APPLEBAUM DARE TO DREAM IMPACT STORY
Nochi: Getting Females in the Game
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Natalie Fang, MBA ’20, Columbus, OH; James Boggs, PhD ’23, Schenectady, NY
ochi is a studio that creates games by females for U.S. female players, focusing on educational content in the form of young adult, visual novel entertainment. This venture received Phase II and Phase III funding as part of the Applebaum Dare to Dream program offered at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business during the 2019-20 Academic Year.
How It Began
I (Natalie) am a gamer myself and, when it came to the romance visual novel genre, I had a hard time finding quality games that were available to U.S. consumers. Titles are mostly developed in Asia, with many not translated for the U.S. market. I started seeing some independent developers trying their hand at the visual novel genre but these developers were not making mobile app games. Knowing that other people had also complained about the lack of female-oriented games made me become interested in developing romance mobile app games.
Why We’re Passionate About It
Romance visual novel games available in the U.S. are not really educational or meaningful. I really value the power of storytelling. Since romance visual novels are story-based, I wanted Nochi to make our games educational. The first game title we’re releasing on iOS is a dating sim where players will learn a bit about the food systems in the U.S. — so not only will players get the romance content that they want, but they will be able to learn about cool things happening in the food industry.
The Applebaum Dare To Dream Impact
Applebaum Dare to Dream helped me learn about business and financial models and make a compelling business case. I had no experience in that previously, so it has been huge in helping me think how to make Nochi sustainable as a business. I love the action-based learning aspect of attending the workshops but using our own ideas/business to complete the deliverables. And the deliverables are 100% helpful and needed to be done as a business in order to be viable and sustainable. Applebaum Dare to Dream helped me craft Nochi’s pitch and led us to early successes — such as being a cohort member of the Desai Accelerator!
Updates
Currently in the Desai Accelerator, Nochi launched our first game title, “Sifting Thyme,” on Android on iOS in August. The funding
from Applebaum Dare to Dream allowed us to: • Expand our team. We brought on our first female programmer, a U-M computer science student intern! • Invest in our first title, paying for needed game assets to support Android and iOS launches. • Invest in concept development work for a second game title.
Advice
Take advantage of all the great learning opportunities at Ross! You can learn so much and grow as an entrepreneur not only from the action-based learning programs but also from the one-onone mentorship you receive on your business ideas/venture. The feedback and support from the program and ZLI staff members was phenomenal and can be applied to future entrepreneurial endeavors as well. All of the experience and knowledge gained from the programs at Ross will stay with you and build upon each other to support you as a life-long entrepreneur!
Thank You!
Thank you for your generosity and support! The program is phenomenal in helping entrepreneurs get things off the ground from both an educational and financial perspective. The greatest thing is that we’re able to learn so much about how to ensure a business is viable from the workshops and especially from the one-on-one mentorship. And even if a venture fails, all of this knowledge carries forward to future ventures which is the most invaluable takeaway from the program. Thank you, donors! The Applebaum Dare to Dream program was made possible by generous support from the Eugene Applebaum Family Foundation. Offered through Michigan Ross’ Zell Lurie Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies, this program helps undergraduate and graduate students develop a business idea from the ground up by offering business development workshops and awarding grants of $300 to $5,000.