This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Kyle Morrand, founder and CEO of 302 Interactive, a company that provides “an all-in-one solution” for augmented reality mobile applications, game development, virtual reality and immersive experiences. In addition to its gaming offerings, 302 Interactive develops experiences for projects including assistive technology devices for the visually impaired, training simulators for the US Marines, VR escape rooms and more.
Image Credit: Courtesy of 302 Interactive. Kyle Morrand.
What was your day job (or other sources of income) when you started your side hustle?
When 302 first started growing as a side hustleI was still a student at the University of Central Florida and working as a software developer for government contractors here in Orlando, Florida.
My first job out of university was working at QinetiQ on projects within their internal research and development program. We were experimenting with using virtual and augmented reality equipment for the Navy. After working there, I began a position with another government contractor, working on instructional design solutions for various maintenance and operator training programs.
While the subject matter of these jobs was not personally interesting to me, I learned a lot about conducting R&D experiments and applying them properly in the real world. Plus, the stability that these jobs provided while we were initially forming what would become 302 Interactive was really important in giving me good health. creator headspace when I came home and worked nights and weekends on contract projects under 302 LLC.
When did you start your side hustle and where did you find the inspiration for it?
I started the studio when I was still in college as a side project to work during my hours. Growing up, I always loved playing video games, and when I moved into my college apartment, Apartment 302, I had two roommates who shared that love, and the three of us spent a ridiculous amount of time and money buying retro games. collected and played constantly.
I was first influenced by sight Indie Game: The Movie, a film about “the trials and tribulations of creativity.” It was eye-opening to see that such talented creators with very valuable skills were essentially living as starving artists to build their passion projects.
In 2013, I started thinking about how to build a business that could empower digital creators to apply their creativity without sacrificing healthy living and working conditions. After several iterations, I ended up starting a game studio that could help empower other game studios through collaboration and shared resources. This idea has since evolved into the business we are today, but the main goal of creative stability is at the heart of it values and culture throughout the company.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your hustle off the ground?
When I had the idea to start 302, I was a computer engineering student at UCF. I started learning about game development through books in the library and quickly decided that I needed to dive in and learn the art of game design by switching majors in UCF's game design program. That was the first big step that connected me with many of the people I still work with today.
Soon after, I bought my first virtual reality development kit, which started my journey to be a technologist. I started tinkering with different ideas for VR and I was going to show my projects at local developer meetups, so I pulled our first contract projects. This idea of experimenting with new technologies, showcasing the capabilities, and then organically attracting people who needed help to do the same became our company's main marketing strategy for the first five years of growth. We used no advertising and very little social media, instead relying heavily on networking at events and word-of-mouth referrals for projects.
The other factor that was important in the early years was investing in a creative team culture. We spent a lot of time together as a team. From design sessions in my apartment to local game jams and even traveling to California for the Game Developers Conference, a lot of our time in the early days was spent just enjoying the process of working together. This paid off after we started hiring our first employees because the team members who would join were always more attracted to our culture and new members would easily jump into projects with positive energy.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building your side hustle and how did you navigate them?
The two challenges we often faced were consistently finding contract work while trying to build our own creative projects.
Starting out, we were a local development shop, working primarily with startups and small companies in our community that needed support on R&D projects. This was a very difficult way to maintain the revenue stream, as these projects were unique. To solve this, we began to focus our marketing efforts build a brand and relationships more nationally by attending events such as the Augmented World Expo, the Game Developers Conference and many more. Making this investment year after year helped build a strong community of customers and vendor partners, which ultimately gave us a steady stream of access to new project work.
On the other side of the business, we tried to balance our ambitions to create a steady stream of income from contract work while also pursuing our creative projects such as making our own game or building XR products that we could commercialize. For the first few years, we tried to accomplish both at the same time, and until recently we were able to have a more stable allocation of our team's time and resources to effectively manage our clients' projects. , while designing and building new ones. our creative projects.
This is still a growth area for us, but we have several new opportunities ahead of us that we believe will help make our creative ambitions more fruitful.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly income? How much did the side hustle earn?
In the first three years since 302 started as a game studio, we made very little revenue. Most of our activity at the time was during class projects and then promoting ourselves at local networking events and building relationships throughout our community.
In our fourth year (2017), I started doing contract work, building small projects for local companies that wanted to use game design and XR technology in their businesses. Towards the end of 2017, we consistently began to have at least two contract projects being implemented at the same time. This allowed us to earn around $5,000-$10,000 in monthly income. This trend continued in 2018, during which we averaged $10,000 per month and earned $130,000 for the year.
When did you take up the business full-time? What do growth and revenue look like now?
In the spring of 2018, we secured a contract with Steamroller Technologies to work on a project for Universal Creative. That contract gave 302 Interactive enough of a steady income forecast that I was able to quit my day job and become a full-time employee of the company. That year, we made $130,000 in revenue from just a few contract projects. In the next three years, we achieved steady project growth and increased our contract rates while improving processes and team talent.
By 2021, we averaged $30,000 per month, and by 2022, larger projects helped us double our revenue to an average of $70,000 per month. This trend continued in 2023, during which we earned $1.9 million for the year.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
Honestly, what I love most is that the business is a reflection of my life, my ambitions and my creativity. Growing up in a very digital lifestyle video games, apps and social media, I've had time to reflect on some of the impacts digital technology has had on my life and our society, particularly in relation to mental health. Through our company's commitment to “making everyday life a playful experience,” I get to spend my days reshaping our relationship with technology to design lifestyles that are more enjoyable and ultimately eliminate some of the symptoms of DEPRESSION and anxiety that seem standard for modern life.
Another bonus is that throughout this journey, I work with my friends as employees and industry partners on fun and meaningful projects that express our collective creativity.
What is your advice to others hoping to start successful side hustles or businesses of their own?
Start slowly and with mind.
Over the years, I've had a few friends get really excited about trends they saw online and start a business quickly, only to burn out early on. They have all the motivation, skills and access to resources you'd think you'd need to be successful – but I've found that rushing into healthy business practices and following trends it usually ends up with shallow results.
Instead, start your side hustle with more conscious intentions. Take the time to write down the culture you want your business to embody and the values, people and resources you need to grow that culture. Then, apply your culture and skills to help your first customer with a problem you can clearly solve. If you can effectively solve someone's problem once, that first customer becomes invaluable as a story in your marketing that you can use to organically attract more customers. It will start a snowball effect to preserve your culture, share your story and help more people through your business.
This approach takes time, but I've found the patience to be rewarding. Allows you to create deeper relationships with your customers and team, resulting in a community around you that cheers for your continued growth and success because they believe in your well-intentioned efforts.
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