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Venkat Swami

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Venkat Swami

Founder & CEO

iNexGen Games Technologies

Venkat Swami is a member of:

- Expert

Venkat Swami's Advice

Taking Responsibilities

Entrepreneurs: You have already chosen your path and be ready to enjoy your ride for the rest of your life. You may have to change the routes & don’t hesitate to do it. You will come across many books, motivational & influential speeches, wonderful & meaningful advices from your friends, associates & relatives. Listen to all of them. But, your actions should come from your Intuition and take responsibility for each of your actions.

Brief about company, offerings and foundation of the company

iNexGen Games was originally started as a subsidiary of RedOctane, US in 2005. I bought the company in 2010 and changed the name to iNexGen Games. We are developing gaming products and provide gaming services for the local and international clients. We have launched our first game Allrounderz, a true Social 3D Cricket game on facebook. We are planning to launch the game on other platforms including Windows, iOS, and Android very soon. We provide complete range of services including 3D/2D game art assets and game programming on various platforms. We are also experts in developing hardware interfaced games.

Most critical decision

Any start-up should have a right set of people around to realize the vision. Eventually, it is only a bunch of good people help you to grow a good organization. We should also be ready to let people go and constantly evolve with your strategies to move ahead building your dreams. It is very hard to follow, but inevitable in any entrepreneur’s journey.

Some of the difficulties faced while building product/ solution

We started with a set of goals and bunch of responsibilities for each of core team members. As we progressed with the development of the product, we have not strictly followed our agreement and started addressing many other threats and planned for many future items. Product development timelines, milestones and quick feedback cycles have not been followed strictly i.e. MVP (Minimum Viable Product) Strategy had not been followed.

Three big lessons/ mistakes encountered while building company

There are many. Let me give only 3 here:Funds Management:1)I was able to raise 50% of the required first round of investment to build our product through friends & well wishers. I was advised that it would be easy to raise the rest. So, I planned as if I have 100% of my required investment and soon got in to cash flow issue.2)Technology Choice: I have selected a technical platform that was not matured and not proven in the market. It posed a major challenge in acquiring the customer base.3)Product Development Strategy: When developing a product, we should test it out with real users and release small iterations of features. We have taken a longer period of time to launch our complete first set of features.All the above 3 factors had a major role in restructuring our company’s strategies.

Different actions if I rebuild my company from scratch all over again

I think I could develop the product with less than 50% of my original team strength and funds.

Motivation and Drives factor

I am driven by my intuition. It always guides me and helps me to grow and also overcome every struggle I face. In 2002, I lost my job as the start-up company where I worked was closed. I decided that day to become an entrepreneur, do something new, and create more job opportunities. When my friends were looking for jobs, I was looking for business ideas to create jobs. By God’s grace and with the help of many good people around, I am able to motivate myself enough to continue, what I do now.

Experience of reaching out to potential investors

I was able to raise 50% of my projected funds requirement from Mani Subramanian, My Uncle & Great Motivator who sowed the entrepreneurship seed in me and Charles Huang & Kai Huang, My Mentors, Friends & Who gave me an opportunity to become an entrepreneur in 2003. I firmly believed and I was also told that it would be an easy experience to raise the rest of the funds requirement in India through an angel investment group. I was never been able to, as there is no predecessor in India who proved that gaming product has potential.

Risks involved in business and way of addressing

We wanted to focus only on making gaming products as part of iNexGen Games. We couldn’t survive beyond a point and have decided to get in to offering gaming services. India is yet to produce a gaming product company. Our service projects are helping us supporting our product development now. We believe and value the importance of a product. So, it is our commitment to further strengthen our product lines through our current service offerings.

Unique about my way of motivating troops

I don’t micro-manage. I trust my team, give enough opportunities for them to grow and give them responsibilities. Each person is unique. So, I don’t expect the same result from everyone. I accept that fact and try to help them grow at their own pace. When that pace is not good enough for the organization, I politely show them way.

Way of choosing my people

A person with right attitude. You can learn everything else easily, if you have the right attitude. Sometimes, it is very hard to find such people during your interview process.

The challenges and lessons learnt to get first customer

For both Product & Services, we have adopted the same strategy. Be Honest & prove that you are genuinely concerned about your client’s needs and their objectives for working with you. When you prove the results, you get a customer for a longer term.

As a leader how I make sure that I am connecting the right dots

As far as possible, I tend not to make the same mistake twice. Sometimes due to practical reasons, you may have to repeat the mistake again (knowingly) either to learn again in harsh way or to make sure that it works with slight modification to your approach.

My role at different dimensions as the company evolved

I have played many different roles, as we have evolved with the product development. From the original concept till arriving at a business model to generate revenue, I have played my part along with experts in each segment. Now, we need to scale this product to multiple platforms and markets to reach out wider audience.

Advice for fellow entrepreneurs

Best company I admire globally

Apple & Infosys. Apple for sheer innovation & for Steve Jobs. I love every single product from Apple. Infosys, mainly for Mr. Narayana Murthy & his contribution to India’s Growth. It’s my wish to meet Mr. Narayana Murthy and get his blessings. I hope I will get a chance.

My thoughts related to entrepreneurship/ leadership and management

Entrepreneurship is a beautiful journey. You should cherish each and every moment of it.The experience of this journey will make you a better person and will give you a wonderful perspective to your life.