Martin Antonov is the founder and game designer of Fractal Games. He is a young enthusiast, aged 25, graduated Mathematics at the University of Warwick in 2012. Addicted to games, puzzles and programming, he is also an entrepreneur and business advisor with multiple startup projects and one successfully sold business, which he started when he was 17.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your company - what is Fractal Games all about?
Fractal Games is a platform for original and highly addictive puzzle games which enhance handeye coordination, logical, analytical and cognitive thinking. Our goal is to create an environment where users can play unique games and train their brains every day.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I am at heart a mathematician and a gamer. At some point after my BSc I decided to take a one year highly competitive course in programming with lots of teamwork projects most of them were creating simple games, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Thus I decided to combine my passions computer games, programming and maths into a single startup. After a week of brainstorming for game ideas Fractal Games was born.
Q: What are some of the projects you are working on right now?
After a year or so of developing the platform and experimenting with different concepts, my team and I released our first game SLIDE for Android just last week. SLIDE is a unique multiplayer puzzle which requires a lot of strategy, yet is simple enough to start playing straight away. Hopefully, SLIDE will become next "Sudoku"
We are also currently working on 2 game packs Graphz and 2048 Master Collection. Graphz is a combination of 67 games, based on Graph Theory a mathematical discipline which studies the relations between objects. Of course the games in the pack will be simple, yet entertaining and addictive, suitable for everyone who likes a bit of challenge. 2048 Master Collection will include some original variations of what is arguably the best puzzle game that came out in the past couple of years 2048. We are also working on the platform itself, which is currently in BETA and can be seen at www.fractalgames.com .
Q: What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
I believe that the top 3 skills are attention to detail, analytical and creative thinking. I found that my ability to analyse different situations, markets, opportunities and optimizing strategies, expenses and workflow has helped me the most in my previous startups. Of course, none of that would matter if it was not for a creative idea. Finally, bringing the idea to life requires a lot of attention to the small things and details.
Q: What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
I try to focus on the shortterm goals within the project itself, rather than the longterm growth. Our plan for the next couple of months is to release the Fractal Games platform on Android, iOS and web with at least 56 original game titles. Once this goal is completed we will try to implement more games inside the platform and focus on marketing and product placement. Hopefully, in a year or so we will be able to move from an Indie Game Development Studio to a stable company by bringing in more developers and opening representative offices around the globe. There is a lot more work to be done until we reach this stage, though.
Q: What were the top 3 mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
This is my first startup in the IT sector and thus there were a lot of mistakes at first, but hopefully I am improving my skills as a project manager and will lead Fractal Games to a success. The first mistake that comes to mind is underestimating the time needed for a game to be developed. All deadlines I have set were quite optimistic and eventually we had to postpone the release of our first game and the whole platform by quite a bit.
Another mistake would be that I did not pay too much attention to the architecture and overall design of our games at first. I am sure there are more but they are probably a consequence of the above, rather than standalone mistakes.
Q: What was the best business advice you have ever received and who gave you this advice?
In my first startup company I had a partner with whom we made up a great team. We had a bad quarrel once and I wanted to come apart. I sought the advice of a friend with lots of business experience with startups and property investment, among others. He told me that we should try our best to set our differences aside and continue building what we had started. I took the advice and it turned out to be the best decision my partner and I have ever made.
Q: Say I was starting my own version of Fractal Games what advice do you have for me?
My single advice would be to be perseverant. Creating any kind of original software apps, games or website, takes a lot of time and team effort that requires hard work and patience.
Q: What's your definition of success?
For me personally, success is when you create "something" that pushes society forward. This is a very abstract definition and can be interpreted and achieved in many different ways. With Fractal Games we aim to provide both entertainment and brain training to people who want to boost their analytical, logical and cognitive skills.
Q: If you had the chance to start your career over again what would you do differently?
I really do not think I would do anything differently. Making mistakes, analysing them and trying out different things has lead me to my current startup. If I were to change anything in my career path that would lead me somewhere else and I am currently very motivated and happy doing what I do at Fractal Games. I am only 25,though, and the answer to this question could change drastically in the next 5 10 years (or not
Q: How can our community get in touch with you?
You can reach us in a number of ways:
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