so what's the name my name is Karina
Karina hi Karina how come I can do
better in there hi Karina hey guys
nice to meet you um so my problem is how
do I grow in a saturated market space
with a lean team but we're very agile
can you tell me a little more about your
business we're an entertainment so we
make video games like video games okay
but I bet no one in this room here plays
a lot of video games maybe like one and
every ten people here play video games
or no okay what that's about
yes I play video games I get it I do you
want to buy Nate my game well what kind
of game do you make so we make adventure
strategy games for the PC of a PC okay
not a bond anything like that just PC
just the PC okay okay okay okay and then
what what the strategy game like kind of
like tell me a little bit more um so our
games would be more like tactics tactics
looking for the big kids like me okay so
because like all of us who like chess
someone watch the chest here earlier
okay um let's say like we had a fall out
it's kind of like a action game yep um
exploring game but then we also have
like a real time strategy games okay
Warhammer if anyone's familiar is
Warhammer out of all how many games have
you made um in my career yeah I've made
a lot of apps and mobile apps okay
Facebook apps which one is the more
successful um we had one game with about
1.7 million okay down low oh yeah
jealous okay free downloads right yes
okay but mobile is a very interesting
space and so I wanted to move into PC
yes premium yes okay so you have to
you've got one game on a pion app that's
got 1.7 million downloads which is good
and then and then you have in game
purchase and things like that right yep
okay was it profitable not really not
really okay even that's the most
successful game you developed um I've
worked for some other people made
successful got it and but now you're
doing on your own yes okay
how long been doing it on your own not
long less than a year less than six
months okay and usually how long does it
take to develop a game so we're very
agile it would usually take about two
years but we think we can do it in about
a year and a half are you in half okay
now notice as I'm asking questions what
am i doing what am i doing
no but also yes but what what am i doing
though
yeah understanding her business so same
thing with you as you're listening think
in terms you can do the same thing with
before what you do or even for your
friends okay so so with with that so
most successful 1% download now you're
doing on your own for PC and so what's
your challenge so we're trying to enter
a distributing platform with about 120
million users yes but there are many
many other games to compete with yes so
if we have a very lean budget how do we
get ourselves out there how do we get
ourselves known how do we get to the
front page so with this type of model as
you know that not just saturated in the
gaming industry it's it's owned by a
handful big companies you have a lot of
like app absolutely different apps you
have guys independent company they kind
of do the only thing and try to make it
big but most but game you're talking up
PC games right give me one of the most
popular PC games woke up right huh
Rokoff railroad cars pretty popular
right I play when I was in high school
you know it's okay it's okay no you know
it's declined a lot
yeah what's like give me one that's most
popular I think right now we're looking
at Metal Gear Solid be really good when
DOTA League of Legends okay yes that's
also very pop yeah so you know there's a
lot of this game cost how much money to
make millions millions how much money to
market also millions yeah so so the arts
are not so good right how many of you
watched you watch Dragons Den anyone
watch reckons then yeah a lot of jackets
then you know that sometimes you're
entrepreneur they've got this product
and they're so emotionally attached to
the product and then sometimes the
Dragons they say no you know I remember
I forgot which episode but this
entrepreneur developed this product and
he said oh you know I'm gonna find
distribution I'm gonna pitch the company
I'm going to get shelf space I'm going
dah-dah-dah-dah I think it's some kind
of a game maybe poor Kim I don't quite
remember and then he was talking about
this and Kevin O'Leary was like that's a
stupid idea you don't want to do that
you should license this thing to big
company who's already got distribution
who has already got the contact who's
got like I don't so much believe in I'm
not saying you cannot be done but the
arts are not good
what if I had data to back up our
projector for so four if we want to
enter the PC platform yes let's say I
sent a test product into the environment
and we only made 2 thousand impressions
but the data looked good what would you
suggest so you got a bit attraction just
a little bit yes ok so you mean you can
raise money to to push that potentially
ok let's say you do raise the money say
pretend I can give you any amount of
money that you need mm-hmm what would
you do Oh we'd hired marketing
strategist' first of all
okay we'd heart we'd need some content
creators so we'd hire a programmer and
we'd hire an artist don't hi me I'm not
yes that's all we need just smoke is a
marketing strategist' yep and then they
would do what um
prepare us for launch mostly make sure
that we have so right when we launch our
product we got 2,000 impressions just
organically but we need about 10,000 to
make it work officially for us yes so if
we had that marketing strategist' he was
able to kind of ramp us up towards that
we think we could have reached 10,000
but we missed yes so if you reach 10,000
how much money you would have made well
if we reach n well is a hundred grand
for a small small team it's not bad to
get us started yeah so think there many
many things going on to you so with
first of all the product itself notice
in terms of your goal if you just want
to make a couple hundred grand that's
what I call it lifestyle entrepreneur
okay a lot of people lifestyle
entrepreneur like graphic designers
consultants and coaches they're happy
with that and they're you know a hundred
grand a year that's that's comfortable
for me and that's all I wanted like I
said you know for group of us we share
the money that's not too bad right but
if you want to grow that's one thing if
but you want to grow a company
that's a whole different thing right
okay it's a very different thing so the
objective is say you know what I don't
want to sell ten dollars I want to sell
100,000 of these games versus half a mil
of these games versus or just want to
make it enough money so I'm comfortable
okay see the difference
yes yeah it's very different objective
both are good both are good but I'm just
saying if you want to get your game I
believe anything that you do you should
do it to the highest degree if you're
going to get out in the marketplace
I would rather prove the attraction and
then pitch the company say you know what
we've got your action
I would license the game for you and
then you get paid a little bit of money
of royalty or some kind right and then
just get paid versus you go through all
of that look at entrepreneurs I mean
that's why 95% is processes failure in
the first ten years the odds are against
you and if that's the case how can we be
that five percent well you get into that
five percent it's just like what Toby
was talking about without if you don't
have to put a ton of money and you can
leverage existing platform you lower
your risk so I would do that instead
like what it's the shortest path to to
profit then this way you make it enough
attraction and bam why not use their
money why not use their contact and then
chances are even if you raise the money
if you hire a marketing company to do
that you still don't know okay you know
how gimme work sometimes some games
takes off sometimes you think a stupid
game but come on who wants to play that
dumb game and and it takes off like what
is it a couple years ago he has the game
was it the little bird what a bird was
it flappy bird yeah mrs. dumbest game
like what the is is right you know
I remember I was playing on it my
friends show it to me I was playing I
said what is this it's like oh and I was
dead right okay now I'm gonna get
serious yes all right and then and in
the duck right in a play like for
like 30 minutes later I'm like this is a
dumbest thing ever
don't bother me let me do this it is
addictive who would have thought of like
if I tell your concept you know what I'm
gonna make a game that's so difficult to
play with a stupid bird going through
these obstacles and chances are you
won't go very far
your talk to an investor like that what
the hell is this
but you know what I mean so you never
know okay so doesn't if you
I've chimed one question yes how would I
pitch my company or my product right now
if let's say that was my pitch how would
I so let's say now you have traction I
get this mantra preneur quite often like
who do I talk to I don't have contacts
that's all it's all the minute belief
Julie's limited belief because anyone
anybody now with LinkedIn you can find a
person who's in charge in that
department who's in charge of the games
licensing whatever is that department
you can get through that those people
just like other podcast called shoulders
of titans it's free shoulder finance com
can listen you guys can listen to it
people ask me how do I get access to
some of these people that the people
interview a couple weeks ago I interview
the founder of priceline.com grow a
company from 0 to 2 billion dollars
right I don't know him
who then you must have some magical
connection here's the magic
it's called email I emailed a guy and he
said no and I emailed him again he said
no after 12 times he said stop bothering
me I'll do it it's no magic
it's hustle hustle is it how it gets
through these people so it's not like
you need some magic connection once you
have a proven game it's a good game
you've got some proven traction
you're just pitching hey you know what
I'm talking to this company and then you
tell them you're talking to other
companies as well we're looking for you
know a partner who would want to license
this game and you can see this is what
we have and you can play in there right
and then you never let them know you're
talking other people and just pitch them
you might have to pitch in more than
once or twice but once you get one game
in you're in because next time you're
like you know what I know I like what
your team what your team is done it's
getting that your foot in the door
that's the most difficult right but once
you're in ok these are group of guys
know what they're doing it's like one of
my companies are copper champions we
have clients where clients who are
Microsoft Amazon tell us people say how
do you get through to them you just tell
you just LinkedIn and you contact with
them and you follow up and you email
your phone call like it's not rocket
science
and you talk to 110 would say yes and
then next year another ten would say yes
and and then now you've got Amazon you
got Microsoft you've got all these
companies and I talked the other couple
yeah I've already got Microsoft
amazon.com all these top companies would
you like get involved well sure that's a
holiday it's right it also got a
duty-free shop and it's only in a
company all that but it is how we
started off with one and I can tell you
how we started is actually if you're
curious that we started giving away what
we do for free so we get the first
couple name in the door so we got the
credit unions as a client but the first
year we actually gave it for free what
we offer the service the second year
they came back and say full price but
it's better if I get credit union and I
can talk to then City I can tell the TD
Bank I can talk to you all oh I got
credit union does that make sense so
think of who in your market this might
be helpful for everyone who in your
market if you could get that person you
would get everybody else the King Pina
marketplace if you get that influencer
you get everybody else
it helps right yep
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