"Board of Directors" Added to Lindenlab.com's About Page

There's been a change at the bottom of the "About" page of Linden Lab's website. In addition to nine of Linden Lab's senior staff, at the bottom has been added "Board of Directors." There are three people listed there, Brad Overwager and Randall Waterfield, the two leaders of the investment group that acquired Linden Lab, and Raj Date.

Brad Oberwager

Brad Oberwager has spent his entire career in technology and consumer focused companies as an entrepreneur and board member.

Currently, he sits on the board of two public companies, Asure Software (NASDAQ: ASUR) and Better World (NASDAQ: BWACU). He is the chairman of two companies he founded, Jyve and Sundia and is also on the board of TEGSCO (aka AutoReturn). He owned Bare Snacks, acquired by PepsiCo in 2018.

Brad was Vice-chair of YPO International, a global organization of 25,000 CEOs.

Brad received his BS from Georgetown University, his MBA from the Wharton School and lives in San Francisco.

J. Randall (Randy) Waterfield

Mr. J. Randall (Randy) Waterfield, is the Chairman of Waterfield Holdings, which traces its origins to 1928. After selling the largest private mortgage company in the US and largest Indiana based bank in 2006 and 2007 respectively, he diversified into technology, manufacturing and other industries.

Randy holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a graduate of Harvard University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Red Oak Partners, Waterfield Technologies, Linden Research, Inc. and has previously served on the boards of YPO (and was the 2017-2018 Chairman of YPO), Asure Software ( NASDAQ: ASUR), SMTC Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTX), RF Industries (NASDAQ: RFIL), among others. He is also the Co-Chairman of Missouri Cobalt, LLC, the largest cobalt mine in North America.

Randy supports various education, environmental and community development charitable causes through the nonprofit Waterfield Foundation and J. Randall Waterfield Foundation.

Raj Date

Raj Date was the first-ever Deputy Director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As the Bureau’s second-ranking official, he helped steward the CFPB’s strategy, its operations, and its policy agenda. He also served on the senior staff committee of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and as a statutory deputy to the FDIC Board.

Before being appointed Deputy Director, Raj acted as the interim leader of the new agency, serving as the Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury. He led the CFPB for most of the first six months after its launch.

Currently, Raj is the Managing Partner of Fenway Summer, an advisory and investment firm focused on financial services and financial technology. In that capacity, he chairs the investment committee of Fenway Summer Ventures, a fintech venture capital fund, and works with clients of FS Vector, the fintech advisory firm. He also serves as a Director for a number of innovative firms in financial services: Prosper, the marketplace lender; Green Dot, the bank holding company; Circle, the digital asset firm; Grasshopper, a de novo bank; and College Ave, a private student lender.

He is a graduate of the College of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley (highest honors) and the Harvard Law School (magna cum laude).

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau came about in 2011 as a response to the financial crisis of 2008. Before Fate joined it, he was a senior vice-president at Captal One and as a managing director at Deutsche Bank. He was also on the Board of Directors of Prosper Marketplace. He left banking work in 2009, and started the Cambridge Winter Center, which was "devoted to promoting the regulation of financial firms." His being apointed Deputy Director of the CFPB came with some controversy as it was reported that he was active in the discussions over the the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which led to the CFPB's creation. But he "was never found to be in violation of any laws and he had always recused himself from rule-making regarding peer-to-peer lending." It was after he left the Bureau he founded Fenway Summer. 

More on Oberwager and Waterfield can be read in our first article about the acquisition.

Sources: Linden Lab, Wikipedia

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

Linden Lab's Buyout Now Official, Second Life Listed As Part Of Waterfield Network

 
Almost unnoticed at the end of Linden Lab's announcement that the move of Second Life's data to Cloud servers was now complete was an announcement of another kind. When the Lab announced the agreement with a group of investors to be acquired in July, it was mentioned the deal required the approval of the US Government. At the end of Tuesday's announcement, it was stated the approval was finally granted after a review. The big reason for the approval was Linden Lab's money service Tilia.

 Another noteworthy development for the new year is that Linden Lab has new owners! As announced in mid-2020, an investment group led by Randy Waterfield and Brad Oberwager signed an agreement to acquire the company subject to regulatory approval by financial regulators in the U.S. related to Tilia Inc.’s status as a licensed money transmitter as well as other customary closing conditions. We are pleased to share that the regulatory review has been completed and Linden Lab is now under new ownership.  

On the Waterfield Holdings webpage, Second Life was listed as part of the Waterfield Network, alongside other companies such as Goldman Sachs.

And what does this mean for Second Life and it's residents? For now, not much. It was earlier stated that the investors plans were to pretty much let Linden Lab continue to run Second Life as they see fit. In this latest announcement, they hinted the investors would be sending over some money.

While the owners may be new, things are “business as usual” in Second Life. Last year saw strong growth for our virtual world and, as a result of this acquisition we expect even more resources in 2021 to further improve and grow Second Life in the future.  

Hamlet Au in New World Notes would have a few things to say on the topic. Among them, that over time Waterfield would likely send the Lab some directives over time to keep it's profit margin. This likely includes higher fees and more incentives to go Premium.

Hat Tip: Hamlet Au

Bixyl Shuftan

Men of the Year Runner-Up: The Acquisition Team

 

Besides the Newser's choice for "Man of the Year" Draxtor Despress, there were a number of other newsmakers. But the ones who stood out were the team of investors led by Randy Waterfield and Bradford Oberwager. On July 9, it was announced by Linden Lab that negotiations between them and the team had reached a deal that would result in the investors taking ownership of the company known for it's running of Second Life. All that was left needed was the approval of the US Federal Government to finalize it. The news was all the talk around the residents for a while. Some were afraid the result would be Second Life going lower in quality or even dismantled and shut down. Others felt there wouldn't be much change or possibly even some improvement. And still others felt it was too soon to tell or were otherwise unsure. Ebbe Linden stated that part of the deal was the Lab would continue to be free to run Second Life. Brett Linden added Waterfield and Oberwager had a solid view of what Second Life was and wasn't, which led to their decision to invest. After a few weeks, the chatter died down, and Residents were more or less going about their usual business.

While the investment team was only in the news for a matter of a few weeks, the move's potential implications for Second Life are obvious. So they are the Newser's Men of the Year - Runner Up.

Other notable people this year were the Moles for their continued work on Bellisseria and the Linden Homes, the staff of Gen-Con whom took their annual gaming convention online to Second Life, those whom made an effort to inform residents about the Coronavirus and honor those whom passed away from it, and of course the Relay for Life volunteers.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor, SL Newser

News and Commentary: Mixed Reaction to Buyout of Linden Lab

Well, that was a surprise.

Occasionally, there's a rumor that Linden Lab is talking to someone behind the scenes in negotiations to sell Second Life or be bought out. This was especially the case in 2010 in the months following the layoffs of a third of the staff. But while the Lab has made deals with other companies, the last time having sold Sansar to Wookey, there have been no negotiations about either the ownership of itself or Second Life (at least officially). That is until yesterday when in a Press Release, Linden Lab announced it had been "Acquired" by a group of investors.

It didn't take long for news to spread, and there's been no shortage of comments, such as the thread in the official forums. There's no shortage of predictions of doom, "Second Life is dead." "We're so screwed." "Damn I cannot believe it, after 13 years its time to say good bye, I guess, that sucks. I mean you put 13 years of your life into something and wham its gone just like that."

And there's more than a little pessimism, "But after being let down by Blizzard, Bioware and Bethesda, I'm usually not rooting for any company to get investors on board nowadays." "This is worrying indeed, I've always been more in favor of a company remaining independent from outside influences, and this is basically... the opposite." "Investment groups are typically parasites that contribute very little while sucking companies dry."

Some others were more optimistic, such as those pointing out Linden Lab founder Philip Rosedale quoted as saying, "I’ve known Brad for 14 years personally and professionally, and I’m confident he will bring his passion and proven strategies to help Linden Lab achieve new heights in distribution, scale, and quality while remaining true to the original vision, creativity, and community that makes Second Life unique and special.” And then there was the track record of Oberwager, "My ... thought was that this fellow buying the outfit seems to have more business success (with this sort of better Task Rabbit thing called Jyve) and more experience than the past lab technicians, and that's a good thing."

And there were those suggesting it was too soon to make conclusions, "I need to wait and see what Ebbe has to say from his side on this to us the users of SL before I get overly excited." "I've worked for several companies that got taken over by investment companies.  What happens next falls into two categories ... Things run smoothly for a year or so, then the investment company starts asset stripping piece by piece. ... The investment company...invests.  They take a loss on the initial purchase, a loss on the initial investment but have a road plan to regain that investment back in 2 to 5 years. ... THIS is the kind of investment company we can hope has taken over Linden Research, the type of company who are in it for the long haul. We will find out (probably by the beginning of next year) if the investment company who took over is path 1, or path 2." "After careful consideration, I have decided not to freak out just yet."  "Hope for the best. Plan for the worst. Expect nothing.That's it. Speculation is lovely and all but being panicked will not help whatsoever."

And of course there was humor, "I guess that guy that's been perving us all and IMing with only 'hi' all these years finally got the money to buy the thing."

It was also suggested that the negotiations for the buyout were the reason that there were no big revelations in the Meet the Lindens event at the Second Life Birthday this year.

Ebbe Altberg/Ebbe Linden would try to answer these concerns from residents on Twitter, saying Linden Lab was free to make it's own decisions, "No plan for drainage here. Great to remain independent. Everyone motivated to build and grow."

Brett Linden would finally step in the thread with his comments, "A few folks are speculating that this is the end of SL and nothing could be further than the truth. Any talk of dismantling or radically changing the fundamentals of SL that we know and love is inaccurate. While we can't get into specific details about the deal itself, I want to emphasize the fact that this keeps Linden Lab as an independent venture led by two investors who have a great deal of awareness about what SL is and isn't. They are excited to join and help us grow both SL and Tilia while also respecting and recognizing the needs and sensitivities of the existing culture and community. " When asked when more information was forthcoming, he answered, "We look forward to being able to share more as soon as we can and I know that Brad (Oberwager) is eager to meet the community as we get closer to the closing/approval date." Bret would go on to say that Oberwager would get an avatar and come inworld, for the Lab Gab show and meeting people elsewhere inworld. A couple Lindens, including Grumpity, would poke fun at the doom and gloom by wearing signs proclaiming "The end of the world is coming!"

My own opinion? In short, I tend to agree with those whom argue "wait and see." After being part of this virtual world for over thirteen years, I've seen my share of people of people predicting the end whenever something big happens. But I do see signs of optimism. That Oberwager is planning to come inworld to discuss things is a good sign. So are the Lindens with their "End of the world" joke signs. If they weren't optimistic, I doubt they'd be kidding around. Of the two people, one a member of Mensa, the other whom has an interesting success story with Jyve, it's obvious they're smart businessmen. That one plans to come inworld shows at least he wants to talk to his new customers.

On the other hand, there are enough acquisitions that went badly, or had mixed results. So those with dim outlooks don't have to look too deeply for evidence to support their conclusions.

So why did Waterfield and Oberwager's group of investors buy out Linden Lab when the company couldn't find a buyer in 2010, assuming the rumors were true? Well, Second Life's glory days were from 2006 to 2008. By 2010, it was clear the place wouldn't be drawing as many people as it once did for quite some time to come. Today, the world is under a global pandemic that has send many places into lockdowns and quarantines, and even in places that aren't people are discouraged from meeting up or going to crowded areas. The result is people are spending more time online, and more are coming here. Our future, at least for the near term, is looking brighter. And this is what financial investors are looking for.

In a sense, this sale marks Linden Lab finally becoming a success story in the eyes of the tech world. It's been commented on that one of the reasons Second Life wasn't considered one was it was never bought up by a larger company. And now, Linden Lab has been bought out under what look like generous terms. Not that Second Life's residents/customers cared much about what those people thought.

In any event, Linden Lab, and Second Life, are entering a new era. How it turns out, we'll need to wait several months at least, maybe over a year, before we can really say it was for the better or worse.

Image Credit: Whirly Fizzle

Source: Techcrunch

Bixyl Shuftan

BREAKING NEWS: Linden Lab Has Been "Acquired By Investment Group"

In a surprise move, earlier today Linden Lab announced in a press release on its website that it was now under the ownership of investors, with Randy Waterfield and Brad Oberwager as it's leaders.

 Linden Research, Inc. announced today it signed an agreement to be acquired by an investment group led by Randy Waterfield and Brad Oberwager. Closing of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval by financial regulators in the U.S. related to Tilia Inc.’s status as a licensed money transmitter as well as other customary closing conditions. Upon closing, Mr. Waterfield and Mr. Oberwager will join the Board of Directors of Linden Research, Inc.

Randy Waterfield is described in his Linkedin page as "the Chairman of Waterfield Group, a diversified financial services holding company" with holdings in "technology, real estate, and asset management." The man is also described as a member of Mensa and a graduate of Harvard. He also worked at Goldman Sachs as an asset manager.

Bradford Oberwager  had this to say in his LinkedIn, "I have founded and/or run five tech/CPG companies—Jyve, Bare Snacks (acquired by PepsiCo), True & Good! Snacks, Acumins/more.com (acquired by HealthCentral), and Blue Tiger/Open Webs (acquired by CarParts). Of course, I founded more than these five, but I have had my share of failures as well. Learned a lot from them. These companies were built in partnership with spectacular executive teams and based on strong cultures. My father always said, 'The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.' At each of these companies, our 'main thing' is culture. We are obsessed with it. These teams believe diversity of thought is essential to success and understand with diversity comes conflict, which we wholeheartedly embrace. We have complete trust—in each other and in the certainty that in working through the conflict in a healthy way, we’re going to get someplace good."

The press release did quote Philip Rosedale, the founder of Linden Lab, as saying, "I’ve known Brad for 14 years personally and professionally, and I’m confident he will bring his passion and proven strategies to help Linden Lab achieve new heights in distribution, scale, and quality while remaining true to the original vision, creativity, and community that makes Second Life unique and special.” So the Lab is trying to put a positive spin on the change.

It's too soon to tell what effect this change will have on Second Life. But there's already discussion brewing about it, in various groups inworld and a thread in the official forums. Do you have any comments? Feel free to leave them below.

Stay tuned for more information on this breaking news.

Bixyl Shuftan