Cietec's incubator focused on games is already thinking about expanding its portfolio

Pedro Kayatt and Vinícius Vecchi, entrepreneurs; Paulo Passos Neto, intern, and Leonardo Fontoura, designer

Pedro Kayatt, from Naked Monkey, explains how the startup innovated in the gaming market –

 

 
Who are the entrepreneurs, background and their previous experience in the job market? Can you dedicate yourself fully to the business?
 
The entrepreneurs are Pedro Kayatt, Master in Computer Engineering from Politécnico di Milano (PoliMi) and Quadrimestral Computing Engineer from Escola Politécnica da USP, with more than eight years of experience in the digital games market, including development for PS3 and Xbox consoles at Italy. Fully dedicated to the business.
 
Keila Keiko Matsumura, Quadrimester Computing Engineer from Escola Politécnica da USP, with international awards in the area of Natural Interfaces and Virtual Reality in the Imagine Cup competition (2012) with Fusion4D. For a year and a half he dedicated part-time to the company, while continuing to work in the medical software development market.
 
Vinicius Vecchi, Bachelor in Applied and Computational Mathematics from IME-USP. Since 2008 in the digital games market, passing through startups and multinationals in the area of São Paulo and Campinas. He joined the company approximately a year ago and, since then, he has been fully dedicated to the company. 
 
Why did you decide to launch a startup?
 
Our previous experiences have given us the possibility to envision companies that have grown too quickly and have failed in basic management to maintain this growth. In addition, we love to innovate, and Brazilian companies focus on more closed developments, without innovation or scientific research. 
 
Since when are they incubated at CIETEC? How did this partnership with Cietec make a difference in the company's evolution?
We have been incubating for a year and a half at Cietec. Being a member is important because we have lost our amateur character, we can set up an office to receive clients and improve our focus on development. In addition, being close to large schools, such as EPUSP (USP Polytechnic School), allows us to hire interns with great ease and also to establish partnerships with researchers. 
 
How did the idea of developing this startup come about? How long have you been developing this product/service?
 
The idea was born during our work at a startup, which was having great success, but in which we disagreed with some administrative decisions. As we have been in the market for over eight years, it is easier to see trends and failures. Our company is not just a product/service company, we build an environment, investing in innovation, such as mobile games focused on collaborative activities and multi-screen interfaces. Now, we are starting to venture into the world of virtual reality. 
 
In your evaluation, what is the target audience for your product/service? What are the main innovation differentials?
 
Our target audience is broad – virtually all casual mobile gamers internationally, which makes available a huge amount of users. In addition to special attention to detail, exquisite artwork and great community relationships, our products aim to be games where people can socialize while playing. Just like playing cards or board games, people can sit down and play together.
 
What are the main lessons learned in this incubation period?
The main learning was in the Human Resources area. We have had some negative experiences with some employees.
 
What are your startup's next steps? (business internship)
We are going through a first round of investments and now we want to develop an even larger portfolio for a potential second round.