The Reactor is a project supported by hard working, nimble and clever, economic developer Kristina Hudson. The reactor supplies space for small companies to work, for groups like the IGDA to have meetings, and for developers to meet and try out the products of resident and associated developers. The following is a short description of how the Reactor influenced my decision to move to Seattle and how the Reactor helped me flourish over the past year.
Prior to coming to Seattle I was at a non-profit think tank in Washington, DC. I was funded by NIAID grant. By Summer, 2013, I had a prototype of my game and was looking for developers to bring it up to commercial quality. I was an invited speaker at Serious Play Conference, August 2013 at DigiPen in Redmond, WA. Chip Hallett managed the Reactor and was attending the conference. He heard me describe my game and invited me to come down to the Reactor in Belltown a game demo session. The event was the “Pick Your Platform, Start Up 101” discussion and 10 of us showed our software off afterward.
I decided to move here in September 2013. Two developers I had just met at the at Serious Play conference had asked me to join their company, so it was a risky move, but I knew from my experience with the huge reactor family that Seattle was a safe move in case the venture with those particular devs fell through. I participated in several more events, including the Power of Play conference and IGDA events at the Reactor… and when my plans with the first devs ended, I found new partners though contacts I made at those events. I have a stable business plan now, found everything from bank accounts to the text of my NDA by talking with my fellow start up We expect to be three full time employees by October 1 and six by January 2015.
Molecular Jig Games, LLC is a Seattle success story, and I attribute a large part of our success to the Reactor.
