There are plenty of opportunities in mobile gaming, but many of the hundreds of start-ups entering the space are inexperienced.
That's providing plenty of opportunities for companies who can help them build out their businesses, whether in terms of advice, or funding, or both.
And that's the plan for Montreal, Canada-based game incubator and market accelerator Execution Labs.
One-stop shop
It's set up to provide seed funding, shared office space, development tools, and what it calls "world-class mentors" - including Xbox co-founder Ed Fries, Fez developer Phil Fish, and DeNA Sweden's Ben Cousins - to get start-ups off and running.
It's specifically targeting companies making mid and hardcore mobile games.
It says it will work differently to many existing incubators, who run timed programs. Instead, it will work for longterm success, including giving cash for marketing, customer acquisition and live operations once titles are launched.
Additionally, it will provide legal guidance and help companies raise more funding as they leave the incubator.
All for one
In terms of its own set up, Execution Labs' founders are consultant and former director of the IGDA Jason Della Rocca, ex-Gameloft head of deployment Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, and Keith Katz, who ran monetisation operations at OpenFeint.
"The diversity of new gaming platforms and business models has created a ton of opportunity for developers, but navigating this crazy space can be a really daunting prospect for small indies," commented Della Rocca.
"The Execution Labs model is designed to make things much more manageable for indies from both a creative and business perspective. Ultimately, we want to foster a new wave of game entrepreneurs who own and control their IP."
Up and running
The company has raised $1.4 million in a seed round to fund operations.
This was led by BDC Venture Capital, with Real Ventures and White Star Capital acting as co-investors, and Taiwan-based investors Jimmy Foo and Richard Wu chipping in too.
Execution Labs has also signed a marketing deal with US retailer GameStop.
As for who can apply, applications are currently only being taken from Canadians, albeit with international applicants planned for the future.
Execution Labs will take equity and revenues share in the companies it supports
For more details, check out the website.
News
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
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