Monday, October 5, 2015
By: Matthew Doucette
Futurpreneur Canada offers $45,000 in funds; Xona Games accepts $29,000.
Futurpreneur Canada is a national, non-profit organization that provides financing, mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-39, and the only organization of its kind.
Futurpreneur's Spin Master Innovation Fund held a 4 minute national pitch contest, and Matthew Doucette pitched Xona Games which made it to the top 18 in overall in Canada. The top 10 would receive a $50,000 loan from Futurpreneur Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Unfortunately, we did not make the cut however Futurpreneur was impressed enough to offer a similar $45,000 loan via thier Financing and Mentoring program. We decided to only take a loan of $29,000.
Futurpreneur's Spin Master Innovation Fund (4-Minute Pitch) Feeback:
Futurpreneur's feedback showcased a lack of communication of how our already released Xbox LIVE Indie Games titles had any influence on our future on next generation consoles Xbox One and PS4. Left unexplained was the power of sequels in video games as well as the fact that Xbox One and PS4 wanted our products and invited us onto their systems based on them. This was addressed in the pitch -- but not in enough detail. With our fans and publishers wanting our products on next-gen consoles, it was a non-issue to our business concerns; It was unforunate to lose on this point.
The conversation of this concern took place without my presence, but that is the way of things. When you compete, you can lose. And we lose all the time (read my answer to my Roger's interview question #2 here), despite only showcasing our wins. Consider that 4 minutes to understand a business is not much time. I am positive the top 10 winners had strong business plans and, according to Futurpreneur, it was difficult to cut Xona Games. I must thank Futurpreneur for holding this contest and choosing to fund our company.
Thanks:
A big thanks goes out to Sophie Dudot of Futurpreneur for helping me out -- enormously -- through the entire process.
That is all!
About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.