The CFO Playbook

This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Ed Lu, Chief Financial Officer at Fandom, a San Francisco-based gaming and entertainment community platform.Ed is a gaming and media tech executive with deep finance, strategy and operational experiences focused on VC and PE-backed Gaming and B2C companies. He holds a Master’s in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from UC Berkeley.In this episode, Ed talks about the explosive growth of the gaming industry over the course of the pandemic, the impact that generative AI will have on game development, and the ups and downs of the financial investment side of the sector.--------Guest Quotes:“A lot of these [gaming] companies have had to somewhat bootstrap themselves, right? Or like, on a shoestring budget, get something out, show the metrics that the VCs will understand, ‘Oh, okay, I get it. Here's the D1, here's the D3, D7, D28, here's the monetization, here's the ARPU, whatnot. I can now project it out further.’ But they're not getting funding prior, right? And so they've been coming into the game a little later, like sort of post traction.” - Ed Lu--------Topics:01:34 Ed’s background06:53 The evolution of monetization in online gaming 15:44 Trials and tribulations of game development20:21 Investment in the gaming sector30:03 Downsides of VC investing40:12 Managing employee retention as a CFO49:24 Reflecting on his career--------Sponsor:This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com--------Links:Connect with Ed on LinkedInConnect with Fran on LinkedInThe CFO Playbook Listener Survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Show Notes

This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Ed Lu, Chief Financial Officer at Fandom, a San Francisco-based gaming and entertainment community platform.

Ed is a gaming and media tech executive with deep finance, strategy and operational experiences focused on VC and PE-backed Gaming and B2C companies. He holds a Master’s in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from UC Berkeley.

In this episode, Ed talks about the explosive growth of the gaming industry over the course of the pandemic, the impact that generative AI will have on game development, and the ups and downs of the financial investment side of the sector.

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Guest Quotes:

“A lot of these [gaming] companies have had to somewhat bootstrap themselves, right? Or like, on a shoestring budget, get something out, show the metrics that the VCs will understand, ‘Oh, okay, I get it. Here's the D1, here's the D3, D7, D28, here's the monetization, here's the ARPU, whatnot. I can now project it out further.’ But they're not getting funding prior, right? And so they've been coming into the game a little later, like sort of post traction.” - Ed Lu

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Topics:

01:34 Ed’s background

06:53 The evolution of monetization in online gaming 

15:44 Trials and tribulations of game development

20:21 Investment in the gaming sector

30:03 Downsides of VC investing

40:12 Managing employee retention as a CFO

49:24 Reflecting on his career

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Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com

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Links:

Connect with Ed on LinkedIn

Connect with Fran on LinkedIn

The CFO Playbook Listener Survey

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is The CFO Playbook?

Being a finance leader is no longer just about controlling costs. 2025’s CFOs are trusted business leaders and innovators that drive growth throughout the organisation. Hosted by technology reporter, presenter and consumer champion, David McClelland, The CFO Playbook features interviews with world-class CFOs, finance leaders and founders from some of the fastest growing companies. The CFO Playbook is brought to you by Soldo.