With Product Madness’ unique incubator programme, Madness Ventures fast approaching the end of its first year, we caught up with Tali Tzukerman, Product Director of Madness Ventures to reflect on the journey so far.

So what is Madness Ventures and why is it unique?

The programme offers developers of any size with an early stage free-to-play mobile game concept to apply for funding, mentorship and a full programme of support to release their new game.

There are a couple of requirements that need to be fulfilled, the game must have chance-based core gameplay mechanics, an element of innovation that sets it apart from other games and an ambitious vision that can scale globally. If successful, applicants will have access to funding, marketing support and more. What really sets Madness Ventures apart from other incubators is our specific focus and value-add for games of chance, while championing teams’ ownership and creativity. Games of chance are the real bread-and-butter of Product Madness and we’re thrilled to be in this unique position to offer our expertise via our mentoring programme.

And how is everything going?

Since launching Madness Ventures we have received over 150 applications from all over the world, with applicants ranging from solo entrepreneurs to established work-for-hire studios. It’s been great seeing such a varied and diverse selection of teams and projects. So far, we’ve accepted five projects that have been developing their prototypes with us. A couple have already passed their early market testing and we’re looking forward to how they evolve going forward. It took a little bit of time to get going, but we have great momentum for the programme and hope to see some of these early-stage games challenging for the top of the app charts very soon.

PG.biz: Any tips for what you look for in developers?

We’re looking for talented and innovative developers and fresh and creative new mobile game ideas that can scale. So it’s important for the teams to really do their research on who their customer is and why they will play their game and then put together a strong plan to accompany their innovative game vision.

That being said, we’re not expecting teams to have all the answers right away. That’s what Madness Ventures is all about. Discovering the gems and then helping to polish them and recognise their true beauty and value.

Want to hear more about Madness Ventures?

Product Director Tali Tzukerman will be guiding teams through the investment process in her talk at White Nights in Istanbul on June 8th. Join Tali and learn all about how best to approach your first investment pitch.

Or check out the website for lots of useful information and tips.