NATURE VS NURTURE

NATURE NURTURE

VS

Words by EBM Photography by Switch / Rob Golfeo

There are 582 million entrepreneurs globally, and less than 50% make it into their third year. Further still, only 30% of these will survive to see their tenth year of operation. So what is it that makes some people chiefs and others Indians?

We sat down with 39-year-old venture capitalist, Igor Samardziski, to discuss his latest growth-project, Truelab Game Studios, and the influence of Nature vs Nurture in business, entrepreneurial success and how it played a part throughout his glittering career.

His is a story about recognising people and managing talent, and capitalising on humanity, rather than humans, as a resource. It is about how the nurturing of talent, combined with a respectful understanding of the nature of an individual, can forge unshakeable teams. It is about the way we cannot consider profit at the expense of people’s happiness to be a metric of success.

The subject of nature vs nurture in the business world is a controversial one. The school of thought is equally spread between proponents of natural influence on success, claiming that business success is 80% derived from the nature of the entrepreneur, their genetic code, and 20% from nurture. Others claim the opposite; yet, some have come to the conclusion that the source of success is more often than not a result of some undefined mix of a person’s ability, ambition, and sheer desire to persevere.

Igor’s story is indeed one of success. At the age of 36, he left the day-to-day running of operations in a successful gaming company to move into semi-retirement. And now, three years later, he is embarking on a new venture, returning to the industry as a full-time, hands-on, 9-9 CEO as part of TrueLab Games.

Igor, it’s a pleasure to sit with you. As a serial entrepreneur, what would you say are the most important driving factors for success in an emerging business?

Well, I think it would come down to a culmination of factors working symbiotically rather than narrowing it down to the most important ones.

You have to be pushing the envelope. This industry is enormously tech-based, and the adage ‘innovate or die’ has never rung truer than it does today. As attention spans dwindle along with average margins, it is vital to do more with less without compromising on quality and customer experience.

To achieve this, you have to focus on the people themselves, of course; how they are managed and empowered to perform. Particularly in a start-up environment, the ability to recognise talent and nurture it to realise its potential is what differentiates a good entrepreneur from a great one. The teams I build are driven by ingenuity and are passionate about innovating. That same passion morphs them into a single living and breathing organism that carries itself through the organisation, driving growth and success.

If you absolutely had to choose the most important factors of success, which are the first that come to your mind?

There are many pillars that I feel are essential for emerging businesses to be successful. If I had to choose, the three that I consider highly significant, which had an incredible impact on the companies I have formed in the past, and which allowed us to scale the business without sacrificing core values are: create the right product, don't be married to your strategy, and recognise gaps in the talent pool early. Firstly, create products that address perceivable problems (or opportunities) within the market. Understand the market, approach it with an analytical mindset, understand the necessity unaddressed, and then address it - that's the foundation. Many businesses are formed as a replication of one another, but ultimately, the companies that genuinely flourish are the ones that innovate, those that seek to drive ingenuity. Seeing the need and addressing it rather than replicating marketready solutions, is a starting pillar of success.

Secondly, understand that growth is phased. It’s essential to recognise that every company goes through a series of phases, and each step needs its approach. It’s the natural makeup of an entrepreneur to approach from an angle of there not being any problem that cannot be solved. It’s like a rare disposition, an attitude toward life that no bridge is too far. This is perhaps part of the genetic make-up of an entrepreneur and adds weight to the nature side of the discussion. That said, once the idea takes form and is communicated across a business, the strategy must adapt to remain on course through scale. This is easier to accomplish with companies in their early stages. The milestones need to be communicated and understood company wide. Communication is vital, and the establishment of key policies and processes eases the transition through the phases.

And the third?

Empower your resource. This weighs in heavily on the nurturing scale. Development of opportunities: hiring internally and nurturing your human resource is key, but equally so is recognising the gaps that emerge in your existing talent pool. Those gaps must be supplemented by hiring correct external talent that fits pre-existing culture. To honour culture, the “who” in the hiring process, has to carry the same importance as the “what”. Finding the balance between recognising opportunity internally and combining it with introduction of external talent your business needs, is crucial to success at scale. We must be careful not to let the humanity aspect overshadow the necessity of efficient delivery and revenue.

“Ability to recognise talent and create the environment that helps realise its potential, is what differentiates a great entrepreneur from a good one. ”

I’ve known you for some time now, and I know how much you’ve been enjoying your retirement. Indeed, it must take extraordinary circumstances to coax you back into the daily grind.

It certainly does. I’m beyond excited that I am now personally invested, and have taken over the running of TrueLab Game Studios, as their Chief Executive Officer.

This was not a decision I took lightly, and I am particularly excited about the individuals I have partnered up with. The spirit of collaboration starts at the shareholder level. The three founders have wholly complementary skill sets and backgrounds, an extraordinary meeting of minds that generates the magic it takes to foster the environment in which a start-up of this nature has the opportunity to thrive.

The team itself shares a passion for progressive thinking that can drive the evolution that our industry craves when applied to innovation and product delivery. Working with them, I can fully identify with their detailed approach, with their ability to construct an entire ecosystem from the ground up. Looking at their methods, I saw myself ten years ago. Recognising these youthful ambitions, I couldn’t help but feel that if this does not pull me out of retirement, I don’t know what will.

Look, my entire history is firmly grounded in Operations. I’ve been accustomed to generating revenue within the B2C vertical of the industry and insight into players mind carries it’s own allure. However, creating games is the one area where I haven’t yet held a position of responsibility, and this challenge is another driver in my return to the company’s daily activities. The prospect of building a product delivered directly to players has reignited a new passion for me. Now, I wake up every morning and look forward to the grind, itching to tinker with the games and figure out what we can achieve.

I feel we experienced a relative glut in casino product innovation and have now turned full circle back to product-driven excitement. It’s an inevitable move for the industry, and I feel TrueLab Games is perfectly positioned to grow as the current wave of product innovation heads towards a crest. I intend to create an environment that will allow my team to flourish, where talent is nurtured. It is a creative spirit that binds the studio, and I intend to learn from the professionals I’ll be spending my time with and, of course, to have a lot of fun in the process. I feel that businesses flourish when they are based on cohesive values. This game studio was founded upon a solid set of principles that can effectively morph start-up culture into a scalable model. Ingenuity that scales is an elusive and lofty goal that does not come naturally to every entrepreneur. What excites me most is that I walked into a company that embodies the very values I spoke about earlier. As you can probably tell, it’s a project I am immensely excited about and one that I am also personally invested in.”

Seeing as you have a history in casino operations, what similarities can you draw between your previous ventures and this new one, and how do you envisage the crossover panning out?

Apart from consultation work, this is my first executive role within a B2B company. I am most excited at the prospect of it being in its early stages of development. I can have the most impact by implementing the pillars of success discussed, which I have no doubt would carry over perfectly from the B2C landscape.

Anyone who spent time climbing corporate ladders knows that only so much can be accomplished when introducing innovation into the engine that drives corporate giants. It’s virtually impossible to affect change with agility when the momentum these companies carry due to their success makes it hard for them to change course and just as hard to derail - one does not suddenly turn a freight train into a go-kart. My coming on board at this stage allows me to best apply my influence and know-how internally at such a core stage of the company’s development, which can filter through to the industry overall.

It is about knowing that everyone on board is growing personally and professionally with my involvement. It is about looking back at half a lifetime of learning and teaching and knowing that I can apply it to the next chapter in my adventure in this incredible industry. Finally, it is about nurturing a team of experts who share my vision for an ambitious project, allowing them to develop into the true, best version of themselves. It’s an exciting prospect and a challenge I feel comfortable taking on.