159. Running an Indie Game Studio with Three Kids. Mission Impossible?

In this episode, Sophie Vo sits down with indie game developer and studio Filipina co-founder Danni Ann Taylor to explore the realities of starting and running a game studio—while raising a family—without outside funding.

Dani shares her journey from early gaming passion to launching Yang Yang Mobile with her husband in the Philippines, building a reputation for high-quality visual novels like The Letter, and developing their latest title, High Time.

From risky leaps of faith to strategic pivots, Danni discusses the balance between creative vision and business realities, the challenges of working with your life partner, and how to grow a team without losing the joy of making games.

She also opens up about her unconventional daily schedule , the role of her support system, and how she handles founder guilt while raising three children.

Key Learnings

Starting Before 30 & Bootstrapping

* Danni and her husband started their studio shortly after she gave birth, believing it was better to “fail early” than wait until later in life.

* Bootstrapped the business using life savings, layoff packages, and small family loans—no investors, to keep creative freedom.

Finding Success By Pivoting To What You Love

* Initially aimed for hyper-casual mobile games but shifted to visual novels after realizing mobile required heavy UA spending.

* Created The Letter and used Kickstarter to secure funding, leveraging her own passion and understanding of the VN audience.

Indie Studios Success: Standing Out in a Niche

* Elevated the standard for indie visual novels: full English voice acting, animated backgrounds, branching storylines that impact the journey—not just the ending.

* Added minigames and interactivity to make titles more engaging for streamers and viewers.

Sustainable Growth vs Scale

* Grew from a 7-person team to around 20—deliberately staying small to balance creative work and manageable leadership.

* Avoided scaling too fast after seeing the strain of expansion.

Balancing Family & Business

* Relies on family and trusted help for childcare and household management.

* Embraces a night-owl schedule with split work blocks to balance deep focus time, family moments, and personal space.

Top Quality Is The Best Marketing

* Focus on making a “really darn good game” so fans and streamers want to share it.

* Built a small but loyal fanbase who amplify launches and sustain visibility.

Links & Resources

* Yang Yang Mobile Website

* Wishlist High Time on Steam: Steam Page Link

* Rise and Play Leadership coaching

Thanks for reading Rise and Play! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com