Netanel Mor | Papaya | We took the Bingo out of Bingo, and then it exploded

Description

Netanel Mor is Product Lead at Papaya, the skill-based games company behind Solitaire Cash, Bingo Cash and Bubble Cash, and was previously a product manager on Playtika's Slotomania. In this episode he explains why the cost of acquiring a user jumped from a few cents to a fortune, and why long-term retention became the real battle against Netflix, Disney Plus and LLMs. He breaks down how Papaya took the bingo out of Bingo Cash and built game modes around public IP like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, explains how to plan and measure a WOW moment, how to build onboarding that doesn't lose users, how AI will enable new content every day and 250,000 segments, and what he looks for today when interviewing product managers.

Key moments

1. 0:00 · Meet Netanel and Papaya
2. 1:12 · The three main games: Solitaire, Bingo, Bubble
3. 2:13 · From Playtika to Papaya: a romance with gaming
4. 2:47 · The skill-based games trend across all genres
5. 3:32 · How CAC changed and why retention became the battle
6. 5:09 · AI lowers the barrier to entry, but distribution is still nearly impossible
7. 7:10 · Not just Netflix: what we compete with for attention
8. 8:26 · Duolingo, Netflix and the inspiration for a competition platform
9. 9:32 · The story of the kids who switched to Netflix games
10. 11:52 · Lessons from gaming you can apply to any product
11. 12:16 · Public IP: how Alice in Wonderland changed everything
12. 14:34 · Taking the Bingo out of Bingo: changing the status quo
13. 16:21 · Understanding what the audience really wants (the Playtika secret)
14. 17:57 · How to measure a WOW moment (in short intervals)
15. 19:54 · How to plan a WOW: from Bunny Trail to a full theme
16. 21:47 · Onboarding that works: "I know it" vs. "Guide me"
17. 24:37 · AI in gaming: 250K personalized segments
18. 26:57 · How Netanel and his team use AI in day-to-day product management
19. 30:18 · Mentoring at ADPList and Mesayaim
20. 32:50 · How to interview product managers in the AI era
21. 33:57 · What to look for in an interview: creativity and WOW