Business of the Week: Artgig Studio, Pleasantville
Development of technology is moving so rapidly that anyone who makes their living in the industry has to move fast to keep up with all the changes.
That hasn’t been a problem for Matthew Kicinski. Originally an illustrator, he has been able to fuse his creative talents, his artistic connections and interest in technology into a thriving business. Kicinski is the president of Artgig Studio, a Pleasantville-based company he started about eight years ago that creates mobile apps, games and tools and designs websites.
“It just sort of came together, this sort of concept, a collection of artists and creatives, which kind of morphed into this development company,” Kicinski said.
With a small but talented team consisting of programming director Steve Grosmark, web developer Jim Bail and creative director Lis Cherry, who continues to work for Artgig despite having recently moved back to her native Australia, the company has developed several of its own apps, which has opened the door for various clients to seek them out. That’s a necessity given how ultra competitive the app market has become and the cost of developing one’s own, which could run about $30,000.
While the web site development has slackened off–Artgig Studio, however, was hired to develop the JFK50.org website to coincide with the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s arrival at the White House–the app market has exploded providing new opportunities.
“App development is an exciting market,” Kicinski said. “It’s a tough place to build a business if all you’re doing is your own apps. For us, we can make our own apps and we don’t necessarily have to make a living off of it because it’s useful to our clients.”
“So we may not make a lot of money off of our apps but our clients come in the door and they want apps because they see we know how to do it and that’s worked really well for us,” Kicinski added.
Recently, one client who started her own company, EOZ Games, approached Artgig to help her execute development of three new games–Ticker Quiz, which is a stock market game, Word Cracker, where the player has to fill in missing vowels, and Roman Backgammon, a variation of the popular game with a historical twist. The first two went into the app store with Roman Backgammon likely to follow.
“I’m happy to see her drive and her commitment to what she’s trying to do and I hope she succeeds, of course,” Kicinski said.
It’s fitting that Artgig Studio is headquartered in Pleasantville, with its offices in the Chase building at444 Bedford Road. About a decade ago, Kicinski, Grosmark and Cherry worked together at Sunburst Technology, an education software development business for Houghton Mifflin. Kicinski started Artgig on the side, a way to indulge in his entrepreneurial side. For about the first year and a half it was a virtual company. If Kicinski wasn’t working at home, he was meeting with Grosmark and Cherry at Jean-Jacques or the Thornwood Diner.
In that time he picked up enough business where he hired the pair and moved into the second-floor space onBedford Roadwhere Artgig operates today.
To highlight how quickly technology has changed, when Kicinski was at Sunburst flash was the key development tool. The arrival of the iPad has made Flash virtually obsolete.
Despite the constant changes in technology and tastes, the past year has been an exciting time for Artgig. For Kicinski and his staff, satisfied clients and being able to satisfy their creative side has made it an enjoyable ride.
“The satisfaction of a job well done is really great for me,” Kicinkski said. “I love it when clients are satisfied. I love it when these guys are happy with something they’ve done. The end product is almost always very satisfying.”
For more information on Artgig Studio, visit www.artgig.com.
