)

SM: How much did you sell the company for? RZ: We sold it for $764 million.

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 1)

Riccardo Zacconi is the CEO of King.com, a company that is pioneering casual gaming online. Prior to coming to King, he was EIR at Benchmark Capital and before that, managing director at Spray, a European portal company that was sold to Lycos in 2000. Before joining Spray, he was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group.

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