ByOwls is an American company of Ukrainian origin that develops PC and VR games and already has its own innovative products in the field of virtual production and streaming. In the first months of the war, additional payments were organized for the team, as well as equipment for the transition to a remote work format was purchased. In addition, the ByOwls were able to continue working on most projects.
In a partner article with ByOwls, the company’s team explains how they did it and how they work during wartime.
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That helped to adapt to new conditions
Since the beginning of the war, like many other companies, we have adapted to new realities. And it was a long way. Our team faced many obstacles to stabilize the work on the current conditions. We found a certain formula that helped us continue working on most projects.
We share a view of what the process of management and product development should be during a full-scale aggression against our country.
For convenience, we will divide the steps into specific points so that you can take the most necessary for yourself and apply them in your practice:
- Safety of our employees. First of all, we made sure that the female workers of our company were able to move to Europe and work remotely. This helped to secure them and provide all the necessary conditions for work.
- Additional stabilization payments. In the first months, we provided additional payments to the team. They helped workers get everything they needed and provide themselves with basic necessities.
- Complete transition to remote work. This required certain costs, because we had to purchase equipment. Starlink, power generators, VR helmets and laptops were needed. But from the point of view of management, it was quite organic, because during the coronavirus we had already worked out all the mechanisms of remote work.
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- Focus on the product. The most important thing for us is the division of forces between production processes. We decided to postpone some internal projects and focus on two areas: an external game project and an internal innovation startup.
Our product is an advanced technology that turns a mobile phone into a full-fledged VR helmet using hand tracking technology and the user’s position in space. There is also a video streaming system that allows you to run any game and broadcast it to the mobile application.
We distributed the forces in proportion 60/40. This helped us to keep ourselves in good shape, have a stable income and at the same time not put our ideas in a long drawer. If you completely stop the development of your product, there will be very little chance to return to it. Thus, the technology will become a long-term construction, which will significantly reduce the chances of successful implementation.
Regarding the game project: we are now almost finished with the development process – despite the fact that the active phase fell during the war. Conclusion: we managed and went to beta testing the product on gaming marketplaces. Rival Rides is a multiplayer VR game that immerses you in a magical amusement park where four players can compete against each other in several mini-games. The feature of the game is the versatility of genres: from the DeathMatch shooter
a kind of multiplayer video game where the main objective is to directly destroy enemies in zero gravity with a huge hydra boss inside the location, to a level where you have to cook food for speed while doing tricks for others. A team of ten specialists from different fields worked on the game, namely developers, 3D artists, animators and a game designer.
- Attracting grants. We started looking for additional stabilization tools to work on internal projects. One of them is the innovative streaming of virtual reality to mobile platforms. We succeeded and became one of ten companies that received a grant – $50 thousand from the 7Wings fund to support business, more than 200 companies applied for it.
Therefore, the advice is to look for such opportunities, prepare presentations well. And you will certainly be able to achieve the goal. For understanding, it was not even the tenth attempt, but we managed. You can see a small video presentation of the startup below.
More about ByOwls projects on the website
- Problems with electricity. We had several options that could fully cover our internet and electricity needs. This is going to the office with all the possibilities or providing each team member with the necessary equipment to work during stabilization shutdowns.
We chose the second option because it allows us to be more mobile and flexible in terms of schedules. We even tried to transfer part of the work to night time, but we must be as careful as possible. Long sessions negatively affect the overall level of work. Now we use this approach only sometimes and for a few hours, so that it does not affect the physical and psychological state of the team. In addition, we switch to this format only after the agreement or personal desire of each team member.
- Selling. New challenges forced us to actively present our products and look for partners in new markets. We involved a new specialist in this process and began to work in more detail on the production and presentation of our company and our products in general. For example, we filmed a video where we showed the detailed development process of the multiplayer VR game Rival Rides, which we are preparing for release on Steam, Oculus and Pico. You can view the developer diary below.
- Search for new clients and partners. We chose LinkedIn as the main platform for this. It is mainly about seeking cooperation with foreign markets, which can be conditionally divided into several zones, of which Europe and the USA are the most attractive, but also competitive.
- For the first step, you need to follow a few important rules, have a well-formed message, namely who you are and what you are best at.
- If you have managed to interest a potential client, the next step is your portfolio and projects. They are important from the point of view of self-presentation, because you have already attracted attention and you will only have one chance to show your strengths.
You need to understand who you are writing to so you don’t end up with irrelevant contacts. For example, in our field, we are interested in business development specialists. They control the processes of interaction between companies and contractors and decide with whom the company will do business. These contacts may vary depending on the type of service or product you provide.
Foreign companies are very willing to make contact, they understand all the risks, but they are still ready to cooperate if you are really interested in them. You just need to adapt and have all the necessary tools for stable work.
- Work with the HR manager. This is necessary not only when you are growing a team and studying the candidate market, but also for a deep analysis of the internal microcosm of your company. You need to understand how this or that employee interacts with other production units, whether there are conflicts, what worries him and how to improve his working conditions. Therefore, we decided that the manager should constantly cooperate with specialists and at least once a month make a complete analysis of the state of the team.
This does not always apply to material goods, but, of course, not without it, because the employee must be motivated and financially motivated. But it is important to understand the interest in the project being worked on, as well as the relationship with colleagues and management. This will really help you to properly manage development processes and understand in time what causes your employees to burn out. Maybe it’s tiredness from the routine and the desire for new challenges, or maybe the need for communication? All this will help you maintain mutual understanding in the team and motivate them to work on projects with interest.
- Army help. From the first day, we took an active part in ensuring that our boys could defeat the enemy on all fronts. We supported the army both with donations and actions: for example, our CEO bought and together with the team handed over a pickup truck for the Armed Forces. So help all the time, any help is necessary and important for our army and its daily fight against the invader.
We hope that our tips will help you and your business. Maybe you have something to tell too, so write comments and share your stories.
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