Paul Thelen
Encyclopedia
Paul Thelen is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer
of Big Fish Games
. He has an MBA from Stanford University
and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Washington
. Thelen has more than 20 years experience working in technology. Big Fish Games
is the largest portal for downloadable games in the world, distributing in excess of 1.5 million games per day.
. After four years at IBM, Thelen left to join a small wholesale food distribution mainframe software developer to start a systems integration division for the 12 person company.
While at Stanford University
, Thelen focused his studies on technology and marketing and then entered the field of strategic business consulting for Mercer Management Consulting. At Mercer, Thelen worked on developing targeted customer marketing solutions and customer database mining
programs for several companies including First Interstate Bank (acquired by Wells Fargo
) and Sprint
Telecommunications.
Acting on his desire to get back into the trenches with a technology company, Thelen accepted an offer from RealNetworks
. While there, Thelen successfully launched RealAudio
(stereo streaming audio over the Internet) and RealVideo
; wrote the business plan and deployed the RealProducer and RealPublisher media editing, compression and deployment tools; and lead strategy for the Media Systems division as Group Product Manager. Thelen then moved on to co-found the games business at RealNetworks
. Thelen wrote the business plan for the RealArcade Service, the RealArcade Client, and the Game Pass Subscription service.
In 2002, Thelen bootstrapped startup Big Fish Games with a mere $10,000 during a period in his life when he was very sick with an undiagnosed, life-threatening illness. Big Fish Games grew rapidly and secured $8.7 million in angel funding in 2005 and an additional $83.6 million from Balderton Capital, General Catalyst and Salmon River Capital in August 2008. Big Fish Games now has 400 employees with corporate offices in Seattle, Washington
, United States
and additional offices in Vancouver, Canada and Cork, Ireland
.
Chief strategy officer
A Chief Strategy Officer , or chief strategist, is an executive who is responsible for assisting the chief executive officer with creating, communicating, executing, and sustaining strategic initiatives within a company or agency....
of Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games is a provider of Internet media delivery software and game services based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 2002 by Paul Thelen , and currently employs more than 400 people...
. He has an MBA from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. Thelen has more than 20 years experience working in technology. Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games is a provider of Internet media delivery software and game services based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 2002 by Paul Thelen , and currently employs more than 400 people...
is the largest portal for downloadable games in the world, distributing in excess of 1.5 million games per day.
Career
After graduating from the University of Washington in 1985, Thelen started his career as a Systems Engineer with the Seattle Marketing and Sales office of IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
. After four years at IBM, Thelen left to join a small wholesale food distribution mainframe software developer to start a systems integration division for the 12 person company.
While at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Thelen focused his studies on technology and marketing and then entered the field of strategic business consulting for Mercer Management Consulting. At Mercer, Thelen worked on developing targeted customer marketing solutions and customer database mining
Data mining
Data mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...
programs for several companies including First Interstate Bank (acquired by Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
) and Sprint
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
Telecommunications.
Acting on his desire to get back into the trenches with a technology company, Thelen accepted an offer from RealNetworks
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
. While there, Thelen successfully launched RealAudio
RealAudio
RealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
(stereo streaming audio over the Internet) and RealVideo
RealVideo
RealVideo is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and is at version 10. RealVideo is supported on many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and several mobile...
; wrote the business plan and deployed the RealProducer and RealPublisher media editing, compression and deployment tools; and lead strategy for the Media Systems division as Group Product Manager. Thelen then moved on to co-found the games business at RealNetworks
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
. Thelen wrote the business plan for the RealArcade Service, the RealArcade Client, and the Game Pass Subscription service.
In 2002, Thelen bootstrapped startup Big Fish Games with a mere $10,000 during a period in his life when he was very sick with an undiagnosed, life-threatening illness. Big Fish Games grew rapidly and secured $8.7 million in angel funding in 2005 and an additional $83.6 million from Balderton Capital, General Catalyst and Salmon River Capital in August 2008. Big Fish Games now has 400 employees with corporate offices in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and additional offices in Vancouver, Canada and Cork, Ireland
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
.