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David Baszucki

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David Baszucki
A headshot of David Baszucki
Baszucki on March 12, 2018 at South by Southwest
Born
David Baszucki

(1963-01-20) January 20, 1963 (age 61)
Canada
Alma materStanford University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Engineer, Inventor
Years active1989–present
Known forCo-founder of Roblox
TitleCEO of Roblox Corporation
SpouseJan Ellison

David Baszucki (born January 20, 1963) is a Canadian-born American entrepreneur, engineer, and inventor. He is best known as the co-founder of Roblox. He previously founded and served as the CEO of Knowledge Revolution, which was acquired by MSC Software in December 1998.[1]

Early life and education

Baszucki was born on January 20, 1963 in Canada.[2] He attended Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, MN,[3][unreliable source?] where he was the captain of his high school TV quiz team. He later went on to host his own talk radio show for KSCO Radio Santa Cruz from February to July 2003.[4][5] Baszucki studied engineering and computer science at Stanford University.[6] He graduated in 1985 as a General Motors Scholar in electrical engineering.[7]

Career

Knowledge Revolution

In 1989, Baszucki, together with his brother, Greg Baszucki, founded the company Knowledge Revolution following the development of their educational application Interactive Physics.[8] Originally released for Macintosh computers, Interactive Physics was an award-winning engineering simulation software product that allowed users, primarily teachers and students, to create their own physics experiments in a 2D laboratory environment.[9][10][11]

As a follow-up to Interactive Physics, Knowledge Revolution launched the mechanical design software Working Model in the early 1990s. Similar to its sister program, Working Model also provided a set of virtual mechanical components, such as springs, ropes, and motors, that could be used to create basic physics simulations in a 2D working space.[12]

In December 1998, Knowledge Revolution was acquired by MSC Software, a simulation software company based in Newport Beach, California, for $20 million.[6] Baszucki was named Vice President and General Manager of MSC Software from 2000 – 2002, but he left to establish Baszucki & Associates, an angel investment firm, from 2003 - 2004.[13]

Roblox

Main article: Roblox

In 2004, Baszucki, along with Erik Cassel[14] – who worked as Baszucki's VP of Engineering for Interactive Physics[15] – began working on an early prototype of Roblox under the working title DynaBlocks. It was later renamed Roblox, a portmanteau of “robots” and “blocks” in 2005. The website officially launched in 2006.[16] Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Roblox Corporation provides a platform that allows users to design their own games and play a wide variety of experiences developed by other users through its proprietary creation engine Roblox Studio. In a June 2016 interview with Forbes, Baszucki stated that the idea for Roblox was inspired by the success of his Interactive Physics and Working Model software applications, especially among young students: “Seeing how kids lit up when they were creating things using our physics software made me think of what would be the ultimate platform for our imagination. Also I like construction toys and I saw the direction 3-D rendering was going. It became clear to me that there was an opportunity to create an immersive, 3-D, multi-player platform in the cloud where people could imagine, create, and share their experiences together.”[6] A December 2017 study conducted by media measurement and analytics company Comscore showed that the platform saw more monthly hours (51.5 million) from visitors under 13 on desktop computers than YouTube (19.4 million). Additionally, the study states that Roblox also received more average monthly visits from users under 18 on desktop computers than YouTube and Netflix.[17][18]

In a December 2016 interview with VentureBeat, Baszucki said, “We believe we’re starting to see a network effect. Retention is getting higher as more people come to play with their friends and have a better chance of finding their friends.”[19] During an April 2018 entrepreneurial thought leadership talk at Stanford, Baszucki attributed Roblox’s growth to its adherence to platform principles: it allows users to create viral content that attracts other people to the platform and it enables creators to drive the monetization.[20]

Baszucki believes that Roblox is ushering in a new “human co-experience” category that will become larger than gaming. In a September 2018 interview with Forbes, Baszucki said, "Right when we started, we imagined a new category of people doing things together. A category that involved friends, like social networking; a category that involved immersive 3-D, like gaming; a category that involved cool content, like a media company; and finally a category that had unlimited creation, like a building toy.”[21]

On January 15, 2019, Roblox launched a new digital civility initiative with online safety expert Laura Higgins at the helm. The initiative is aimed at creating new programs, as well as identifying technology and behavioral trends, that will “empower kids, teens, parents, and caregivers with the skills to create positive online experiences,” according to a press release. Baszucki commented, “Roblox’s mission is to bring the world together through play. As a training ground for life, we are fostering the new behaviors and skills that digital citizens need in this rapidly changing world. I’m pleased Laura will be joining us to guide our efforts in this important area.”[22][23][24]

On August 2, 2019, Roblox reached a new community milestone of 100 million monthly active users.[25]

In August 2009, Roblox Corporation raised roughly $2.2 million of funding, led by Altos Ventures and First Round Capital.[26] In June 2011, the company closed its second round of venture financing with $4 million in investment capital from existing investors, including Altos Ventures and First Round Capital.[27] In March 2017, Roblox secured a $92 million investment in a financing round led by Meritech Capital Partners and Index Ventures.[28][29] In September 2018, Roblox announced that it closed on a $150 million Series F funding round led by Greylock Partners and Tiger Global Management, with participation from existing investors including Altos Ventures, Index Ventures, and Meritech Capital Partners.[30]

Roblox has received the following accolades:

Other business interests

Baszucki led the angel investment firm Baszucki and Associates from 2003 to 2004.[13] He provided seed funding to Dealix, an automotive internet marketing service that was acquired by The Cobalt Group,[35] and Friendster, a social networking service.[36]

Awards and recognition

Baszucki has received the following awards and honors:

  • In 2015, he was honored with the “San Mateo Visionary Hero Award” for Roblox’s contributions to education and encouraging kids to code.[37]
  • In 2017 and 2018, Goldman Sachs named him as one of its 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.[7]
  • In 2018 and 2019, company culture and compensation data platform Comparably recognized Baszucki as one of the best CEOs for diversity.[38][39]

Patents

Title Application Number Grant Number Application Date Grant Date Original Assignee
System for creating and operating three-dimensional vehicles from pre-constructed parts[40] 12/949041 8277318 2010-11-18 2012-10-2 Roblox Corporation
System and methods for managing distributed physics simulation of objects in a virtual environment[41] 12/623292 8832568 2009-11-20 2014-11-9 Roblox Corporation
Methods and system for modifying parameters of three dimensional objects subject to physics simulation and assembly[42] 12/752415 8839153 2010-4-1 2014-9-16 Roblox Corporation
Gaming system[43] 13/040713 9028330 2011-3-4 2015-5-12 Roblox Corporation
Geometric assembly[44] 13/658172 9229605 2012-10-23 2016-1-5 Roblox Corporation
Game retention value optimization system[45] 14/519509 9821223 2014-10-21 2017-11-21 Roblox Corporation
Online building toy[46] 11/128096 7874921 2005-5-11 2011-1-25 Roblox Corporation
Method and apparatus for automatic coalescence of connected rigid bodies[47] 12/214482 8537165 2008-6-18 2013-9-17 Roblox Corporation
Automatic decoration of a three-dimensional model[48] 11/998563 9536344 2007-11-30 2017-1-3 Roblox Corporation
Dynamic and scalable topology for virtual world environments[49] 12/251389 9550125 2008-10-14 2017-1-24 Roblox Corporation
Lighting management in virtual worlds[50] 13/894019 9245376 2013-5-14 2016-1-26 Roblox Corporation
Method and apparatus for rendering and modifying terrain in a virtual world[51] 13/354779 8842116 2012-1-20 2014-9-23 Roblox Corporation
Multi-solver physics engine[52] 13/905989 9457277 2013-5-30 2016-10-4 Roblox Corporation
Pass-structured game platform[53] 13/708413 9199170 2012-12-7 2015-12-1 Roblox Corporation
Motivational score[54] 14/223395 9901833 2014-3-24 2018-2-27 Roblox Corporation

Personal life

Baszucki lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and their four children.[55]

References

  1. ^ "Knowledge Revolution, Inc.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "David Baszucki on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  3. ^ "David Baszucki, Class of 1981 - Eden Prairie High School - Classmates". www.classmates.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  4. ^ Orin, Andy. "I'm David Baszucki, CEO of Roblox, and This Is How I Work". Lifehacker. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "Seeing the possibilities". www.paloaltoonline.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2004. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Adams, Susan. "Why The Creator Of Roblox Thinks His Gaming Platform Will Top Minecraft". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "David Baszucki: The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series". Stanford School of Engineering. March 20, 2018. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  8. ^ "Orlando Exhibit Brings News of Educational Software Advances". Computers in Physics. 6 (2): 111–112. 1992. Bibcode:1992ComPh...6..111.. doi:10.1063/1.4823052.
  9. ^ "Interactive Physics - Physics Simulation Software for the Classroom". www.design-simulation.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  10. ^ "Interactive Physics by Knowledge Revolution". Michigan State University. Archived from the original on February 19, 2005.
  11. ^ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (May 14, 1990). InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Working Model 2D - 2D Kinematics & Dynamics Software - Engineering Simulait". www.design-simulation.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Baszucki, David. "David Baszucki". LinkedIn.
  14. ^ "Roblox Company Information". Roblox Support. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  15. ^ "In Memory of Erik Cassel". Roblox Blog. February 12, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  16. ^ Fennimore, Jack (July 12, 2017). "Roblox: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  17. ^ "Roblox, the Club Penguin for Gen Z, is now cash-flow positive – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  18. ^ Knapp, Alex. "Young Developers Earned Over $30M On Roblox In 2017, The Gaming Site Kids Visit More Than YouTube". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  19. ^ "At 10, Roblox surpasses 30 million monthly users and 300 million hours of engagement". VentureBeat. December 20, 2016. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  20. ^ "When the Platform is Your Product [Entire Talk] | Stanford eCorner". Stanford eCorner. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  21. ^ Knapp, Alex. "How Roblox Is Training The Next Generation Of Gaming Entrepreneurs". Forbes. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  22. ^ "Roblox hires online safety veteran to lead digital civility initiative". VentureBeat. January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  23. ^ Lanier, Liz; Lanier, Liz (January 16, 2019). "Roblox Launches Digital Civility Initiative in Push for Safety". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  24. ^ "Roblox Hires Laura Higgins to Lead New Digital Civility Initiative". Roblox. January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  25. ^ "Roblox hits 100m monthly active users as the go-to kids game platform". SlashGear. August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  26. ^ Staff, Edit (August 14, 2009). "Kid-Friendly Online Gamer Roblox Raises $2.2 Million". gigaom.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  27. ^ "ROBLOX Raises $4 Million For Its Online Building Game For Kids – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  28. ^ "Roblox Secures $92 Million in Funding". Index Ventures. March 14, 2017. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  29. ^ "Roblox raises $92 million in funding for its Lego-like virtual game world". VentureBeat. March 14, 2017. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  30. ^ "Kids' gaming platform Roblox raises $150M". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  31. ^ "The Complete Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Companies". Inc.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  32. ^ "Business Innovators Honored". Bay Meadows. 2017.
  33. ^ "2017 Technology Fast 500 award winners | Deloitte US". Deloitte United States. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  34. ^ Procter, Richard (May 17, 2017). "Roblox lets users build their own virtual world". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  35. ^ "The Cobalt Group Acquires Dealix Corporation - Dealix, An Autobytel Company". Dealix, An Autobytel Company. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  36. ^ Cashmore, Pete. "Digg Trademark, Singing News, $5.8 Billion Video Market, Roblox, More". Mashable. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  37. ^ "community engagement Archives - San Mateo Insider". San Mateo Insider. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  38. ^ "Best CEOs for Diversity 2018". Comparably. June 6, 2018.
  39. ^ ComparablyJune 25; 2019. "Best CEOs for Diversity 2019". Comparably. Retrieved August 2, 2019. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ Baszucki, David. "System for creating and operating three-dimensional vehicles from pre-constructed parts" (PDF). United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2018.
  41. ^ Baszucki, David. "System and methods for managing distributed physics simulation of objects in a virtual environment". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  42. ^ Baszucki, David. "Methods and system for modifying parameters of three dimensional objects subject to physics simulation and assembly". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  43. ^ Baszucki, David. "Gaming system". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  44. ^ Baszucki, David. "Geometric assembly". Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  45. ^ Baszucki, David. "Game retention value optimization system". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  46. ^ Baszucki, David. "Online building toy". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  47. ^ Baszucki, David. "Method and apparatus for automatic coalescence of connected rigid bodies". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  48. ^ Baszucki, David. "Automatic decoration of a three-dimensional model". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  49. ^ Baszucki, David. "Dynamic and scalable topology for virtual world environments". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  50. ^ Baszucki, David. "Lighting management in virtual worlds". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  51. ^ Baszucki, David. "Method and apparatus for rendering and modifying terrain in a virtual world". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  52. ^ Baszucki, David. "Multi-solver physics engine". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  53. ^ Baszucki, David. "Pass-structured game platform". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  54. ^ Baszucki, David. "Motivational score". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
  55. ^ "Local author Jan Ellison's debut novel, A Small Indiscretion, is spotlighted at Kepler's — InMenlo". inmenlo.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
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