MIT Venture Lab Ideation of the Process Xeko
Amy Tucker from Matter Group LLC is on next, she works for xeko.com. Her process was that the quality of life was diminishing, so she started paying attention to the idea, and started listening to the ideas that were slowly cooking. For anyone who has a creative bent, you know that at times it can be very hard to get the idea out, and it might need some cooking.
She was looking and thinking about the idea of sustainable resources for the planet. The Xeko web site is a the place to get her goods, and find out where they are being sold. The beginning business plan for this was literally written on the back of a napkin when she was drinking a coffee. The idea was to bring about developing a number of stores that would be on a sustainable path in relationship to consumption of resources.
She also develop a business to meet a certain goals, a world travel/international business, work with really smart people, work with great mentors, have a joyful company, and be sustainable. The original project was code: Lamina (think of the anagram here on this one). Matter group was founded in 2005 that was an animal trading card game to teach kids about ecology, conservation and have a real world impact while doing so.
Her view on her business is People, planet and profit (3P’s). This triple bottom line is one of the underlying ideas behind the company, as a for profit company that shows that ecology and profit does not need to be at odds with each other. The goals are to be biggest trading card game on the planet. They are looking to grow 10 million active players in north america, with revenues exceeding 60 million and using the card game to spin off onto television, books, video games, but interestingly enough nothing about the internet on her overall plan.
What is interesting is that she is using some of the elements in her web site that can be found on many of the Microsoft, Nintendo, and other kids games like Viva Pinata, where people get the toy and have secret codes that they can enter when they get the toy. What will be interesting to see if they use any more advanced technology like the IR code sets that would provide interaction between the video game console and the toy, or other ideas that would bring things as a more interactive game/game play.
You can scope out the game at xeko.com, think pokimon here with this game. The idea is to help kids learn conservation by playing the game, and supporting hot spot conservation in troubled areas around the world. There is a full line of plush toys, cards, and the rest of the things that will help feed the franchise for the game.
In all this is an interesting view point into a hard physical goods startup, where the goal is to make conservation and ecology a fun game in line with the idea of Pokimon cards, and how these systems can be interconnected. There are some obvious things that are missing from the mix, comic books/anime/manga to go along with the trading cards. There is also no mention of the internet in relationship to their processing. The web site is cool, but fairly static and does not really drive brand.
The game design itself is top notch, the cards are wonderful that would make many people want to collect them. The part with the cards is that they relate to the rarity of the card to the rarity of the animal in the world. The artwork and character development is also considered a company asset. The plush toys are made out of a by product from tofu manufacturing. The entire product line extends the core beliefs of the company, avoiding all the plastic and resource limited based products.
She brings up some of the interesting ideas in working with a manufacturer in China, focusing on transparency, and inspection of the process. Her view point is that it is an integrity issue, if you know the entire process from the bottom up, you are more responsible and more aware of how the entire process works.
Ideas are a dime a dozen, People who implement them are priceless - Mary Kay Ash
Funding happened with seed funding from friends and family. They then got Angel funding from Dan Gilbert of the Gilbert group. Right now they are seeking strategic funding, and giving up equity in the company to get the angel money and the VC route. What is interesting is that “where the money comes from matters”. If you have a great investor who is involved who can help you run your company then you can do well. Their idea of strategic partnership is based on media or studio or virtual world side for strategic media partners. The market opportunity in childrens toys can make some very serious money.
tags: business, manufacturing, xeko, web site, plush toys, video game, game, toys, games, fun
Wow, this is the most in depth article I’ve seen yet on the makers of Xeko. They have a great story and mission, this should be used more in the media. I wish them the best of luck with the Strategic Funding.
Kristy, hopefully they will do great, of course being an outsider I have some ideas, I also have nothing at stake. I think the thing that caught my attention the most (and something I would notice, I live on the internet at this point) was that there was no internet strategy for Xeko as they developed their product.
With a focus on the 8 to 13 year olds, they also live on the internet and will be looking for a community around the card game, much like a video game, it will be the community that they develop around the card game on line that will also help spread word of mouth. I would love to see more, especially as they develop their community involvement on the internet, and how they plan on using the internet to leverage their card game.
I know I am buying the card game for my sisters kids this christmas, it looks like something they would just go “nuts over”. I see a ball heading towards the fence in a “home run”.