Defying Silicon Valley: 111Percent Achieves Growth and Profitability in Gaming.

Bucking the Silicon Valley trend of prioritizing growth over profit, South Korean gaming startup 111Percent proves that both can be achieved simultaneously.

Founded in 2015, the company generated $1.9 million in revenue in 2016 and increased that to $84.1 million in the first half of this year.

They did this without venture capital investment and maintained an average profit rate of 36% over 4.5 years.

The startup's success can be attributed to several factors:

• Start small and move fast: 111Percent has launched 150 hyper-casual games in four years. The company's projects start with a small planning cell that can quickly pivot or terminate projects based on performance. This approach helped its main cash cow, Random Dice, grow from a five-dice legacy game to a popular 100,000 MAU title.
  
• Internal data analysis: The company uses a data analytics engine called "Fun Graph" to measure players' emotions every five minutes. This allows them to identify negative experiences and offer incentives to engage users.
  
• Working with ad tech partners: 111Percent partnered with Silicon Valley-based ad tech company Moloco to optimize its marketing strategy. This collaboration resulted in 10 million application downloads, a 14% increase in incremental revenue, and an 8% increase in profit.
  

111Percent's success is only guaranteed for some startups seeking to combine growth and profitability.

However, the company's approach provides a valuable case study for those looking to create a sustainable business model in the gaming industry.