Knowing and understanding your audience is a foundational principle to building a great game or great business. But how well do we all actually know and understand the people we are building for? How often are we straying and building games more for ourselves than our audience? And how much are we unknowingly building for the past version of our audience and not their future selves?

In this episode of Bits of Signum, Angela and Eliza are joined by Solsten Founder and CEO Joe Schaeppi to break down some of these questions and learn how he and Solsten are changing the way we analyze our audiences and better learn to build for them and what they most want. 

Joe is a visionary in human psychology who wants to fundamentally change the way brands and audiences connect. As the CEO and founder of Solsten, an AI-powered platform for human-centric experiences, Joe is pioneering the use of video games for cognitive assessment, opening up new possibilities for not only the gaming industry but for mental health diagnostics and treatment. Armed with his experience leading UX strategy for Big Fish Games and MRM // McCann and his impactful work as a startup advisor, adventure-based psychotherapist, and ski ambassador for The North Face, Joe intrinsically understands the power of a people-first approach and is ready to help companies create healthier and livelier experiences for users without leaving them overstimulated and disconnected from the real world.

During the conversation Angela, Eliza, and Joe discuss his unique skill set and background, why and how to build experiences around human resonance, what true understanding of your market (players) looks like and the benefits it brings, and much more. 

Learn more about Solsten

Follow Joe: LinkedIn | X

Chapters:

Joe’s Unique Background & Career (00:00)

Building Experiences Around Human Resonance (13:19)

Understanding Your Players as Human Beings (30:30)

Overcoming Resistance While Building a New Category of Customer Avatars (38:26)

Happiness vs Contentment (50:37)

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Signum Growth invests and advises at the intersection of mass market culture and new economies that are bubbling up in new digital communities. We believe that emerging technologies will continue to be born in video games and that ‘gaming’ will reach an increasingly broader swath of people, until it is simply known as entertainment. The firm focuses on creators and developers who are moving to the front of the line, where they will garner a greater slice of value creation. Areas of expertise include video games, entertainment, and emerging technologies like blockchain and AI. Most recently, the firm has focused on UGC (user generated content) platforms and creators. Signum Growth is comprised of Signum Growth Capital, a FINRA-registered broker dealer, and Signum Growth Advisors, an investment advisor.

Angela Dalton, Signum Growth’s Founder/CEO, served in Tech/Media leadership roles and as a Managing Director at three firms - Guggenheim Securities, Evercore Partners, and UBS. At Evercore Partners, Angela was an initial investor and Co-Founder of Evercore Equities. Signum Growth acts as the Lead Advisor to ARK Invest, and Angela serves as the Co-Founder of the Women in Gaming Zoom (WIGZ), and recently served on the corporate board of FaZe Clan. She earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. and B.S. from the University of Kansas, Phi Beta Kappa.

Follow Angela: LinkedIn | Twitter 

Follow Keshav Holani, Signum Growth Gaming Analyst: LinkedIn | Twitter 

Learn more about Visible Realms here.

Follow Eliza: LinkedIn | Twitter