Secret Stash

Few people have shaped an entire national gaming ecosystem — but Gigi Levy-Weiss has. Known as the “Godfather of Israeli Gaming,” Levy-Weiss helped kickstart the country’s modern game industry as a founder of Playtika, early investor in Moon Active, and now General Partner at NFX.In this episode of Secret Stash, hosts Justin Kan and Archie Stonehill sit down with Gigi to talk about how he went from Air Force pilot to gaming mogul, the wild origin story of Playtika, and why he believes the next major disruption in games won’t come from content — it’ll come from distribution.

In this episode of Secret Stash, we go behind the scenes with Stash's newest employees, Galleon co-founders Or Briga and Shai Arnon — two serial entrepreneurs who have lived the full spectrum of startup chaos and came out sharper on the other side. Or and Shai pull back the curtain on the gut-check moment when they realized their previous company had hit a wall, why they decided to shut it down on their own terms, and what convinced them to immediately start building together again.They also walk us through the unexpected path that led them deep into the world of native D2C: building APKs from scratch, navigating publisher dependencies, and powering payment flows that now drive hundreds of millions in annual transaction volume for SuperPlay’s hit titles. Along the way, they break down why the industry’s relationship with platforms is shifting, how new rulings opened the floodgates for alternative payments, and why 2026 will belong to studios that embrace native distribution.This is a conversation about resilience, timing, and the bold bets that redefine how games connect with players. If you care about the future of mobile, monetization, or the craft of building products in the trenches, you’ll want to hear this one.

In this episode of Secret Stash, we sit down with Stash’s new CEO, Henry Lowenfels, and CPO, Spencer Tucker, for a candid conversation about their journeys through the gaming industry and why they believe direct-to-consumer (D2C) is the future of play. From Scopely’s scrappy early days and the breakout success of titles like Yahtzee With Buddies and Star Trek Fleet Command, to WWE’s pioneering D2C experiments and the rise of hypercasual hits at Homa, Henry and Spencer share hard-won lessons from building some of the industry’s most enduring franchises.They also unpack how the D2C model is evolving, what it takes to build a successful strategy from scratch, and why the next wave of innovation will come from aligning player experience with publisher sustainability. If you’re a game developer, publisher, or just curious about the business of games, this is an inside look you won’t want to miss.

Frank Gibeau, the CEO of Zynga and a former leader at Electronic Arts, offers an optimistic outlook on the gaming industry. He shares insights on transforming company culture and the challenges of mobile gaming. Discussing lessons from his extensive career, he reflects on navigating failures like Shaq Fu and the potential of AI in gaming. Gibeau also highlights strategic shifts in revenue and the importance of direct player engagement, revealing his big industry secret at the end.

Owen Mahoney, former CEO of Nexon and VP at EA, offers a sharp critique of the gaming industry. He argues that fun should take precedence over flashy graphics, emphasizing a return to engaging gameplay. Mahoney discusses the staggering rise in game development costs and the risks they pose, along with the crucial balance between product and distribution. He also shares insights on his favorite M&A deals in gaming and outlines how to create enduring franchises beyond temporary blockbusters. His candid take is both refreshing and thought-provoking.

Most games would kill for a community like Plarium’s RAID: Shadow Legends - and the team behind Hellhades has a lot to do with that. What started out as a hobby YouTube channel, is now a massive community with more than 225,000 followers as well as the go-to website for RAID news, guides, and interactive tools. Recently, the Hellhades team decided to turn the world of game development. They founded the studio Fateless and in 10 quick weeks, raised $6M from their community. In this episode of Secret Stash, hosts Archie Stonehill and Justin Kan sit down with the Fateless team - Simon Lockerby, Sham Saleh, and Dan Francis - and discuss: 👉 The origins of HellHades and its growth into a massive community hub 👉 How a YouTube channel turned into a game studio with a $6M raise 👉 Strategies for building a passionate gaming community 👉 How direct-to-consumer is are reshaping communities Read the highlights here: https://dev.stash.gg/blog/secret-stash-ep-6-fateless

Justin Waldron, at just 19, co-founded Zynga and revolutionized social gaming with its record-breaking IPO. In this conversation, he shares behind-the-scenes stories about Zynga's origins and its innovative business model that helped it thrive. Waldron discusses the intricate dynamics of Zynga's relationship with Facebook and the factors contributing to the rise and fall of social gaming. He also explores the shift toward mobile gaming and the intriguing world of web3 gaming on platforms like Telegram.

Matthew Ball, a renowned thought leader on business and innovation in the entertainment and gaming industry, shares his insights on the metaverse. He clarifies that the metaverse goes beyond just VR and NFTs. The discussion covers streaming wars, particularly Hulu's struggles and winners like Amazon. Ball explains why major tech companies shied away from gaming investments and emphasizes the significance of interoperability in the metaverse's future. He also reflects on mobile gaming's challenges and the impact of tech giants like Apple and Google.

Dennis Fong has had an INSANE career. By age 19, not only had he earned the title as the world’s first esports champion and pro gamer, but also became CEO of a 100-person gaming media company. He's even had a League of Legends character named after him. Since then, he’s gone on to found four additional businesses, all of which have majorly impacted the gaming industry as we know it. (We stopped counting how many social gaming features he invented...). In this episode of Secret Stash, co-hosts Justin Kan and Archie Stonehill sit down with Dennis and walk through a very raw chronology of his career (and life) - from young esports champion in 1996 to five-time CEO in 2024.  Tune in for nostalgic stories from the early days of esports and how he got his start in entrepreneurship. Read the highlights here: dev.stash.gg/blog/secret-stash-ep-3-dennis-fong 0:00 - Intro 2:33 - Dennis’ start in esports 4:14 - The famous Wall Street Journal article 7:38 - Family reactions 9:05 - Winning a Ferrari  12:25 - The birth of esports 14:52 - Who’s Thresh? 15:39 - Esport rivalries  18:37 - Organic communities  22:20 - Fatality takes over 25:19 - Critical mechanics 28:05 - Struggles of a young founder 33:59 - Spinning out Lithium 39:10 - Xfire innovations 48:06 - Raptor 50:13 - GGWP and anti-toxicity 1:04:45 - Distribution 1:07:08 - RIP Avicii  Hit the Subscribe button wherever you listen to your podcasts!Stash is the first of its kind direct-to-consumer platform for games.Learn more about Stash here: https://dev.stash.gg/

Justin Kan and Robin Chan share their journey from meeting in 2007 to becoming co-founders of Goat Capital and Stash. They discuss team building, pivoting, and product excellence. The podcast dives into their unique dynamics, career paths, and anecdotes, revealing the secrets to successful entrepreneurship.