Kyle Morrand had an idea while living with his roommates. Now he’s turned it into a $2 million vision.
The founder leads 302 Interactive, an Orlando, FL-based development studio leveraging game design and emerging technologies to create interactive media, its LinkedIn mentions. It connects clients to resources that supports augmented reality mobile applications, game development, virtual reality and immersive experiences with the aid of its in-house team of developers, designers, and artists.
“…The business is a reflection of my own life, ambitions and creativity,” Morrand explained in an interview with Entrepreneur. “…I get to spend my days reshaping our relationship with technology to design lifestyles that are more playful and ultimately eliminate some of the symptoms of depression and anxiety that seem standard to modern-day living.”
He says the idea dates back to his time at college in Apartment 302 where he lived with two roommates who were also passionate about gaming.
“…The three of us spent a ridiculous amount of time and money buying retro games that we would collect and play constantly,” Morrand told the outlet. “I was originally influenced by watching ‘Indie Game: The Movie,’ a movie about ‘the trials and tribulations of creativity.’ It was eye-opening for me to see that such talented creatives with highly valuable skills were essentially living as starving artists to build their passion projects.”
He continued, “In 2013, I started ideating on how to build a business that could empower digital creators to apply their creativity without sacrificing healthy living and working conditions. After a few iterations, I landed on starting a game studio that could help empower other game studios through collaboration and shared resources. That idea has since evolved into the business we are today, but the core intention of creative stability is at the heart of our values and culture throughout the company.”
During the first three years of operations, 302 Interactive was not profitable. It would not be until 2017 that the company would begin to work on smaller-scale projects for businesses looking to use game design and XR technology. By the end of that year, the company consistently had two floating clients, leading to earnings between $5,000 and $10,000 monthly. The following year, $10,000 per month would be the baseline, and it grossed $130,000 for the year.
“In the spring of 2018, we secured a contract with Steamroller Technologies to work on a project for Universal Creative,” Morrand explained to Entrepreneur. “That contract gave 302 Interactive enough of a stable revenue forecast that I was able to leave my day job and employ myself full-time under the company. That year, we made $130,000 in revenue from just a few contract projects. In the next three years, we managed consistent growth of projects and increased our contract rates as we improved our processes and team talent.”
He added, “By 2021, we were averaging $30,000 a month, and in 2022, larger projects helped us double our revenue to an average of $70,000 a month. That trend continued into 2023, during which we grossed $1.9 million for the year.”
Morrand sees his recent wins as “a good motivator to keep going,” The Orlando Life reports.
