Jason is a founder of East Side Games, Canada’s leading independent gaming studio. Jason is considered one of Canada’s most experienced gaming entrepreneurs. Prior to East Side Games, Jason was a founder of Super Rewards, which he sold in 2009.  Super Rewards was a social game monetization platform which helped pioneer the free to play game model that is ubiquitous today.  Over the last 20 years he has been mentor to and investor in a variety of Canadian startups and technology companies. 

Darcy has over 20+ years of senior executive experience building successful companies and brands spanning, Asia, Europe and North America. He has a proven track record in C-suite and senior leadership roles at IMG Canada (now Endeavor LLC), Logic Technologies Inc, JT International S.A. and MASEV Communications Inc, that was acquired by IMG Canada. His experience spans corporate, agency, and entrepreneurial environments across free-to-play Mobile games, FinTech, esports, Blockchain, FMCG/CPG, Digital Marketing & Media and Sports & Entertainment industries.

Wally has 20 years of gaming and tech leadership experience as CEO, EVP, SVP, VP, and Board Director; from overseeing $1B+ in GMV to scaling companies from private to IPO. As Skillz’ first VP Sales and Content, Wally helped lead Skillz as the very first mobile game esports company to go public in 2020. As CEO and co-founder of mNectar, he was a co-creator of the Playable Ad, which has become an evergreen ad format for the mobile games industry at large. Wally served as Super Rewards’ first head of sales, helping lead the company to a successful exit.

Elin is an experienced leader with more than 15 years of expertise in entertainment and game development. She specializes in empathy-driven management, mobile game development, and IP partnerships. As the Chief Business Officer at East Side Games, Elin skillfully manages partnerships with major industry players, including NBCU, BBC, Paramount, and World of Wonder. With a diverse background in production and a start as an indie game developer, Elin has overseen and produced over 400 live in-game events as as Live Ops Producer and Executive Producer. She expertly synergizes these in-game events with talent integrations, platform features, and marketing coordinations with IP partners. Elin has played a critical role in the success of games such as “Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money” and “The Office: Somehow We Manage.”

Josh Nilson is the co-founder, general manager, studio head and former CEO of East Side Games, making the best narrative idle games in the business. Josh has been working in the tech industry for more than 20 years, at both enterprise and start-up companies. Josh was recognized as one of BC500 Business Leaders in 2021 and 2022 and was named BC Tech’s Person of the year in 2022. In April 2023, Josh was inducted into BC Tech’s Innovators Hall of Fame. He continues his steadfast efforts to ensure tech is for everyone.

Jason is a founder of East Side Games, Canada’s leading independent gaming studio. Jason is considered one of Canada’s most experienced gaming entrepreneurs. Prior to East Side Games, Jason was a founder of Super Rewards, which he sold in 2009.  Super Rewards was a social game monetization platform which helped pioneer the free to play game model that is ubiquitous today.  Over the last 20 years he has been mentor to and investor in a variety of Canadian startups and technology companies. 

Darcy has over 20+ years of senior executive experience building successful companies and brands spanning, Asia, Europe and North America. He has a proven track record in C-suite and senior leadership roles at IMG Canada (now Endeavor LLC), Logic Technologies Inc, JT International S.A. and MASEV Communications Inc, that was acquired by IMG Canada. His experience spans corporate, agency, and entrepreneurial environments across free-to-play Mobile games, FinTech, esports, Blockchain, FMCG/CPG, Digital Marketing & Media and Sports & Entertainment industries.

Mike has a wealth of experience in building and scaling technology companies in private and public markets, including the following:
• co-founded AreaConnect.com, a consumer content company which was acquired by Marchex, a Nasdaq listed company, in 2008.
• invested in early stage consumer companies such as Punch’d (later acquired by Google), Wander (later acquired by Yahoo), Summify (later acquired by Twitter), BlueBat Games (later acquired by Novomatic Group, Retsly (later acquired by Zillow) and Password Box (later acquired by Intel).
• co-founded LX Ventures, a publicly listed consumer internet foundry that acquired and scaled Mobio Technologies.
• co-founded Growlab, a seed stage accelerator focussing on consumer facing digital product. Growlab later merged with Extreme Startups to create Canada’s Highline accelerator.
• co-founded Wyley Interactive, a mobile game engagement platform, which was acquired by Zynga, a Nasdaq listed company, in 2014.
• co-founded Creative Labs, a venture capital backed startup foundry that builds consumer technology companies by leveraging the Creative Artist Agency’s access to talent and audience.
• co-founded Argo Blockchain PLC, an enterprise-scale provider of cryptocurrency mining services that listed on the LSE.

Mr. Lew is the President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of GrowthWorks Capital Ltd. (“GWC”), and the President and Chief Executive Officer and/or a director of certain managed funds and operating subsidiaries of GWC, all of which are active venture capital investors. Mr. Lew is also a Partner with Initio Group Inc. (“Initio”), a Vancouver-based early stage angel investment firm, and is a lawyer with experience in the areas of corporate, commercial and real estate law. As CEO of GWC, and at Initio, Mr Lew is involved in overseeing these firms’ venture capital and angel investments, respectively. Mr. Lew was Chair of the British Columbia Innovation Commission (now “Innovate BC”) (2013 – 2018), the Crown agency of the Province of British Columbia responsible for the advancement of innovative businesses and entrepreneurs in the province. He has also been a director of Mobio Technologies Inc., a TSXV-listed company, since November 2012. Active in his community, Mr. Lew is a director of the Frank and Joan Lew Charitable Trust and the FJL Housing Society, which focuses on matters related to social housing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Derek holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta, and is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.