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Hans Stolfus
Strategic Partnerships at Epic Games
Professional Background
Hans Stolfus is a dynamic professional with a diverse academic and career background, blending technical acumen with strong communication skills. Currently serving as the Strategic Partnerships Director at Epic Games, he contributes significantly to the innovative landscape of the gaming industry. With a proven track record in cultivating strategic alliances, Hans leverages his extensive knowledge and insights to foster partnerships that enhance Epic Games' mission of empowering creators through technology.
Prior to his role at Epic Games, Hans honed his skills in various sectors where he was able to bridge the gap between technology and strategic communication. His unique blend of backgrounds in both the sciences and the arts allows him to approach challenges from multiple perspectives, providing both creative and analytical solutions.
Education and Achievements
Hans' intellectual journey began with a Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State University, where he built a solid foundation in analytical thinking and problem-solving. Recognizing the importance of effective communication in all fields, he further pursued a Bachelor of Arts in English at the same institution, equipping himself with the essential skills to articulate complex ideas clearly and engagingly.
He also expanded his academic horizons at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he delved deeper into Composition and English. This diverse academic background in both sciences and humanities has uniquely positioned Hans to navigate and excel in multifaceted environments.
Hans is known for his ability to foster collaboration and strategic growth. His role at Epic Games epitomizes his career focus on building partnerships that drive innovation and community engagement. Through his efforts, he contributes to the ongoing mission of Epic Games to create remarkable experiences for users around the world.
Achievements
Throughout his career, Hans has achieved significant milestones that underscore his commitment to excellence and innovation. As the Strategic Partnerships Director at Epic Games, he has played a pivotal role in establishing and nurturing relationships with a variety of stakeholders across the gaming industry. His efforts not only enhance the strategic position of Epic Games but also enrich the gaming landscape overall, fostering an inclusive environment conducive to creativity and collaboration.
Hans is also recognized for his forward-thinking mindset, often advocating for initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion within the tech community. His passion for empowering creators is evident in his work, where he actively seeks out partnerships that align with Epic Games' vision of supporting creators and expanding access to cutting-edge technology.
In conclusion, Hans Stolfus is a well-rounded professional whose educational background and career experiences have shaped him into a leading figure in strategic partnerships within the tech industry. His journey highlights the importance of both scientific and linguistic skills, making him a remarkable asset in the ever-evolving game development space.
Highlights
These are the most frequently asked questions I receive regarding commercial brand activation in Fortnite:
Why can’t I get the player’s data? Why can’t I have the player link out to my website? Why can’t I have the player opt-in to receive emails? Why can’t I generate direct revenue off the player in the form of digital and physical sales?
In other words, how can I take from the player versus what can I add?
I try not to comment here regarding this space because the answer is complicated and the solution isn’t one size fits all.
But one thing I can offer up as a recommendation is this: try and stop looking at the industry as an extraction game, and start thinking about how you can contribute by adding real value in the form of fun.
That doesn’t mean you still can’t effectively market within live service games. Or that one day there won’t be a way to develop a more meaningful 1:1 relationship with the player if they so choose (of course I’m going to want to sign up for the chance to earn a Noah outfit if a third party art pipeline ever gets unlocked and Brendon designs his own line of in-game cosmetics). It just means, if you want to make an impact now, and start building a fan base within the coveted 14-24 y/o demo — a group of humans who notoriously pride themselves on how well they can block and avoid ads across every channel — try exploring a different creative approach today.
Humor works. Honesty works. Not taking yourself too seriously works. Actual acknowledgement of the passionate community you’re trying to engage works (maybe something net new isn’t the ticket, and finding a cool creative island with CCU to land your branded POI is?). And super fun, endemic gameplay that actually translates to your brand DNA works. (I know, not every brand can be Vans and build a skateboarding game, but if your brand lends itself to physics or mechanics that already exist within a particular dev toolset, it’s a great place to start.)
Trying to pretend you belong somewhere you don’t, and doing it in a way that isn’t any different than traditional TV, web or social, doesn’t.
Note: creating a proper game versus a brand activation is a MUCH different proposition.
Either way, are branded digital worlds the future? It would be stupid of me to even attempt answering that question. I have zero idea what the future holds; nor does anyone. But games like Fortnite are fun, and as we know, they’re incredibly popular. Players love spending time in-game with friends, and the brands who support their passions in ways that add value are only building long-term affinity that could one day even become nostalgia. I’m not saying that every brand can be an equal part of the story as it builds, but if the industry starts thinking about it more creatively now, even the most indifferent CPGs have a real shot.
In the meantime, we’ll keep working on our tools. And Discover. And I’ll keep trying to reach Mr. Babenzien for when they’re ready.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.