← Morning Briefs
Saturday, March 21, 2026
☀️ Morning Brief
UX is Fine · Jason Schklar
Saturday
March 21, 2026
0
Meetings Today
2
Meetings Yesterday
8
Active Deal Channels
26
Gmail Drafts
8
_Memo Emails
Saturday wind-down: A productive Friday closed the week — a key contract is now fully executed (Peter Mun/BizDev) with a COUPA PO incoming, and yesterday's Irena Pereira meeting opened a clear path into Scopely via Cameron Stewart and the Austin gaming summit. The 2K RFP Proposal Jam ran yesterday; Ashley has an EOD Monday deadline on the proposal. With no meetings today, this is prime time to clear the 26-draft Gmail backlog and review the Scopely white-label brief from Travis Schau. Key dates ahead: Tuesday March 24 — Irena follow-up (12:45 PM CDT) + Google Play Apps Accelerator Virtual Training.
⚡ Act Today
💰 CONTRACT Contract Executed — Track Incoming COUPA PO

Peter Mun confirmed contracts are fully executed and a new PO# is coming through COUPA. Cat Chapman Smith should receive the notification too. Watch BizDev inbox — this PO unlocks the next project cycle.

REVIEW Scopely White-Label Brief — F2P Open World Project

Travis Schau (via BizDev) submitted a white-label brief for a free-to-play open world adventure title. Ivan Chan and Manuel Salazar (Scopely) are CC'd. Strategically doubles down on the Scopely opportunity surfaced in yesterday's Irena call — Cameron Stewart + pipeline context makes this a high-priority read before Monday.

DEADLINE MON 2K RFP Proposal — EOD Monday, Ashley Leading

Friday's Proposal Jam defined scope: design system, component library, HUD deliverables, Option A vs Option B staffing. Ashley committed to EOD Monday. Check in today if any open decisions need resolving (budget/timeline comms with client still active via Sarah Benjamin).

26 DRAFTS Clear Gmail Draft Backlog — Post-GDC & Merak Follow-ups

26 drafts sitting — the bulk are post-Merak accelerator follow-ups drafted March 1 (Faisal, Deema, Baris, Abbas, Kelly, Kassandra, and more). The FRG/Jon-Paul GDC draft is fresh from Friday. Saturday is ideal for a batch send before the week ramps back up.

TUE 12:45PM Irena Follow-up — Austin Summit + 3 Intro Requests Pending

Irena rescheduled to Tuesday March 24, 12:45–1:15 PM CDT. Three intros pending: Cameron Stewart (Scopely Austin, private dinner), Jade (P1), Sharon (P2). Also confirm Austin speaking slot and unarchive the sponsorship contact before Tuesday's call.

TUE MAR 24 Google Play Apps Accelerator — First Virtual Training

Ariel Calliste (Google xWF) confirmed the first Virtual Training Session on Tuesday March 24. Agenda: UX/UI process, accelerator updates, welcome. You're on the full attendee list. Prep any notes on assigned companies (Know Your Lemons, kweliTV) before the session.

🎯 Focus Topics
Auto-saved per day
📮
26
drafts in Gmail
Open Drafts →
📼 Friday, March 20, 2026
irena pereira and Jason schklar
9:00 AM CDT · External · ~60 min
External
Key Points
  • Austin gaming summit: access to Riot, PlayStation, King's Isle leadership; live ops central topic; speaking opportunity being facilitated by Irena.
  • UXIF's AI-driven Figma-to-engine pipeline (Godot, Unreal, Unity) deployed with 2 clients — bespoke service with maintenance fee model, not licensed.
  • Jason confirmed Austin over Malta/KPMG trip: lower friction, better business alignment.
  • Infinite Realms forming Scopely deal around Monopoly Go — AI board creation pipeline. Jason is already a Scopely vendor (Pandora) and in pre-production on a F2P open world project with them.
  • Cameron Stewart (Scopely head of games, Austin-based) open to UX strategy — private summit dinner is the planned intro.
  • Infinite Realms pursuing $8.2M publishing deal for Haven to Early Access; one family-friendly publisher interested in IP reskin, Switch-first.
  • UXIF open to collaborating on Haven UI; Jason interested in UK Unity UI engineer (ex-RuneScape) for hiring/partnership.
  • Internal employee situation resolved: attempted to monetize a company-resource tool independently — three options offered.
  • Recent RFP fell short because senior contributors didn't read the brief; listening to the client brief is as critical as craft.
  • Matt Laverty shifting to full-time CEO of Ludo Game Labs; winding down consultancy, lighter advisory retainer with Pockets.
  • Dead Nice as potential white-label partner for UK presence — early conversations underway.
  • Develop Brighton (July) under consideration for European market development.
Action Items
  • Irena: Intro Jason to Cameron Stewart
  • Irena: Intro Jason to Jade (P1 priority)
  • Irena: Set up Austin dinner with Cameron Stewart + Jason Hutchens
  • Jason: Schedule follow-up with Irena ✅ (set Tue Mar 24, 12:45 PM CDT)
  • Irena: Intro Jason to Sharon (P2 priority)
  • Jason: Unarchive and follow up with Austin summit sponsorship contact
  • Irena: Facilitate speaking opportunity at Austin event
  • Jason: Call with Speaker_3 re: UK market strategy
2k RFP Proposal Jam Session
10:00 AM CDT · Internal · 60+ min
Internal
Key Points
  • Proposal focused on client's core ask: design system, component library, HUD deliverables.
  • Structure around 6 key client asks to ensure the proposal directly addresses client needs.
  • Two staffing options: Option A (full) vs. Option B (leaner) — decision needed before EOD Monday.
  • Team: Ashley (lead), Matt Laverty, Dave Inscore, Ryan Wolper. Dave opted out (too many attendees).
  • Ashley managing budget/timeline comms with the client.
Action Items
  • Ashley: Submit proposal by EOD Monday, March 23
  • Ashley: Clarify budget and timeline with client
  • Team: Decide Option A vs Option B staffing approach
📅 Saturday, March 21, 2026
No meetings scheduled today
Saturday — Open Calendar
Your calendar is clear. Use today for deep work: clear draft backlog, review Scopely brief, prep for Tuesday's double-header (Irena 12:45 PM + Google Play Apps Accelerator training).
Upcoming Tue Mar 24: Irena @ 12:45 PM CDT · Tue Mar 24: Google Play Apps Training
📧 Email
Peter Mun / BizDev — Contracts Fully Executed, COUPA PO Incoming
Contracts are signed; new PO# coming through COUPA. Cat Chapman Smith is on thread. Watch BizDev inbox for the PO to confirm and unlock the next project cycle.
Travis Schau (Scopely) — White-Label Brief: F2P Open World Adventure
White-label brief submitted via Ashley — F2P open world title needing help with in-world puzzle UX and set dressing. Ivan Chan + Manuel Salazar (Scopely) CC'd. Doubly strategic given yesterday's Irena conversation about the Scopely pipeline.
🎮
CK Woh (Jam & Tea) — "Sounds great. Looking forward to it."
Unread reply arrived this morning — confirming a meeting. Verify which meeting is being confirmed and ensure it's on the calendar. Slack channel has master doc bookmarked.
Zimran Ahmed (Wharton) — Great to Meet at GDC, AI/Gaming Study Follow-up
Zimran wrote that things are changing fast and he's excited to hear what's next. Good research relationship to nurture — Wharton Generative AI Lab x gaming is strategically relevant to UXIF's AI pipeline positioning.
📅
Google Play Apps Accelerator — Virtual Training Tue Mar 24
Ariel Calliste confirmed session with full agenda: UX/UI process presentation, welcome, and accelerator updates. Review assigned companies (Know Your Lemons, kweliTV) before the session.
📅
Irena Pereira — Follow-up Rescheduled: Tue Mar 24, 12:45 PM CDT
Calendar invite updated — confirmed for Tuesday. Three intros pending from Irena: Cameron Stewart (Scopely), Jade (P1), Sharon (P2).
📁 Google Drive
📋
March 11/12 | Google Play Apps — Squad Kickoff Meeting Notes
Modified today (Mar 21, 7:23 AM) · Jason Schklar
📋
Notes — Anchor Mentor + App Success Manager Squad Check-In [Google Play Apps]
Modified today (Mar 21, 7:14 AM) · Jason Schklar
📋
2k RFP Proposal Jam Session — Notes by Gemini (Mar 20)
Modified Mar 20, 8:28 PM · Ashley Conley
📋
Notes — Anchor Mentor & App Success Manager Call [Google Play Apps Accelerator]
Modified Mar 20, 9:53 PM · Tao Song (Google)
💬 Slack
⚠️ VIP Unreads, Priority, and Strat-pris sections not configured. Edit Claude/Reference/morning-brief/slack-channels.json to add channel IDs.
💬 Direct Messages
💬
Direct Messages — Open Slack to Review
DM search returned a very large result set. Open Slack to check unread DMs manually.
🔥 Deal Channels (8 active of 20 scanned · last 72h)
🔥
#deal-2k-horizon-rfp
Very hot — Ashley managing budget/timeline comms, EOD Monday proposal deadline. Jason sent a "forceful/direct" version of a message to client.
🎮
#deal-magicsoup-ux
Sarah B. onboarded — client wants in-world puzzle UX examples + 3D environment guidance (not just menu/HUD). Ashley + Sarah working portfolio review.
🎮
#deal-riot-league-live-195rio
Ashley working on contract extension to prevent April 2 pause. Brief expected to arrive "tomorrow" (today). Check if it's landed.
🆕
#deal-codenamered-tbd — New Channel (Created Mar 19)
Channel created March 19; Jason, Ashley, Ryan, Dave, Jon all joined. No content yet beyond join messages — new deal forming, identity undisclosed.
🎮
#deal-jam-and-tea
Meeting recap posted; master doc bookmarked. CK Woh replied via email this morning confirming a meeting.
🎮
#deal-mission42-ux-193mis
Eshine confirmed as staffing backup; may start April 1 with the team. Joey (Epic) declined.
🌐
#deal-supersaurus-website
Client intake responses posted — $4K website budget. Exploring who in the network can take it on. Jason working on viz.
🎮
#deal-zynga-ui-test
Ashley sent Cat Chapman Smith the Zynga vendor template spreadsheet. Onboarding/admin phase.
💼 Work Work Follow-ups & BizDev
Follow-up with Jay Minn (WotC) — GDC prep / vendor relationship
due 2026-03-03
Jason/Ashley: Decide on XDS hotel block — book 3 rooms, set refund deadline
due 2026-02-27
Jason: Discuss AI policy with Mike — Krisp transcripts in external AI tools
due 2026-02-27
Jason: Send DICE follow-up emails — prioritize Brendon and Tyler first
due 2026-02-27
Get Warm Intro to Tim Stuart
due 2026-02-25
Follow Up with Mark Day
due 2026-02-26
Intro Teresa to Ash
due 2026-02-26
Follow up w/ Ro
due 2026-02-23
Marcus - General Catchup
due 2026-02-03
Derek Rees - Follow up Post Gamescom
due 2026-01-20
Follow up w/ Look North
due 2025-12-09
Touch base - strategic
due 2025-11-11
👤 Ashley Delegated / Ashley's Items
Ashley: Follow up with Brendon — Amazon face-time meeting at GDC
due 2026-02-27
Ashley: Meet with Matt to create GDC Figma sandbox and staffing ramp model
due 2026-02-27
Ashley: Reach out to Tyler (Pokémon) — pre-GDC meeting
due 2026-02-27
Ashley: Request Figma edit permissions from Dave or Matt
due 2026-02-27
Ashley: Send SAA contact (ex-Sega) the UXIF deck + case study
due 2026-02-27
⏰ Overdue Older Follow-ups (need review / cleanup)
Follow up on LinkedIn Message to Thomas
due 2025-10-15
Send Deck, Trailer, Youtube vids
due 2025-10-23
Need to ask around about Paul Grimes at TCPi
due 2025-11-04
Check in with Matt S in the fall
due 2025-11-05
Check in with Rogers mid September
due 2025-10-09
DDM Follow Up
due 2025-10-09
Follow up from Gamescom
due 2025-10-09
Follow up w/ David Bisceglia
due 2025-10-09
🤖 Claude Claude Improvements
Edit text & save back to Copper/Doc — push AI-generated summary edits back to CRM
Participant error-checking — reconcile Krisp names against Calendar + Email + Copper
Quick Krisp jump link — one-click from meeting card to transcript
Add missing Slack sections — VIP Unreads, Priority, Strat-pris (awaiting channel IDs from Jason)
🧍 Personal Personal
Personal errands — Tenor sticks, headphones, Venmo
🧠 Skills
SkillDescription
morning-briefDaily 7-tab HTML brief — Krisp, Gmail, Drive, Slack, Copper, CoWork overview
deliverSend any file, report, or message via Slack DM or Gmail draft
github-publishPublish artifacts to GitHub Pages for anywhere access
qual-summaryGenerate qualification summaries for game industry prospects (BETA)
people-briefEnriched contact briefings from calendar, CRM, email, and Krisp
process-krisp-meetingPost-meeting workflow: CRM notes, tasks, Drive doc, Gmail draft
copper-crmPull live tasks, notes, and pipeline data from Copper CRM
game-analysisSonar-style player sentiment analysis reports for video games
gdoc-to-markdownConvert Google Docs to clean Markdown files
skill-creatorCreate, modify, and evaluate skills
scheduleCreate and manage scheduled tasks
xlsx / pptx / docx / pdfFull document creation and editing suite
⏰ Scheduled Tasks
TaskScheduleLast RunStatus
morning-brief 7:20 AM daily Mar 21, 2026 (10:26 PM UTC) Active
✅ Claude To-Dos
🤖 Edit text & save back to Copper/Doc
🤖 Participant error-checking in Krisp
🤖 Quick Krisp jump link from meeting cards
🤖 Add missing Slack sections (VIP Unreads, Priority, Strat-pris) — awaiting channel IDs
🔥 Active Deal Channels (8 of 20 scanned · last 72h)
ChannelLast ActiveSummary
#deal-2k-horizon-rfpMar 19EOD Monday proposal deadline; budget/timeline comms active
#deal-magicsoup-uxMar 19Sarah B. onboarded; in-world puzzle UX portfolio review underway
#deal-riot-league-live-195rioMar 19Contract extension push; trying to prevent April 2 pause; brief expected
#deal-codenamered-tbdMar 19New channel created Mar 19; all key members joined; deal TBD
#deal-jam-and-teaMar 19Meeting recap logged; CK Woh email reply received this morning
#deal-mission42-ux-193misMar 18Eshine as backup; potential April 1 start confirmed
#deal-supersaurus-websiteMar 19$4K website scope; intake questions reviewed; exploring resourcing
#deal-zynga-ui-testMar 19Vendor template sent to Cat; onboarding admin phase
😶 Silent Deal Channels (12 of 20 · no activity in 72h)
ChannelCreated
#deal-pokemon-tcglive-198pok2025-08-18
#deal-luna-games-ux-prototyping2026-03-03
#deal-focus-ux2025-10-20
#deal-sony-mobile2025-10-01
#deal-yellowbrick-ux2025-06-16
#deal-looknorthworld-ux2025-11-03
#deal-creative-assembly-ui-ux-imp2026-01-13
#deal-scopely-poe-ui2026-03-02
#deal-yojoyco-studios-poglings2026-03-09
#deal-riot-tft-unreal-197rio2025-08-21
#deal-playformant2026-01-15
#deal-gg-sparkle-foshizzle-182gga2024-02-05