Ep 95: From Launching Angry Birds Space with NASA to Throwing Parties in Decentraland | Marja Konttinen (Marketing Director, Decentraland)

It’s not normal to make yourself redundant, right?


It’s hard enough applying for a job , going through 5-8 rounds of
interview before settling into your new role & figuring out
how everything works.


And what it takes to reach the top.


It’s also not normal to work with NASA to launch a new
product (Angry Birds Space !!) & have an astronaut talk about
it live from the International Space Station .


And yet, that’s exactly what Marja Konttinen has been up
to. 


Marja Konttinen is the current Marketing Director at Decentraland
- yes, the place that hosts all those fancy avatar-attending
Metaverse Fashion & Art Festivals . Where virtual plots
(pixels, really) have sold for millions .


So what’s Marja’s story?


Well for starters, Marja has had a very varied career. Which is
explained by her approach to work:


“My whole career has been this fun adventure where I like saying
yes to opportunities and when that opportunity comes, I will
definitely go for it.”


Her first job in the games industry = beta test Hitman
Bloodmoney. 


Aka playing games all day to uncover bugs & determine the
functioning of the gameplay.


Aka literally playing to earn money!


That kickstarted her 15-year journey in the games industry.


A particular highlight we touched on was her stint as Marketing
Director at Rovio Entertainment.


Her first job?


Call NASA.


Because Rovio was about to launch Angry Birds Space. It was going
to be HUGE, everyone wanted a slice of it, and Marja was at the
eye of the storm.


Now Marja’s at Decentraland. She’s spearheading its marketing
efforts but is quick to say that her ultimate goal is to make
herself redundant. Which ties back to the ethos of
decentralisation (weird as it sounds!).


Her dream: that the Decentraland DAO runs the entire operations
by themselves as a collective. 


So we of course talk about that. 


What are those challenges? What is the true value of virtual
land? And what does it really take to throw a great virtual
party?


Welcome to STIMY Ep 95!





Highlights:


2.56 Being artistic

4:47 Saying yes to opportunities

7:36 Lessons learned from the gaming industry

9:24 Working with gaming developers

10:51 Becoming the Marketing Director at Rovio Entertainment

12:12 Good partnerships are a gut feeling

13:23 Spearheading the launch of Angry Birds Space & NASA
Collaboration

17:17 Planning the launch

17:56 Biggest challenge in the gaming industry

18:44 How do you build community?

20:34 Making herself redundant as the marketing director at
Decentraland

23:34 How Decentraland’s DAO works

27:30 Challenges in removing herself as a marketing director

28:51 Why pick Decentraland over everyone else?

32:16 What is the true value of virtual land?

35:23 How companies can fully utilise virtual land

40:04 Renting, not buying

41:44 Behind-the-scenes of throwing a virtual party

43:26 What do people always forget to do when planning a
virtual party?

44:32 Web3 metrics of success 

46:05 How companies can get started in web3






Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/95 


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