Roblox closes at $69.50, valuing it at $38.26B, after opening under RBLX at $64.50, up 43% from its January funding round
and a reminder of the importance of patience in company building. My partner @joshk made this slide, which captures it well: https://twitter.com/... David Baszucki / @davidbaszucki : In 2004, we founded @Roblox with the vision of connecting the world. Today, as we celebrate our direct listing on the @NYSE, we recognize the potential ahead of us: to build the platform where billions of people come together to learn, work, and play. #RobloxIPO Dean Takahashi / @deantak : At its $45 billion valuation, Roblox is worth more than: Take-Two Interactive ($18.98 billion), Unity ($27.76 billion), Ubisoft ($8 billion), Electronic Arts ($37.4 billion), Square Enix ($6.6 billion), and Zynga ($10.7 billion). https://twitter.com/... @prestonattebery : Youtube in 2012 vs Roblox in 2021 exact same form factor 🙊 https://twitter.com/... Francois Laberge / @seflless : People may have noticed this already in the Stratechery article on Roblox (see attached), but Apple allows Roblox an “App Store” in their iOS app and none of the games are reviewed by Apple. https://stratechery.com/... Not putting this on Roblox, but Apple cc @TimSweeneyEpic @dhh https://twitter.com/... David Frankel / @dafrankel : Two VC concepts that can be tough to grasp: 1. The exponential potential of small investments. 2. How long it takes for those investments to mature. Congrats to our friends at @firstround @chrisfralic @joshk for their uncommon vision and exceptional patience! https://twitter.com/... Trevor Loy / @trevorloy : This is a fascinating graph. Kudos @chrisfralic, @aplee, and everyone else involved in this “overnight success that took 13+ years.” https://twitter.com/... Eric Balchunas / @ericbalchunas : $RBLX up 55% and is the 5th most traded stock overall on Day One w/ $6b, which is about 5x what Zoom and Peleton traded altho nowhere near $20b+ of $BABA & $FB https://twitter.com/... Chris Fralic / @chrisfralic : I spent several years on the board. The company remained under the radar. When I'd mention Roblox, I'd usually get the response “ROAD BLOCKS?” Investors weren't fawning over them. Sometimes they made their numbers, other times they missed. Sometimes key hires didn't work out. Dominic Chu / @thedomino : Roblox opened for trading @ 132p ET, $64.50 per share, valuing $RBLX @ $35.5 billion...intraday high so far $73.25, low $60.50. Reference price was $45. https://www.cnbc.com/... (via @levynews @jbursz @CNBCtech@cnbc) Kellen Browning / @kellen_browning : Roblox's huge surge over the past year demonstrates how the pandemic has led to a financial bonanza in the gaming industry, which has seen a frenzy of acquisitions and startups getting funded at a record rate. https://www.nytimes.com/... Kellen Browning / @kellen_browning : Roblox, the massive online gaming platform popular among children, has just opened for trading ($RBLX) at $64.5 per share, valuing the company at $41.9 billion (!!!!) — up from $4 billion just over a year ago. https://www.nytimes.com/... Dan Primack / @danprimack : As noted in today's newsletter: More than 7% of Roblox is held by friends/family of CEO Dave Baszucki, most of whom he met as a kid in Minnesota (and who then helped seed the co), Including someone whose lawn he used to cut. @dhh : Great example of Apple's infinite contradictions with the App Store. Roblox is a game store and engine. It lives happily in the App Store, and thank heavens for that. Why can't Microsoft's Xbox streaming service do the same? **BECAUSE REASONS** https://twitter.com/... Bill Gurley / @bgurley : Huge shout-out to David for doing the right thing for his employees and shareholders by choosing to protect @Roblox from the free give-always from the broken IPO process. Let 'em be “30x oversubscribed” on someone else's business. https://twitter.com/... Dave Morgan / @davemorgannyc : In-game advertising is already part of the brick-and-mortar of @Roblox ... nascent, but enormous opportunity for brands to reach children and teens in engaged environment if they are smart and respectful about it ... @megancgraham https://www.cnbc.com/...
@firstround's investments in Roblox, Square and Uber were in the same fund, but their journeys looked very different. Roblox was more of a slow bake—and a reminder of the importance of patience in company building. My partner @joshk made this slide, which captures it well: https:…
In 2004, we founded @Roblox with the vision of connecting the world. Today, as we celebrate our direct listing on the @NYSE, we recognize the potential ahead of us: to build the platform where billions of people come together to learn, work, and play. #RobloxIPO
Two VC concepts that can be tough to grasp: 1. The exponential potential of small investments. 2. How long it takes for those investments to mature. Congrats to our friends at @firstround @chrisfralic @joshk for their uncommon vision and exceptional patience! https://twitter.com/…
This is a fascinating graph. Kudos @chrisfralic, @aplee, and everyone else involved in this “overnight success that took 13+ years.” https://twitter.com/...
$RBLX up 55% and is the 5th most traded stock overall on Day One w/ $6b, which is about 5x what Zoom and Peleton traded altho nowhere near $20b+ of $BABA & $FB https://twitter.com/...
I spent several years on the board. The company remained under the radar. When I'd mention Roblox, I'd usually get the response “ROAD BLOCKS?” Investors weren't fawning over them. Sometimes they made their numbers, other times they missed. Sometimes key hires didn't work out.
Roblox opened for trading @ 132p ET, $64.50 per share, valuing $RBLX @ $35.5 billion...intraday high so far $73.25, low $60.50. Reference price was $45. https://www.cnbc.com/... (via @levynews @jbursz @CNBCtech @cnbc)
Roblox's huge surge over the past year demonstrates how the pandemic has led to a financial bonanza in the gaming industry, which has seen a frenzy of acquisitions and startups getting funded at a record rate. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Roblox, the massive online gaming platform popular among children, has just opened for trading ($RBLX) at $64.5 per share, valuing the company at $41.9 billion (!!!!) — up from $4 billion just over a year ago. https://www.nytimes.com/...
As noted in today's newsletter: More than 7% of Roblox is held by friends/family of CEO Dave Baszucki, most of whom he met as a kid in Minnesota (and who then helped seed the co), Including someone whose lawn he used to cut.
Huge shout-out to David for doing the right thing for his employees and shareholders by choosing to protect @Roblox from the free give-always from the broken IPO process. Let 'em be “30x oversubscribed” on someone else's business. https://twitter.com/...
In-game advertising is already part of the brick-and-mortar of @Roblox ... nascent, but enormous opportunity for brands to reach children and teens in engaged environment if they are smart and respectful about it ... @megancgraham https://www.cnbc.com/...
“More than 1,250 developers earned at least $10,000 in the digital currency Robux, which can be converted to cash. Over 300 earned $100,000 or more.” https://twitter.com/...
These 20-year old Roblox developers making ~$50,000 a month Roblox paid out almost $330 mln last year to game creators How much will it the company be worth tomorrow? https://www.cnbc.com/...
Roblox reference price is $45 (likely not where it will open). BUT, at that price ($29.5 bln valuation), it would be valued at 20x 2021 revenue. Unity is valued at 27x 2021 revenue. Roblox is bigger AND growing much faster. BUT Roblox's post-pandemic business is a BIG ??
Roblox is forecasting 2021 growth of 56% - 64%. That's going to require lots more RPU because user growth only expected to go up 6%-12%. And Roblox says the amount of time people will spend on the app will be roughly flat.
For a long time, public markets wanted to see USER GROWTH GROWTH GROWTH out of newly-public internet companies. How will they feel about revenue growth but without a ton of new users?
People may have noticed this already in the Stratechery article on Roblox (see attached), but Apple allows Roblox an “App Store” in their iOS app and none of the games are reviewed by Apple. https://stratechery.com/... Not putting this on Roblox, but Apple cc @TimSweeneyEpic @dhh…
Great example of Apple's infinite contradictions with the App Store. Roblox is a game store and engine. It lives happily in the App Store, and thank heavens for that. Why can't Microsoft's Xbox streaming service do the same? **BECAUSE REASONS** https://twitter.com/...
This is pretty niche but it's a fantastic read. A lot going on but think it lays out some really interesting ideas to take to the future of social/community products and games https://stratechery.com/...