Natalya Luckyanova founded Imangi Studios in 2008 with
her husband Keith Shephard with the aim of creating fun games for people to
enjoy. What started out as simply a dream job for the two has turned into a
very profitable business, thanks to the success of Temple Run. Temple Run
was developed in 2011 and is one of the most popular games today for iOS and
Android devices. While Imangi Studios also has other games in its roster,
nothing quite compares to the kind of success that Temple Run has.
Before Imangi Studios, Luckyanova was in
Harvard studying Physics and Chemistry. She got her start in the industry by
stumbling upon a computer science course when she was in her third year. She
fell in love with computer codes and moved on to get her MA at Boston
University for computer science. After working as a software engineer, she put
up Imangi Studios with her husband. Kiril Tchangov, Imangi Studios’ game
artist, completes the trio behind the independent game company.
For Luckyanova, changing gears and diving into
business was completely different from what anyone would have expected from
her. Being a female in a male-dominated field, she understands that there’s a
big market for women with gaming. In fact, 55% of those playing Temple Run are
women. Though she is just one person, Luckyanova’s efforts are helping the
industry realize the potential of targeting female players.
Imangi Studios is a self-funded company,
meaning it’s all Natalya Luckyanova, Keith Shepherd, and Kiril Tchangov. Their
very first creation was a word game called Imangi. When Imangi did well in the
App Store, it was then that they decided that they could take things up a notch
and create a real business out of it. After Imangi came Word Squares, Little
Red Sled, Harbor Master (a Top Paid App), geoSpark, Max Adventure, Hippo High
Drive, and, of course, Temple Run.
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