As the last episode of the year, I sat down with my co-founder at Jam & Tea Studios to have him share his founding journey. Hearing his perspective of the journey that we've shared really emphasized to me how each individual's founding journey is truly unique. I look forward to talking to more cofounders of folks that I've already interviewed next year. For now, we'll be taking a bit of a break over the holidays -- though its really because I've been fundraising over November/December and haven't gotten a chance to record much until January. I hope you've enjoyed the series thus far and look forward to more episodes in 2025!

Irena is a kindred spirit for me. She founded Unleashed Games in 2023 to pursue making games that tackled social design and brought players together. She hasn’t always wanted to start a studio, but after spending a career at places like Scopely, 38 Studios, and Blizzard working on World of Warcraft, she didn’t see anyone focused on the problems or opportunities she was most passionate about. If no one else is doing it, the sometimes you need to take the lead.

I deeply enjoyed my conversation with Irena, I hope you do as well. Let’s jump in

I've known Jeanne-Marie Owens (co-founder of Critical Path Games, 2024) since 2020 when we worked together at Phoenix Labs. There she had the interesting experience of being the first employee of a startup and going on the whole founding journey through to an exit. It was a remarkable run and amazing learning experience, which she was then able to carry with her as she decided to be in a founder seat fully from the start on this journey.

We also talked a lot about the work that DigiBC - The Creative Technology Association of British Columbia does for the Vancouver startup ecosystem and the fulfillment and enjoyment she's gotten from participating and becoming the executive chair of gaming for the org. It really shows the power that local organizations can have on a founding journey, and the power of communities they can build.

Let's jump in.