Over the years, I’ve spoken to hundreds of business owners. Restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, salons, entertainment venues—you name it. What surprised me wasn’t that they wanted more customers. Every business wants more customers. What surprised me was how many of them were spending money on marketing without really knowing what they were getting in return.
The conversation was almost always the same.
They would tell me they paid for social media ads, hired influencers, printed flyers, or ran promotions. Some saw temporary spikes in activity, while others saw very little. But when I asked a simple question—”How many people actually walked through your door because of that marketing?”—the answer was usually uncertain.
That got me thinking.
In a world where everything is measured digitally, why is it still so difficult for local businesses to measure real-world customer visits?
As I spent more time talking to business owners, I realized that most of them weren’t looking for impressions, likes, or views. What they really wanted was footfall. They wanted people walking into their stores, sitting in their restaurants, ordering coffee, booking services, and becoming repeat customers.
That’s what eventually led me to create VGames.
The idea didn’t come from a boardroom or a market research report. It came from conversations. Real conversations with real business owners who were trying to solve a very practical problem.
I started asking myself a simple question: What if marketing wasn’t about convincing people to visit a business? What if visiting the business became part of the game itself?
That question became the foundation of VGames.
Instead of showing users another advertisement, we created an experience. Users open the app, play a quick game, and have the chance to win a real prize from a local business. The prize is real, but there’s a catch—they have to visit the business to redeem it.
From a user’s perspective, it’s fun.
From a business perspective, it’s measurable.
What I find interesting is that businesses don’t necessarily need more exposure. Many already have exposure. What they need is action. They need someone to stop scrolling, get in their car, walk into their venue, and make a purchase.
Technology should be helping businesses achieve that outcome.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a founder is that innovation doesn’t always mean creating something completely new. Sometimes innovation is simply combining existing ideas in a way that solves a real problem.
Gaming already exists.
Location technology already exists.
Customer rewards already exist.
What interested me was bringing those pieces together into a single experience that benefits both consumers and businesses.
Building a startup has also taught me that assumptions can be dangerous.
Many ideas sound great on paper. The real test happens when you put them in front of customers.
I’ve had countless conversations where business owners challenged my thinking. Some questions were difficult. Some exposed weaknesses in my assumptions. Looking back, those conversations were incredibly valuable because they helped improve the product.
Entrepreneurship often gets portrayed as a series of big wins and breakthrough moments. In reality, most of it is listening, adapting, and solving one problem at a time.
Every startup founder eventually discovers that the market doesn’t care about your vision unless your vision solves a genuine problem.
That’s why I spend so much time talking to business owners directly. Their feedback is often more valuable than any report or presentation.
Today, local businesses face more competition than ever before. Consumers have endless choices and shorter attention spans. Standing out is difficult, especially for independent businesses competing against larger brands with bigger marketing budgets.
I believe technology should level that playing field.
Small businesses are the backbone of many communities. They create jobs, serve neighborhoods, and bring character to cities. Helping them attract customers in a measurable and cost-effective way is a challenge worth solving.
We’re still at the beginning of that journey, and there is plenty more to learn. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from building VGames, it’s this:
Business owners don’t wake up hoping for more clicks.
They wake up hoping for more customers.
And sometimes the simplest solutions come from asking the right question and listening carefully to the answer.
