Mobile usage is upending web empires, as Silicon Valley has come to realize over the last few years. And we’ll have two companies smack in the middle of the shift present at our Facebook Ecosystem CrunchUp this Friday in Redwood City, Calif., sharing how they’re surviving in this new world.
Get your CrunchUp tickets here.
Zynga, the dominant social game developer on Facebook, has been both building and buying its way into mobile gaming to adapt for this change. It’s had a few wins, like the growth of its “With Friends” franchise, and some losses, like the decline of Draw Something’s traffic.
Bump, meanwhile, has been mobile-first since it launched in 2009. The company started out with an app that lets you swap contact information and other data by tapping two phones together — and it’s now on track to hit 100 million downloads later this summer. The company has just gone straight to the heart of mobile-social, with the launch of a new app called Flock that uses geofencing to help you share photos more easily (we came away impressed).
Both companies are relying on Facebook to help discovery across their mobile apps. So what’s working and what’s not? Zynga mobile product leader Sean Kelly and Bump chief executive David Lieb will join us on stage this Friday to share more. Matthaus Krzykowski, co-founder of mobile data firm Xyologic, will also be on to share his insights into the latest mobile app industry trends.
We hope to see you at the CrunchUp and summer party at August Capital. Act quickly to get your tickets because they are selling out fast. Get them now!
Sean Kelly
Vice President of Product Development, Zynga
Sean Uberoi Kelly is a Vice President of Product Development at Zynga, where he oversees the execution and development of new mobile products. Based in San Francisco, Sean joined Zynga in 2009 as a General Manager of games such as FishVille, and was the co-creator and General Manager of CityVille, the first game to reach 100 million players world-wide in less than 30 days.
Before joining Zynga, Sean worked as an entrepreneur and technologist, and co-founded Rocket Paper Scissors, LLC, the creator of the social gaming world Dizzywood.com. He also spent five years at Microsoft Research as a researcher and software developer, specializing in the intersection of community, technology and user-generated content. During his time at Microsoft Research, he founded the social network Wallop.com. Sean also co-founded and served as CTO of eTonal Media, producing music instruction and retail web properties.
Sean earned his B.A. in English Literature from Princeton University. He also attended the University of Vermont for post-baccalaureate work in Computer Science before completing a Masters in Interactive Media at New York University’s ITP program. From 2000-2005 he was also an adjunct professor at NYU, teaching Masters level design and prototyping classes such “The Multi-User Experience” and “Rapid Prototyping for Social Software”.
David Lieb
CEO and Co-founder, Bump Technologies
David is CEO and Co-founder of Bump Technologies, which he created along with Andy Huibers and Jake Mintz in the fall of 2008 while a first-year MBA student at the University of Chicago. In 2008, the company launched the Bump app for iPhone (and shortly thereafter, Android), which lets users physically bump mobile phones together to exchange contact information, photos and more. Bump is one of the most-downloaded apps of all time, and will reach 100 million downloads in the summer of 2012.
Bump Technologies released two standalone iPhone apps in 2012: Bump Pay, a peer-to-peer mobile payments app, and Flock, an innovative, contextual photo-sharing app that aggregates the photos you’ve taken while with your Facebook friends into a single group album. Also in 2012, the company released an update to the native Bump app that lets you transfer photos from your phone to your computer by simply tapping the spacebar – it works like magic, and you’ll never need to email photos to yourself again.
Previously, David served as a technologist and algorithm designer at Texas Instruments, where he helped develop digital display devices for projectors and large-screen televisions. Prior to TI, David taught robotic vehicles to see, learn, and drive themselves while a research assistant in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab.
David holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University, where he also pitched on the baseball team.
Matthaus Krzykowski
Co-founder, Xyologic
Matthaus is a co-founder of mobile app search company Xyologic where he manages all growth and sales activities. Translating customer experience into product innovation he drives Xyologic forward.
Passionate to help ideas develop into products and companies, he is an investor and advisor to other innovative startups. He has extensive product management experience in commerce, online marketing and mobile content.
A move to Silicon Valley in 2008 saw him breaking important trend pieces as a VentureBeat contributor. Working on content and sales, he build up the MobileBeat conference series as co-chair with Matt Marshall. A regular blogger and speaker, he continues to contribute to the international conference circuit.
Facebook Ecosystem CrunchUp
12:00 PM Registration and Lunch
1:00 PM Welcome
1:10 PM Fireside Chat with Mike Schroepfer – Vice President of Engineering – Facebook
1:40 PM Product Tour – Peter Deng – Director of Product Management – Facebook
1:55 PM Panel: Designing and Growing A Modern Mobile App
2:20 PM Break
2:40 PM Product Tour – Doug Purdy – Director of Developer Products- Facebook
3:05 PM Panel: What’s Next For Facebook’s Platform
3:30 PM Panel: Social Ads: What’s Working, What’s Not, and Where’s Everyone Else?
4:00 PM Office Hours and Happy Hour with Facebook
August Capital Summer Party
5:30 – 9 PM Join us for another fantastic event with networking, drinks and fun at August Capital, 2480 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park CA