How I Built This with Guy Raz Twitch: Emmett Shear
20 snips
Jul 18, 2022 
Emmett Shear, co-founder and CEO of Twitch, shares his fascinating journey from the early days of Justin.tv to transforming it into a gaming giant. He discusses the skepticism surrounding gaming as a mainstream entertainment option and how he built a thriving community by listening to streamer needs. Shear reflects on the challenges faced by early streamers, including safety issues and funding struggles. He also highlights the significant role of community in driving Twitch's success, leading to its lucrative acquisition by Amazon.
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Childhood Friendship
- Emmett Shear and Justin Kan, childhood friends, built multi-million dollar companies together.
- Their friendship started in second grade and continued through Yale.
Yale Startup Idea
- Matt Fong, Justin's roommate, suggested starting a business while at Yale.
- He argued they had unparalleled access to intellectual capital at low cost.
Kiko Calendar
- Inspired by Gmail, Emmett and Justin created Kiko Calendar, an online calendar application.
- Their monetization plan involved targeted advertising based on users' schedules.
