Kabam - A Story on Why Failure is Never Final

Entrepreneurship often comes with challenges, and Kevin Chou's journey exemplifies how persistence through failure can lead to success. Kevin Chou shares his journey of overcoming two failures before achieving success with Kabam. He attributes this triumph to the dedication and shared vision of a strong team of co-founders.

The First Failure

Kevin Chou, now known as a successful CEO and co-founder of Kabam, initially launched a venture to compete with LinkedIn, called "Water Cooler." Despite rallying friends and family to sign up, user interest rapidly waned. Within six months, engagement and logins dwindled to single digits, leading to the realization that their investment in "Water Cooler" was ill-fated.

The Second Failure

Facing a downturn, the team knew they had to pivot or face closure. They created an ad-supported sports application on Facebook, attracting over one million users and reaching sixty million over time. Despite the success, the 2008 recession severely impacted revenues, forcing the team to contemplate another shift. Learn how businesses adapt to economic changes.

Kabam - The Success

In 2009, Kevin Chou and his team successfully launched "Free to Play" games on Facebook, foreseeing growth from its free model. Their game, Kingdoms of Camelot, marked a turning point, reshaping their business strategy. By adapting to mobile gaming trends, Kabam positioned itself for future growth. Read more about strategic business transformations.

The Key to Success - What Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Kevin Chou emphasizes the role of the founding team in Kabam's success. Experts agree that a startup thrives with a committed team. This unity enabled them to innovate and rebound from setbacks. Discover the importance of a collaborative team culture.

Shared values among founders and team members facilitate cohesive work towards common goals.
A supportive work culture, akin to efficient teams such as in NCIS or CSI, enhances productivity and fosters healthy work environments without compromising objectives. Establish strategies for workforce harmony.
- Introduce fresh ideas for growth.
- Encourage debates for innovative solutions.
- Focus on business improvements without personal disputes.
- Compete healthily within and outside the organization.

The candid acknowledgment of mistakes was pivotal at Kabam, fostering a culture without blame where everyone contributed equally. This supportive atmosphere enabled the team to tackle market challenges effectively without faltering under pressure. Implementing a non-toxic work culture is essential for success.

For entrepreneurs aiming for success, it's critical to have a clear business vision and align staffing processes with core values. Explore how setting clear business goals can guide your strategy.

Back to Learn

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Kabam's Entrepreneurial Journey: Success and Resilience.

Kevin Chou's first business venture was a professional networking site called "Water cooler" that aimed to compete with LinkedIn. Despite attracting over 100 signups on the first day, user enthusiasm and logins declined rapidly within six months, leading the founders to realize that the product was not viable.

Chou's second business was an ad-supported sports application for Facebook that initially attracted over 60 million users. However, the massive recession of 2008 significantly impacted the revenue stream from advertisements, forcing the team to either shut down or change the business model entirely.

In 2009, Kevin Chou and his co-founders decided to create a new business focused on "Free to Play" games on Facebook, anticipating their growing popularity. This strategy ultimately led to the launch of the successful game Kingdoms of Camelot and the rebranding of the company as Kabam.

Kevin Chou attributes Kabam's success to the dedication and diligence of the strong founding team. He emphasizes the importance of having a team that shares common values, can work together despite differing opinions, and is focused on improving the business strategy rather than personal conflicts.

The Kabam team fostered a healthy environment where mistakes were acknowledged without blame or power struggles. Team members contributed fully, had productive arguments focused on business improvement, and fought for success as a united front rather than tearing each other down.

Aspiring entrepreneurs can learn the importance of having a clear goal and values-based hiring practices to build a strong founding team. A team with shared values and the ability to work together despite differences can overcome failures and create a conducive environment for growth and success.

According to Kevin Chou, the willingness to admit mistakes within the Kabam team, without finger-pointing or making scapegoats, was crucial to their success. This openness to learning from failures and improving together as a team helped them overcome challenges and eventually find success.

Unlike some startup environments where personal conflicts and power struggles can arise, the Kabam founding team prioritized productive disagreements focused on improving the business strategy. Rather than tearing each other down, they fought together as a united front against competitors and market challenges.

As the popularity of mobile gaming grew worldwide, Kabam was well-positioned to capitalize on this trend by adapting their "Free to Play" game model to the mobile platform. The founding team's ability to stay ahead of changing market trends contributed to their continued success.

Based on his experience of failing twice before finding success with Kabam, Kevin Chou would likely advise entrepreneurs facing failure to persevere, learn from mistakes, and surround themselves with a strong founding team that shares common values and can work together productively despite differences in opinion.