DON SECHLER
Co-founder and former CFO of Blumhouse Games and ex-PlayStation strategic finance leader with the rare triple threat of operating experience at scale, from building an indie publisher to managing multi-billion dollar P&Ls, with Wall Street rigor, and gaming industry expertise on both sides of the table from platform to publisher.
Platform/content deals – Don has structured and negotiated dozens of deals from both the platform and publisher sides of the table ranging into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Interim COO/CFO – Don has advised or run multiple organizations through start up, high growth, and distressed periods with teams ranging to over 100 people, and can help jump start, stabilize, turbocharge, or triage most any situation.
Strategic finance (ROI, capital investment, deal structuring, portfolio optimization) – Don has used economic principles to inform complex resource allocation decisions from both a private equity investor and video game industry operator standpoint, resulting in strongly positive cumulative ROI.
Strategic alternatives (equity and debt capital raising, M&A) – Don has been a bulge bracket investment banker, advising clients on a full range of strategic options, including the IPO of a mobile gaming company.
Corporate finance (business modeling, forecasting, price modeling, scenario analysis, build vs buy) – Don has built each from scratch to secure investment, create and run a viable publishing business, make meaningful decisions in both startup and large, established organizations, and manage P&Ls ranging into the billions.
Pitching investors – Don has reviewed hundreds of pitch decks from the perspective of both financial investor and publisher and can help construct the right pitch for strategic, VC, or PE investors.
Publishing – As co-founder and CFO, Don wrote the business plan, secured investment, and helped build a viable indie publisher from the ground up, including the release of highly-rated content, and the signing of a slate of games from developers all over the world and the outsourced resources necessary to deliver, market, and publish interactive content.
Transmedia – Don understands the financial and operational dynamics of monetizing IP across entertainment verticals, having worked inside a Hollywood production company developing IP across film and games.
Team/department management – Don has managed teams ranging to over 100 people, spearheaded the design and implementation of systems cascading KPIs from top to bottom for operational alignment, and can advise on building a performance-driven culture that maintains authenticity.
Mentorship / leadership coaching – Don is an award-winning mentor, serves on the board of directors for a business leadership organization with 300K initiated members, and successfully navigated the rise from middle management to executive leadership.