Talofa’s Post

"Market conditions today make it crucial for founders to prove traction and show validation early." — Kam Punia, Founder of Pixion Games   We’re excited to feature Kam Punia, founder of Pixion Games in our latest #FoundersPlaybook spotlight. Kam’s background includes over a decade of experience launching 40+ successful game titles and building industry-leading partnerships.   Kam shares his tips for navigating today’s funding climate and post-funding strategy essentials:   💬 Bootstrap and validate—With limited capital available, founders should bootstrap where possible and lean on early-stage support to develop proof of concept, which can make a significant impact before reaching the seed round.   🚀 Know your business model and funding path—“Do you want to retain control and grow steadily, or scale rapidly with VC support?” Defining goals early is key, as funding choices ultimately shape the company’s culture and pressure points.   👥 Prioritise value-add angels—Beyond capital, angels bring critical experience and networks, helping founders de-risk their venture and build momentum for the next funding stage.   Check out Kam’s full Q&A for more insights (link in comments) #MeetTheExpert #ExpertInsights #IndustryInsights #FoundersPlaybook

Have you guys watched the 2nd Episode of Startup Spotlights? Lots of interesting insights from 100cr to 500cr - Discover how Afsar, founder of Gameberry Labs, built a gaming empire from scratch! He shares his journey of scaling without VC funding and how Google Play helped him. Don't miss his take on the latest game development trends in 2024. Full video on YouTube. #StartupSpotlights #GooglePlay

💰😺 Meow Makes Millions 🐾🚀 🐾Turkey-based Agave Games, the #studio behind the wildly popular #mobile game Find the Cat 🐱📱, has secured $18 million in Series A funding 💰 to scale its #operations and develop new titles. This #funding milestone places the company firmly on the #global #gaming map 🗺️🌍 and highlights 🦅Turkey's growing influence in the casual mobile gaming industry. 🔥 ✨Released in August, Find the Cat offers players a #delightful challenge 🧐🔍 in locating hidden cats in intricately designed, Where’s Wally-style drawings. Its appeal has been nothing short of #phenomenal: 🌟🎯 10 million downloads in just three months. 📈🔥 #Praise from investors likening it to Tripledot Studios 🎲🎮, a major #player in the casual gaming world. 🌎🌟 🤝The Power Players Behind the #Funding 🏦The $18 million round was co-led by Felix Capital and #Balderton Capital 💼🌱, with participation from e2vc. Notably, Balderton also led Agave’s seed round 🌱🚀, which included backing from Akin Babayigit 🧠✨, co-founder of Tripledot Studios. This latest round brings Agave's total funding to $25.5 million 💸🌈 and pegs its valuation at around $100 million. 🏆🎖️ 🕹️🔮Agave plans to: Expand its team 👨💻👩💻 to sustain its #meteoric growth. 🚀📊 Develop at least two new games 🎮✨ in the next year, capitalizing on the casual gaming market’s enduring popularity. 🌟🕹️ The gaming studio is setting the stage 🎭 for #global #recognition 🌍💡, much like other Turkish game companies such as: #PeakGames 🎯, acquired by Zynga for $1.8 billion in 2020. 💰🎉 #DreamGames 💭, which raised $255 million. 💼🚀 #Spyke 🕵️♀️, which secured $50 million earlier this year. 💸🕹️ 🏰🌟#Turkey’s gaming #ecosystem is thriving 🌱🎮, fueled by the success of companies like Peak Games 🌟🎯 and its #alums. However, Agave takes a unique path: 🔀✨ Its CEO, Alper Oner 🌟🧑💼, a #UCBerkeley computer engineering graduate 🎓🔧, started his journey in Silicon Valley. 🌉🏙️ Despite Turkey’s #nascent tech ecosystem at the time 🌍⏳, he returned home to contribute to the #burgeoning gaming scene. 🇹🇷🎮 🤔💡Casual #mobile games, such as Find the Cat 🐾📱, are dominating app stores worldwide 🌍✨, drawing huge audiences 🧑🤝🧑🎉 and generating impressive revenues 💰📈. Agave’s success story reflects not only the potential of the #genre 📚🌟 but also the rising #prominence of Turkish talent 🇹🇷🌍 in the global tech landscape. 🚀💡 👀✨With its new #funding 💵🚀 and #ambitious plans 🌟📊, Agave Games is poised to capture even more hearts ❤️📱—and screens. 🖥️📲 Keep an eye 👁️🔍 on this rising star 🌟🎮 as it #redefines casual #gaming. 🎯🎉 💡 Fun #Fact for #Gamers: Did you know Find the Cat 🐱🔍 has been downloaded 10 million times in less than 100 days? ⏳ 🎉 Drop your #favourite Find the Cat challenge 🕵️♂️📲 in the #comments! 💬 #MobileGaming #StartupSuccess #GamingIndustry #TurkeyStartups #CasualGames #bluesquirrelstudios #funding #agave ❤️ Credit: #techcrunch

Margarete Schneider outlines the distinction between incubators and accelerators in the video games industry. Incubators aim to support indie teams in developing early ideas or concepts, while accelerators focus on aiding existing projects or companies in their growth. These programs are designed to assist developers in building and expanding their projects, companies, and businesses. To delve deeper into the topic of Incubation Programs as Success Boosters for Game Developers, be sure to watch the full video on our YouTube channel. Watch full panel here: https://lnkd.in/efrDtDXC #IndieGameDev #IndieGames #GameDevTips #FYP

💰 zkCandy raises $4M in a Seed funding round. Investors in the round include The Spartan Group, Animoca Brands, Presto, Flowdesk, LECCA Ventures, WEMIX, Prometheuz and Efrontier. #ZKCandy is an Ethereum-based gaming network developed and operated by iCandy Interactive Limited (ASX:ICI). This platform strategically leverages zk rollup technology powered by ZKsync and is designed specifically for the gaming and meme entertainment within the ZKsync Elastic Network. 👉 https://lnkd.in/dGkmSJyV

Why Dizzy Ants? The Story Behind Our Name - Creative and Memorable: We needed a name that stands out and stays with you. We believe that "Dizzy Ants" is distinctive and catchy. - Symbolism of Ants: Reflects teamwork and persistence. 🐜 🐜 🐜 - Element of Fun: "Dizzy" adds a playful twist, promising exciting and fun games. 🌟🎉 Dizzy Ants represents our vision and values! We’re excited to continue this journey and bring you memorable gaming experiences. 🚀✨ #DizzyAnts #GameDevelopment #StartUp

With yesterday’s final workshop at Saftladen Indie Games Collective the 3rd incarnation of Start-up: Games-Entrepreneurs is coming to a close. Before wrapping up, we like to give you an insight into the projects of 2 more teams, Nukuna Interactive and THE ROOF Interactive. 📽️👀 "Start-up: Games-Entrepreneurs" (#SUGE) is our regional support programme for aspiring #game #founders in #Berlin and #Brandenburg. It is funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Find out more on our website: https://lnkd.in/dp8NkDzk

⚠️ Sorare’s trial tomorrow is a wake-up call for all of Web3. When #gaming giants like Sorare, backed by major investors like SoftBank Group Corp. and Accel, are facing serious regulatory heat, it’s a sign that none of us are immune. Compliance isn’t optional anymore. Today, our co-founder, Morten Rongaard, opens up about the challenges Sorare is facing and how #compliance can make all the difference. We’re proud to stand alongside innovators like Reality+, Punk Secrets, GLOBULA, WhiteLabel Games 🎮 Marketing Games for Businesses, and Doerscircle. They trust us to help them sleep better at night, knowing their compliance is covered. Kudos for their progressive approach and for setting a solid benchmark in managing compliance in due course. 🤝 Don’t wait until it’s too late. Reach out today! Let’s keep #Web3 growing together, responsibly. #PixelPai #community

💰 No better time to build gaming startups 👨💻 Leveraging LiveOps strategies from gaming 😮 1000+ Lessons for YC startups 😏 Emergence of ARR per employee metric 🤑 Landing pricing changes 🍄 Magic behind Legend of Mushroom Here's what this week's roundup of the most interesting reads and listens looks like! Check out the latest edition of This Week in PLG in the comments 💚