Our global networking series Pocket Gamer Connects fast approaches, with not long left now to grab your tickets to join us in beautiful Jordan! Ahead of the event, we are taking the time to introduce you to some of the speakers who will be appearing over the two days.

This time we chat to both CEO Mohamad Haj Hasan and Business Development Manager Thamer Matar of Jawaker, who will be involved with different aspects of the conference.

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Jawaker CEO Mohamad Haj Hasan

After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts Mohamad Haj Hasan joined Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in New York, where he worked as a Financial Analyst in their Mergers & Acquisitions department. Before co‐founding the online recruitment site Akhtaboot (www.akhtaboot.com) in late 2006, Mohamad was a Vice President at Rasmala Investments, a regional Asset Management firm based in Dubai, where he worked with a range of Middle Eastern and Gulf clients. Mohamad is currently the CEO of the social gaming network Jawaker, a company he co‐founded in 2011 and sold to the publicly-traded Swedish gaming company Stillfront (www.stillfront.com) in 2021. Mohamad holds an MBA and a Masters in Education from Stanford University.

Mohamad will be speaking at Jordan about building, and eventually selling the largest gaming start-up in the Arab region. The talk will focus on the importance of profitability, taking risks and building culture.

PocketGamer.biz: What’s the most common mistake you see being made in the games sector?

Lack of focus on the business of gaming, not just building great games.

If you could give other mobile games companies one piece of advice, what would it be?

Work towards profitability so that you can take independent calculated risks.

What’s the most important key performance indicator (KPI) for you - and why?

The bottom line :) Because it gives you freedom to do more.

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Business Development Manager at Jawaker, Thamer Matar

Thamer Matar's role involves leading business operations and growth into new markets, he will be participating in the panel discussion "Show Me The Money", about how gaming companies can stay above water in a downturned market. He says that "this topic is increasingly important, as we are currently facing a high inflation, a tough stock market, and a decrease in revenue across the gaming industry. Therefore, figuring out how to grow your mobile gaming company and providing the best experience for players will not be easy."

PocketGamer.biz: What’s the most common mistake you see being made in the games sector?

Building a non-profitable business or not focusing on building a scalable business model. This has been the detriment of gaming companies as sometimes they tend to only focus on growing their user base as quickly as possible, without thinking about when will they break even.

If you could give other mobile games companies one piece of advice, what would it be?

Plan your monetization before launching your game. If you want to build a scalable gaming company that can outlast or weather any storm, make sure you build it with the thought of how to generate revenue and become profitable as quickly as possible.

Where are the next big opportunities in the mobile games market?

For the mobile games market, I think we will see more emphasis on Social features "Mobile social 2.0". Where we will see more companies integrating in-game chats, voice-chats, social media connections, and guilds (clubs), which will create a community within your games and thus increasing engagement.

What’s the most important key performance indicator (KPI) for you - and why?

For me, the most important KPI is Lifetime Value (LTV). This KPI tells you how much revenue a user has generated for you during their lifetime. It gives you an overview in regards to how your gaming is performing. By knowing this KPI, you can determine how much you want to spend on User acquisition, to estimate your game's profitability, and optimize revenue sources for maximum profit.

What company do you most admire in the mobile games world?

"Niantic's - Pokemon Go - How they combined the virtual world with the real world was impressive and innovative. "

What do you think the next big disruptor in mobile games will be?

I think the next big disruptor will be the innovative ways free-to-play mobile games diversify there revenue streams. We are seeing more and more companies figure out new approaches to generate revenue other than IAP models. It could be from offline models, to audio ads. It will be interesting to see what new ways companies come up with.

What’s your favourite ever mobile game?

Chess, always been a huge fan of chess.

Is hypercasual gaming here to stay?

Definitely. Hypercasual games are one of the fastest growing games in the industry. They are fun, quick and easy to play games with no effort required. These simple games will continue to attract consumers as they can be played anywhere and anytime.

When not making/selling/playing games, what do you do to relax?

I really enjoy playing tennis. It has been a sport that I play on a weekly basis.

Can people get in touch with you at the event? What sort of people would you like to connect with?

Absolutely! I would love to chat with anybody who is looking for a strategic partnership or innovative ways to grow revenue.