CEO Interview | Geraldine Yong, MogiMe

A CEO's insight on mobile gaming in regards to user acquisition, education vs. entertainment, and female entrepreneurs. 

Hello, Geraldine! What is Mogime?

"A mobile social gaming network. Currently only mobile. It will be on iOS soon. Create your avatar, be social and play games with our network or our partners’ affiliated networks. User - generated content. Discover apps, make friends and send messages in a community."

Target Market?

Ages 13-24

Tell us a little about yourself.

“I am currently the CEO of the company. My background's always been technical sales and business development and I’ve always been interested in games because I’ve been a gamer since I was a kid. I also consider myself a Fashionista. With my corporate background and my interests, I wanted to have a company that actually embodies both gaming as well as a person’s identity. For now, my interest's in creating better outfits for the avatars as well as working with my team in creating new content for the users and growing the company more than the idea in my head.”

Favorite Childhood game?

“Nintendo - Super Mario. Diner Dash. I’m more concerned about dressing up my avatar - like on the Wii - than the game itself. I’m more of an aesthetic person. I’ll play the game if I like the arts. I may not be the highest ranked player, but I'll have the nicest decor in my diner or a nice dressed avatar.”

Pleasure meeting you at GDC. Not too many women in attendance? Thoughts?

“I think I saw more females last year than this year. Obviously we’re talking about a male dominated industry and in fact the people I work with are mostly guys. I think that there'll be a time in the near future where a female’s perspective in this industry will be invaluable. You’ll probably see more companies making games geared toward females. Based on the content of the games this year - they’re mostly geared toward guys. The roles the females play in the gaming companies... it’s not as relevant to be at GDC because I think a lot of the people there are either product managers or designers. The females are maybe on the more of the business side and probably want to attend other events that are more business related. Maybe that’s way? There’s an increase in women in the mobile gaming space. I hope to see more women being involved in the front end, leading the vision on how games should be played in the future.”

The animation in mobile games attracts the younger crowd. However, most companies are hesitant to go the educational route by implementing educational games. Why is that?

"Education vs. Entertainment. There’s a distinct difference. More kids are spending more time on iPhones. They’re obviously a huge demographic for marketers to target. At the same time, the parent chooses what to download. There are games where you learn something and others you don’t learn much. Take certain games where you’re managing a farm or a cafe. The premise is realistic to real life. It teaches you that if you take care of something, manage something, and then you get a reward. For Mogime, it’s all about fun and entertainment.  We never want to say that we’re teaching anything because it’s all about social gaming and fun."

Agreed. Gaming's about an escape and entertainment.

Big question that every gaming company is focused on: What are your strategies for User Acquisition?

"All the growth we’ve had so far has been organic and I want to take this a step back to two years ago when we first started making games and having Mogime integrated into other apps. The purpose was to acquire users organically within the network: not advertising, not spending money on marketing, but just more of 'free' ways of getting the word out.

Mogime's a mix of fashion and anime. We'll be creating more fantasy-like outfits for females and male avatars. Once we have the weapons and things in the store, we’ll see more males interested in building their avatar. The content will not be just about fashion, but how the user will identify with other users.

What is your advice for Female entrepreneurs in gaming?

"Female Entrepreneurs. You don’t see as many females as males. Entrepreneurs aren't born, but when the idea's born, it takes a lot of sacrifice and courage. You will have to sacrifice a stable job and income. Not everyone, male or female can actually do that. What differentiates us are our analytical skills. We bring a different perspective and look at things from different angles. Females having a big role in Silicon Valley will be key."