July 2010 - Community Impact Newspaper
July 2010 - Community Impact Newspaper
July 2010 - Community Impact Newspaper
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David Pikoff, co-founder of Games2U, operates this national franchise out of headquarters in Hudson<br />
Bend with his brother Stuart.<br />
Photos by Valerie Lai Business Profile games2u<br />
By Valerie lai<br />
David Pikoff’s goal seems<br />
simple enough: He just wants<br />
to create childhood memories.<br />
As co-founder of Games2U,<br />
an Austin-based entertainment<br />
company headquartered<br />
in Hudson Bend, he oversees<br />
the production of a game called<br />
Booger Wars (a game similar to<br />
dodgeball in which players avoid<br />
having a green bean bag hit<br />
and stick to the Velcro vest they<br />
are wearing) and the first-ever<br />
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Mon-Sat 9-7 • Sun 12-5<br />
512-344-9111<br />
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Silkier, shinier coat<br />
Healthier teeth & gums<br />
Better overall health<br />
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A few good reasons why<br />
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kid-operated robot.<br />
Pikoff, along with his brother<br />
Stuart, developed the company<br />
in early 2007 and sold their first<br />
franchise in March 2008. While<br />
working separately—Pikoff built<br />
a telecommunications company<br />
and worked in real estate development<br />
for several years—the<br />
brothers decided they wanted to<br />
quit their jobs to work together.<br />
They searched high and low for a<br />
creative franchise to purchase.<br />
“There was nothing that was<br />
SOUTH WESTLAKE CEDAR PARK<br />
Ben White & S.Lamar<br />
Near Target<br />
Mon-Sat 9-8 • Sun 12-5<br />
512-445-4549<br />
3300 Bee Cave Rd.<br />
Randall’s Shopping Center<br />
Mon-Sat 9-7 • Sun 12-5<br />
512-306-1121<br />
We specialize in the best all-natural<br />
pet foods made in the USA.<br />
Pet Club members save 10% on pet food every day!<br />
truly unique or different out there<br />
that could get us fired up,” Pikoff<br />
said. “But the kids’ entertainment<br />
space—there was a huge void<br />
there. It hadn’t changed in years.<br />
We set out to fill that void.”<br />
Games2U is now the first<br />
nationally branded home entertainment<br />
company in the U.S.,<br />
with 128 franchises. The company<br />
is growing so quickly Pikoff<br />
expects to sell 300 franchises by<br />
the end of the year. They also<br />
recently sold part of the company<br />
to former Dell president<br />
Joel Kocher, who Pikoff says has<br />
become an important strategic<br />
adviser for the company.<br />
Pikoff attributes the company’s<br />
success to its unique concept<br />
of bringing entertainment to<br />
people’s doorsteps. Mobile trailers<br />
deliver outdoor laser tag, mini-<br />
4-D theaters, lifesize hamster<br />
balls and original games created<br />
by Pikoff’s research and development<br />
team. He is especially proud<br />
of the U:bot, the company’s latest<br />
innovation that allows children to<br />
step inside an almost 7-foot-tall<br />
robot and control its movements<br />
via joystick controls.<br />
“I often sit here and try to put<br />
FM1431 @ Parmer Lane<br />
HEB Shopping Center<br />
Mon-Sat 9-7 • Sun 1-5<br />
512-260-8566<br />
Plumbing New<br />
& Repair<br />
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Gutters<br />
Siding<br />
Patio Covers<br />
Water Softener<br />
Decks<br />
myself in the mindset of what I<br />
would have wanted when I was a<br />
kid. That’s when I thought of the<br />
robot. It’s every kid’s dream to<br />
be a robot,” Pikoff said. “Robots<br />
are cool, have been cool and will<br />
always be cool.”<br />
With Games2U, Pikoff tries<br />
to make children’s birthdays fun<br />
and extraordinary.<br />
“We just want to create a company<br />
where kids can feel like a<br />
rock star for a day,” he said. “You<br />
think, ‘Is that Pamela Anderson’s<br />
kid throwing a party?’”<br />
Although he says he faced<br />
many hurdles in the beginning,<br />
Pikoff believes Games2U has<br />
become a business his whole<br />
family can enjoy: His two young<br />
children are his lead testers and<br />
working with his brother has its<br />
advantages—they both have great<br />
aspirations for their company<br />
and refuse to celebrate until they<br />
reach them.<br />
“My brother and I don’t take<br />
too much time to pat ourselves on<br />
the back. We have very significant<br />
goals and objectives. I think when<br />
we have sold 1,000 franchises, we<br />
will have our first celebration,”<br />
Pikoff said.<br />
<strong>Community</strong> <strong>Impact</strong> <strong>Newspaper</strong> • impactnews.com <strong>July</strong> <strong>2010</strong> | 7<br />
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The U:bot allows youth to step inside a robot and<br />
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N<br />
Hudson Bend Rd.<br />
Watumba Rd.<br />
620<br />
Mansfield Dam<br />
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