We recently connected with John McClellan and have shared our conversation below.
John, appreciate you joining us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
In 2018 we were at PAX East, one of the biggest gaming conventions in the country, and we stumbled upon 2 of the most enthusiastic and promising developers I have ever met – Ashley Cooper and Brady Wright, a husband and wife development team with a dream. Their dream was to create a virtual reality dance game. Their company was Kinemotik Studios. At the time, they called their game Rave Runner, and the game was still in the Alpha phase of development. VR was still pretty new at the time, but I saw tremendous potential in these two developers in particular.
Over the next 12 months, Andromeda committed more than $500,000 towards funding the game and worked alongside Ashley and Brady to develop and publish the game. Day and night we tested, refined, reviewed, negotiated, and polished the game. Thousands of hours were spent dancing in VR. Then in October 2019, the game launched on Steam, Oculus, and Viveport on the same day and under a new name – Audio Trip was born.
Audio Trip was Andromeda’s first commercial title, and developers of Kinemotik Studios were our first client for which we are eternally grateful.
John, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Founded in 2019, Andromeda Entertainment is the first VR publisher to super-serve the growing interest in mindfulness and self-care with immersive transformational experiences. We provide a full suite of global publishing services to those creating transformative XR content and virtual entertainment experiences. Since our 2019 commercial release of Audio Trip and our 2020 commercial release of SoundSelf, Andromeda has pushed the boundaries of immersion & transcendence. Our current focus is on supporting developers on their journey to global platforms. Andromeda Entertainment believes that if we can make technology work for our betterment, we must do so. Therefore, we stand for transformation in games, to the tools of transcendence, and we invite developers who are dreaming big to join us on our journey.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Before I started working at Andromeda, I was a full time teacher and student mentor at a private school here in Austin that was based in Montessori philosophy. I taught acroyoga, cooperative games, and permaculture, and at the time it was the best job ever. When the school suddenly closed down after my 4th year of teaching, I was out of a job and thirsty for something new. Instead of immediately seeking out another teaching position, I took time to reflect and ruminate on how I could best be of service to others while supporting myself financially. What do I like? Wellness. How can I better support myself financially? Tech. Put them together you get Wellness Tech, a fast growing industry that will be shaped by today’s creators, innovators, and dreamers. I made a 180 degree pivot from school teacher to tech CFO and haven’t looked back since. I helped found a new company called Andromeda Entertainment, read books, attended seminars, signed up for mastermind courses, and learned an entirely new way of networking and deal making. As an entrepreneur there was a lot more stress and a lot less sleep, but I don’t regret the decision to change career paths. I’m grateful for everything I learned as a teacher, and the lessons I learned teaching with always be with me. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll be a teacher again, but this time all be teaching classes in VR.
How’d you meet your business partner?
When I met Robin Arnott for the first time, we went hiking in the Greenbelt together. We were introduced by a mutual friend, and instead of meeting up for coffee or scheduling a Zoom call, Robin suggested that we go hiking. Now I don’t normally go hiking with complete strangers, but Robin’s digital footprint left a positive impression and we immediately hit it off the moment we met in person. As we walked through the rocky terrain and lush plant life of the 360 greenbelt, he told me about his journey as a game developer and public speaker in the game industry. I like to listen, so that what I did. And when we reached the famous land bridge overlooking the horseshoe bend, we stopped and Robin led us in a meditation unlike anything I had experienced before. It was inspiring, energizing, and practical, with just the right amount of woo woo. I knew then that Robin and I would be life long friends and made it my mission to be colleagues as well. I began working part time for his previous company the next week, and 2 months later we founded Andromeda Entertainment together. Robin, if you are reading this, know that I look back on our early hikes together with profound nostalgia. I guess the secret is out that Andromeda was thought up in the Greenbelt.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.enterandromeda.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enterandromeda/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnterAndromeda/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/enterandromeda
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndromedaEntertainment/featured
Image Credits
Bri Basco