Today we’re talking with Tina Merry, of Simply Sweet Games which was founded in 2023.

Tina has worked previously at King and EA and spent the last few years working as a consultant specializing in cultural intelligence. We talk a lot about her journey of bootstrapping a studio after finding the right co-founder in part through her consulting work, and launching their first title onto mobile markets, and what she’s learned about herself along the way. I really enjoyed my time with Tina, and hope you’ll find her reflections insightful.

Let’s jump in.

Today, we’re talking with Shifaz Sikkander, of Stone Lion Games. Shifaz shares how he grew up being obsessed with founding a company that made an impact on the world, and how that ended up shaping his career, including making the leap into entrepreneurship. While he was initially not targeting games, both his love of games and seeing an opportunity pushed him that direction. Let’s jump in.

Today we’re talking with Matthew Manarino of SUMMONER, a game focused creative agency founded in 2023. Matt talks about how he realized he needed to make some major shifts in his life and career to get the fulfillment that he was looking for, and how that led to taking a big leap into founding. Matt burned the ships behind him as he jumped in, selling his house and cars and moving his life to a lower cost of living area in Europe to ensure he had the runway to build the company. As he says “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” Let’s jump in.