Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming is back! After a short break, we’re ready to pick up where we left off, and we’re delighted to welcome The Playa CEO Viktoriia Grygorenko on this week’s episode.
Viktoriia sat down for a chat with Digital Footprints Managing Director Sharon McFarlane, and the two discussed everything from identifying market potential to product development and leadership strategies.
Essential Leadership Qualities
As a relative newcomer to the iGaming industry, Viktoriia drew on years of experience in the world of finance to ease her transition into the sector. As a CEO, strong leadership is absolutely critical, and Viktoriia has identified key attributes that leaders must have to succeed:
“Relationships are the core. Without relationships, nothing else works. You also need to have this helicopter view, where you need to understand the important things and the big message you want to deliver, but also still be quite detail-oriented, because without the details, it again doesn’t work. Details matter.”
Product Development Considerations
Creating a new product can be an exciting time. However, before rushing your product out to market, it’s important to consider how it will actually be used, rather than just the problem it was designed to solve.
Viktoriia said:
“We started with the product and the problem we were trying to solve. Once you have the technology, it’s great. But you also need to think about the practical layer and consider how the team will be using it and how the team will implement it into their processes.
“Now, we’re paying even more attention to that layer. Because you might have the best model on the market, but if it’s not usable, then it’s not a product you can sell.”
The Power of Organic PR
Marketing a new product or service can be tough. Often, the temptation is there to reach for paid options. While these can deliver results, the cost attached can be a real risk, especially for new brands with tight margins.
Viktoriia said:
“We started asking how to go to conferences, how to learn about people, how to get into speaking opportunities, how to work with PR, and what the rules are for SEO. Once we talked to some companies, they told us everything is paid. PR articles, only for money. Speaking opportunities, only for money.
“However, we tried ways we typically use in other industries and, so far, we got quite some PR coverage for free, and speaking opportunities as well. I think it depends on whether you have something important and interesting to give.”
Viktoriia and Sharon also discussed:
Assumptions and Realities in iGaming (jump to)
Bridging Knowledge Gaps (jump to)
Build a Strong Team (jump to)
A huge thanks to Viktoriia for joining us this week on Footprints in the Market | Influencing iGaming. Watch this space for the next episode of Season 4!
