Ventured Growth with Hercules Capital

The gaming and platform industries are dynamic sectors at the intersection of technology and entertainment, constantly evolving to meet the demands of a global audience. In 2022, the revenue from the worldwide gaming market was approximately $347 billion.
Ed Lu, a seasoned executive with 23 years of financial and operational experience, has played a pivotal role in this landscape, dedicating thirteen years as the CFO at online gaming and platform companies. Ed is the current Chief Financial Officer at Fandom, the world’s largest gaming and entertainment community platform.
In this episode, Hercules Capital's Lesya Kulchenko and Ed Lu discuss Ed’s CFO experience within gaming and platform companies, top advice for new founders and aspiring CFOs in today’s business landscape, choosing between building, buying, and partnering, the key factors for successful acquisitions, when to pursue bargain opportunities, and much more.
Topics Include:

• Ed’s top priorities as a CFO in today’s business landscape
• Essential advice for emerging founders and aspiring CFOs
• Core values that led Ed to leadership
• The advice Ed gratefully avoided
• Choosing between building, buying, and partnering
• Key factors for successful acquisitions
• When companies should pursue bargain opportunities
• Factors outside of work that shape Ed as the “non-CFO CFO”
• And other topics...

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Ed Lu is a seasoned executive with 23 years of financial and operational experience and thirteen years as CFO at online gaming and platform companies. He is the current Chief Financial Officer at Fandom, the world’s largest gaming and entertainment community platform. During his tenure, Fandom has grown revenue by more than 3x, acquired three companies, and doubled its employee base to 500.
Before joining Fandom, Ed served as the CFO for Outpost Games and Machine Zone. His tenure at Machine Zone involved raising over $800 million in combined financings, overseeing revenue growth from $8 million to $1.7 billion, and scaling the company from 30 to 1000+ employees. In his free time, he also enjoys serving as a strategic advisor for other digital gaming companies.
Resources Mentioned:
“Top 10 Start-Up Tips for Founders,” by Ed Lu: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6998677341623267328/

In 2006, venture capitalists poured billions into clean energy technologies during Cleantech 1.0, only to lose half of the investments over the next five years. The climate tech investing space has since rebounded and become one of the most popular investment sectors, and new incentives show an exciting opportunity for extended growth over the next few years.
Meera Clark is a principal at Redpoint Ventures, where she is passionate about the climate tech, consumer, and infrastructure sectors. She has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Venture Capital, Business Insider’s 55 Rising-Star VCs of 2021, and Venture Forward Women. Meera previously worked at Morgan Stanley’s Multicultural Innovation Lab, Morgan Stanley’s tech investment banking group, and as a principal at Obvious Ventures.
In this episode, Catherine and Meera talk about the trajectory of Meera’s career, her thoughts on upcoming market shifts in 2023 and 2024, how consumer shifts are affecting businesses, the climate tech investing space, and much more.
Topics include:
- Her untraditional upbringing and its effect on her career
- The importance of a strong support system
- Thoughts on the economy and market for the next 12-24 months
- Upcoming IPO market shifts
- How consumer shifts are offering new opportunities for businesses
- The climate tech investing space
- Building an all-star cap table
- And more...
Meera Clark is a principal at Redpoint Ventures. She has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Venture Capital, Business Insider’s 55 Rising-Star VCs of 2021, and Venture Forward Women. After graduating from Stanford, Meera accelerated her career at Morgan Stanley’s Multicultural Innovation Lab and within its tech investment banking group. She later became a principal at Obvious Ventures, where she worked on 12 of the company’s 30 investments from its $272 million third fund, sourcing four investments and serving as a board observer for three others. She also serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the Annual Summit of All Raise.
Resources Mentioned:
The Grid, by Gretchen Bakke: https://www.amazon.com/Grid-Fraying-Between-Americans-Energy-ebook/dp/B01DM9Q6CQ
Taming the Sun, by Varun Sivaram: https://www.amazon.com/Taming-Sun-Innovations-Harness-Energy-ebook/dp/B08BT1SM11
The World for Sale, by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy: https://www.amazon.com/World-Sale-Traders-Barter-Resources-ebook/dp/B08TMTG4CT
The New Map, by Daniel Yergin: https://www.amazon.com/New-Map-Energy-Climate-Nations-ebook/dp/B084GDG8DG
MCJ Collective: https://www.mcjcollective.com/

The challenges of launching a startup can seem endless when you are just starting out. Truth be told, the magnitude of these challenges will only grow as your business grows. But don’t let this deter you.
Derek Andersen understood that the obstacles he was facing in entrepreneurship were not unique to him. This notion led him on his quest to create a community for entrepreneurs to share their advice and inspirations with others, proving that entrepreneurs are in fact, stronger together.
In this episode, Hercules Capital host Eddie Lopez and Derek talk about his path to working in the tech industry, habits that create a CEO, how creating solutions to your own problems is an avenue for success, advice for founders looking to raise capital in the current environment, being a customer of your own product, and much more...
Topics Include:
- The impetus for Startup Grind and Bevy
- Freedom and creativity in entrepreneurship
- Bootstrapping companies
- Servant leadership
- Dealing with failure
- The responsibility to help others
- Managing relationships with investors
- Taking advantage of slingshot moments
- And other topics...
Derek Andersen is the co-founder and CEO of Bevy, a SaaS product that helps companies like Salesforce, Atlassian, Google, Snowflake, and Adobe build virtual and in-person communities. Derek also co-founded Startup Grind, a community of 600 Chapters in 125 countries educating, inspiring, and connecting startup people. Since 2012, Startup Grind has hosted 10,000 events for more than 500,000 people. In 2010, Derek co-founded Commonred which was acquired by Income.com. Derek previously worked as a product manager at Electronic Arts. He currently lives in Palo Alto CA with his wife and four children.
Books Mentioned:
The Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton Christensen: https://www.amazon.com/How-Will-Measure-Your-Life/dp/0062102419
How Will You Measure Your Life, by Clayton Christensen: https://www.amazon.com/How-Will-Measure-Your-Life/dp/0062102419

Today we are featuring Marco Zappacosta, co-founder and CEO of Thumbtack.
Thumbtack is a modern home management platform that helps homeowners stay up to date on routine maintenance while also connecting them with local service providers who can support with home care. The company was recently acknowledged as one of Fortune's Best Places to Work in Tech and overall for Small/Medium Companies.
Marco has been recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and has been featured in stories in the New York Times, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.
In this episode, Catherine and Marco talk about getting Thumbtack off the ground, determining what investors are looking for, moments of great progress amongst great challenges, transitioning to a fully remote workplace, identifying and assessing talent, and much more.
Topics Include:
- Timing around raising capital
- Prioritizing healthy & profitable growth
- Driving liquidity in the marketplace
- Reaching your first customers
- Systematizing availability
- Making radical adjustments to ensure viability during COVID-19
- Investor climate change
- Creating a more equitable workplace through remote work
- Scaling effectively in a virtual context
- Questions for interviewing candidates
- And other topics...
Marco Zappacosta is the co-founder and CEO of Thumbtack, the technology leader building the modern home management platform. Thumbtack empowers homeowners to instantly book skilled professionals and supports hundreds of thousands of small businesses to grow sustainably. The company has raised more than $500 million and was recently acknowledged as one of Fortune's Best Places to Work in Tech and overall for Small/Medium Companies. Marco has been recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and has been featured in stories in the New York Times, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.

Adriel Lares (Stash, Fastly, 3PAR) is one of the tech industry’s most accomplished financial leaders. In this episode of Ventured Growth with Hercules Capital, Lares joins Catherine Jhung to discuss how he conceptualizes the work he does as a CFO, what it takes to manage a complex, rapidly growing company, the importance of visibility and diversity in leadership positions, and much more.
Topics Include:
How to measure progress in a large company. Three golden rules for work and life. Taking 3PAR and Fastly public. Growing up in Alvin, Texas as a child of Mexican immigrants. What producing wine in Napa Valley taught Lares about networking. Dealing with setbacks as a company. Balancing work and family life. Giving back to the communities we come from. And other topics.
Adriel Lares is an accomplished CFO and advisor. He was integral in taking two tech companies public–3PAR and Fastly. Lares recently stepped down as Fastly’s CFO to take a new position as the CFO at Stash, an app-based personal finance platform designed to help middle-class Americans build wealth. He is also one of three founding partners of Memento Mori, who produce some of the most sought-after wines in Napa Valley. Lares currently sits on the board of several organizations, including the National Hispanic Institute and the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Stanford University.
Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
Website – https://www.htgc.com/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/hercules-capital/