Monica Harrington was the hidden figure of Valve in its critical early years | The DeanBeat
1 min read
Summary
Valve’s marketing chief, Monica Bleier, has spoken about her involvement in the company’s founding and the creation of its acclaimed Half-Life game in a [wide-ranging interview](https://venturebeat.com/game-development/the-half-life-of-valve-how-a-marketing- Exec-joined-the-company-and-became-its-de-facto-pr-persona/) with GamesBeat+ (registration required).
She reveals that she was the one who convinced Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and helped put together the team that would become Valve.
Monica, whose husband Mike was one of the company’s founders, played a key role in recruiting the early team, raising finance, and dealing with publishers, as well as helping Valve move fromDOStoWindowsandonline.
She also discusses Valve’s groundbreaking business model and its push to put developers on a more equal footing with publishers.