Pat Toulouse is a Canadian entrepreneur who founded RatRod Studio back in 2009. RatRod Studio is actually a startup that is based in Gatineau and it is dedicated to publishing and developing games and interactive web content for console systems, PCs and mobile devices. So far RatRod Studio has produced numerous top notch games for various platforms because of which today the Canadian startup has earned itself a good repute thanks to the BizSpark, a program which Toulouse says has helped them tremendously. RatRod Studio is a partner a member of BizSpark.
Giving credit to BizSpark, Toulouse said that “Our team was able to benefit from the best software and tools on the market at no cost, allowing us to focus our budget on other areas such as growing the team and polishing our games. Microsoft has done a great job to support developers.”
Recently Toulose had a meeting with Microsoft Canada Technical Evangelist in which he has not only discussed about his startup, but also gave useful tips to up and coming tech entrepreneurs of Canada. Below are the top four advices that Toulose gave during that discussion:
1. Think before having partners:
“Just before starting Ratrod Studio, I started another company with a few friends. Things didn’t quite work out and I decided to start my own venture. Even if we were all very good friends, things got a lot tougher when it came to making business decisions.”
2. Never put all eggs in one basket:
“Find more than one idea and while developing a project, continue brainstorming other ideas. Sometimes you may think a specific title will be a big hit, when in fact it could be the side project that becomes incredibly popular.
“The app market is volatile, you never really know what to expect.”
3. Don’t expect too much:
“After working for other companies, I often found myself unsatisfied after working on a project that I really enjoyed because I knew we could have done more.
“My first goal with Ratrod was to make the biggest and baddest game possible. After spending close to a year on our first title, I really had high expectations. The game did well, but not as good as I thought it would be. This can be very disappointing and many developers may not get back on their feet.
“I took it as a lesson, and then started to work on smaller projects to test the market. After I knew I had something that people liked, I then spent the next months adding content and features. The market is often a hit or miss; you don’t want to put all your expectations on a single project. You need to find a niche market and experiment.”
4. Hard work never goes unpaid:
“There’s no magic wand that guarantees that you’ll be a successful game developer. Those one hit wonder apps is like winning the lottery. They can inspire you but shouldn’t despair you. They are less than 0.01% of the apps out there.
“You need to be realistic in your expectations and have a solid strategy. As a small developer, publishing your games on multiple-platforms using tools such as Unity is crucial. This maximizes your exposure, revenues and chances to succeed in this business.”
Source: TechVibes
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