By some estimates, the gaming industry is worth more than Hollywood and the music industry combined. We recently caught up with Nabil Moutran and Dan Moore to discuss the launch of their new digital gaming platform Division, where gamers and brands combine.
Why did you start Division?
Nabil: I have spent over 20 years in marketing and advertising and have always been focused on seeing how brands adopt new technologies or industries in the ever-changing marketing landscape. Given the myriad of entertainment opportunities that exist today we the lines continuing to blur when it comes to consumer media consumption. Social media merges with gaming and entertainment on platform such as Twitch and games like Fortnite.
We started DIVISION to give gamers and brands the opportunity to come together to create compelling content that gamers’ audiences find relevant and authentic.
What is the most surprising challenge that you’ve faced and how did you overcome it?
Dan: Building the business plan and navigating our eco-system has been relatively easy and smooth, which is what we thought would be the hard part. What we have found challenging is navigating the relevant authorities in establishing the administrative side of the business. Setting up a bank account specifically was a nightmare. Time and patience is what anyone needs to get through this stage of setting up a business.
What is that one thing in your business that you are really proud of?
Nabil: We are still at the beginning of DIVISION’s life and I know many things we will be proud of through the years, but I believe the proudest moment I have had so far is the reaction from our partners and clients on the ease of use of the platform. We have built something that clearly taps into an opportunity in the market and everyone can easily see that opportunity for themselves.
If you could give one piece of advice to your fellow entrepreneurs, what would it be?
Dan: Do your homework before taking action in setting up your business. Carefully select Freezone or local entity. Know where you want to base your office and how many employees you’ll need. All of this will factor into your license application. We would have done things differently had we known what we know after going through this process.
What’s next for Division?
Dan: We are now through our initial development phase and launched our platform on the 15th September. We are now seeing more and more people coming onto our platform and brands starting to engage. We will now focus on Q4 in taking our clients campaigns live and continue with our next round of platform upgrades. We are truly excited for what the next few months have in store for us.
What do you like to get up to outside of work?
Nabil: Dan and I met around 4 year ago and have spent a lot of time together in that time. I think we will both agree that anything that revolves around good friends and family is what we both enjoy doing. It often includes lots of food as well.
What are you currently watching/reading/listening to?
Nabil: I spend a lot of time reading trade publications to keep up with the latest news and trends in marketing and technology. My viewing habits range widely to be honest depending on my mood and the list is long.
Which entrepreneur do you most admire and why?
Nabil: I admire many people in the world when it comes to work, everyone from Jeff Beyzos to my father and friends who have set up successful businesses. So rather than highlighting who I admire the most, I will highlight the qualities they all represent that I respect. Those qualities are hard work & dedication, authentic leaders of people, innovation and being daring.
Where’s your favourite place to eat?
Dan: That is one long list I don’t even know where to start.
