Rise and Play Podcast

Crystin Cox, Director of Business Strategy for Xbox Game Studios Publishing, discusses leadership, LiveOps, and cultural differences in the gaming industry. Topics include giving feedback in corporate environments, management training, and navigating cultural influences in leadership. Crystin shares her passion for LiveOps, holistic strategy, and running 'The Art of LiveOps' podcast.

In this new episode, we interview Charlotte Lavergne, who shares her journey co-founding Supercosi Games in 2020, a mobile studio focused on evergreen games.Charlotte shares the context of bootstrapping the company in 2020 until they raised 2M€ in 2022. She also discusses the challenges of raising seed/Series A funding through VCs in 2024, despite having healthy financial results. She explains her strategic process focusing on evergreen games and the multiple iterations that led their team to find their 'hit' title in 2023: Word Search Puzzle Challenge, and how they keep scaling the game in 2024.This episode is an open-hearted testimonial about the ups and downs of being a game entrepreneur, reminding all founders that whatever you are going through this year, you are not alone. We do the best with what we have and can control, and try to survive the wave(s) 🌊01:55 Meet Charlotte Lavergne: From Gameloft to Supercosi Games03:58 Charlotte's Early Career and Transition to Gaming09:55 Founding Supercosi: The Journey Begins14:19 Building the Team and Early Prototypes20:14 Fundraising and Scaling Up29:14 Challenges and Learnings in 202434:43 Final Thoughts and Reflections💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to rate it on Spotify, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or simply share it with a friend. 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

Emma Delage, CEO of Studio Camelia, shares her journey from Ubisoft to founding a JRPG-focused game studio. Topics include challenges of starting a company, fundraising, Kickstarter campaigns, and creating a unique studio culture. Insightful for aspiring game developers and entrepreneurs.

How to combine games and education, and is there a case for it?We interview Melissa Cash, co-founder and CEO of PokPok, a company creating educational and engaging digital content for children. They discuss the challenges and strategies of developing non-addictive, educational content for young children, focusing on the importance of designing tools that integrate seamlessly with a parent’s daily life. Melissa shares insights into her entrepreneurial journey, balancing professional and personal life, and highlights the critical role of networking as a CEO. We also touch on PokPok’s unique approach to early childhood education and the importance of community and collaboration in achieving success.Pok Pok, raised $3 million in seed funding in 2022. The company was founded in 2019 after it spun out of Snowman, the small studio behind award-winning iOS games Alto’s Adventure, Alto’s Odyssey, Skate City and others.Pok Pok is a great example of how games can be taken beyond the gaming industry to consumer and educational apps. Learn more about Pok Pok: https://playpokpok.com/03:02 Melissa's Journey to Pok Pok12:08 Building the Product16:09 Marketing and Business Model19:15 Challenges and Parental Concerns23:20 Balancing Toddler Activities and Screen Time24:03 The Healthy Screen Time Debate24:40 Understanding Pok Pok's Unique Value26:15 Challenges and Differentiation in the Market30:36 Team Composition and Educational Approach33:18 Reflections on Entrepreneurship39:02 Balancing Family and Business41:34 Future Plans and Excitement43:27 Conclusion and Final Thoughts💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to rate it on Spotify, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or simply share it with a friend. 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

In this episode, we interview Olya Caliujnaia, the CEO and co-founder at Sanlo.io, on a mission to help game businesses thrive revenues. Olya shares her entrepreneurial journey, from growing up in a family of resilient entrepreneurs, to eventually founding her own company in the gaming industry. Before Sanlo, Olya managed product and growth at Playfish, EA, Getty Images, SigFig, Wells Fargo and worked with early-stage companies as an entrepreneur-in-residence at XYZ Venture Capital. Olya shares her process, trial and error of finding the right co-founder, the early stages of customer discovery, and the importance of building a committed and complementary co-founder team. Olya also talks about the products Sanlo offers, including web shops and capital financing for gaming companies, and emphasizes the importance of financial health and sustainable monetization, as vital components of a game business. More on Sanlo.io: https://www.sanlo.io/01:33 CEO Olya Caliujnaia's Journey: From Product Leader to Gaming Entrepreneur02:12 The Entrepreneurial Path: Olya's Journey to Founding Sanlo.io09:41 The Co-Founder Search: Lessons Learned and Finding the Right Match12:40 Customer Discovery and Product Development Insights, Pivoting to PMF18:01 Building a Team and Overcoming Challenges in the Gaming Startup World24:36 SanloToday: Products, Vision, and the Future29:08 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to rate it on Spotify, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or simply share it with a friend. 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

Sophie Vo, Founder of Rise and Play and CEO of Kylan, shares valuable advice on fundraising: start by bootstrapping, have a strong founding team, and be critical about your business like an investor. Insights on mistakes to avoid before fundraising with VCs are provided. The episode also discusses empowering women in gaming, self-reflection on pitching, and future directions.

Three female founders share their VC fundraising experiences, highlighting the importance of pitch iteration, team building, and journey from concept to investment. They discuss feedback, FOMO, and offer advice for future fundraisers in 2024.

Co-founder Shelby Moledina shares the journey of founding and closing Double Loop Games, focusing on creating mobile games for underserved audiences. From seed funding to Series A, she discusses the challenges of building the company and navigating the changing investment landscape. The episode highlights resilience, community support, and the courage to make tough decisions for team well-being.

Sophie Vo, founder of Rise and Play, shares her journey of starting a game company in 2024. She discusses facing skepticism, embracing challenges, continuous learning, team dynamics, effective leadership, and building trust. The conversation highlights strategies for navigating business crises, turning constraints into opportunities, and the importance of making tough decisions as a CEO.

In this special episode, Sophie Vo shares a heartfelt thank you to the community for their loyalty and support over the past three years, and reveals a major personal update: the start of her new game company, Kylan. This new venture will lead to a short break in podcast content, but we assure listeners that this is just a brief hiatus! We are onboarding new co-hosts so if you're interested in giving it a try, contact us at sophie@riseandplay.io Workshop and 1-1 coaching inquiry at sophie@riseandplay.io Next networking event in Berlin on April 25th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rise-and-play-x-starberry-x-metacore-networking-brunch-tickets-861332878827?aff=oddtdtcreator We're back in May! In the meantime, enjoy the evergreen top content from the previous episodes: 91. Founder Jens Begemann's⁠ Retrospective on Running Wooga For Over A Decade90. Solving the Team Culture Map Puzzle  with Jen Donahoe 77. Master Emotionally Charged Conversation 59. How to Plan and Nurture Your Career in Games with Miska Katkoff and Sophie Vo52. Running your 1:1 in a modern workplace (remote) - with Marko Kecman43. Coaching episode: Tamara Rose Morales, On Examining Your Life Script 32. What You Did Not Know About UX- with Devon Wyland, Head of UX at Solsten 💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to rate it on Spotify, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or simply share it with a friend. 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