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Hatchlings Finds Success After Starting Up

Over time, Hatchlings Founder Brad Dwyer realized hiring a team would help him create a sustainable business and take the startup to the next level to develop new products, including Hatchlings 2. Hatchlings is a startup business with roots in Greater Des Moines (DSM).

Hatchlings 2 Upgrades

Hatchlings 2 has the ability to create connections through the game, including a social networking feature, or a community of teams to trade eggs and chat amongst. The game is now through one cohesive window. Users can add friends without using Facebook. The program also tracks core metrics to drive business, from daily and monthly active users to trail-off points, as well as builds community better than before.

Development

Brad explains how meetups allow for a back-and-forth dialogue with users so new versions encompass what the users want, which helps drive the community even further.

Demographics

When Hatchlings launched, Brad assumed it would be mostly kids. A lot of users are moms whose kids are grown and Hatchlings is a way for people to build relationships around the game. Brad says they hope to expand into new games that reach a new group of users. Hatchlings has also experimented with buying users.

Collecting Customer Data

Through interacting with its customers, Hatchlings knows what users are saying. Every question about data is easy since the company builds its own software. What’s harder is coming up with questions to ask to determine what data you need.

Lifecycle of a User

By keeping things fresh and releasing new eggs every day within the game, users potentially have two to three hours to play each day. Part of what retains customers is the ability to keep users invested through social interaction.

Hear the stories of other small business and startup business owners in the community in The Partnership’s Small Business Resources Hub or sign up for the NAME TBD newsletter to stay connected for information about upcoming events, other resources and the latest announcements in the small business community in DSM.