quality. For external service providers, quality service delivery becomes the most durable glue to forge long- term client relationships. Maintaining high-quality levels is not an easy
undertaking on its own. Still, studios can often be victims of their own success, with clients asking them to take up larger projects to assume greater responsibilities. While it is a testament to a studio’s ability to deliver, it
also opens up several challenges. Many studios, for different reasons, prefer to remain
at a more limited scale and operate under a more controlled environment. In contrast, others can be more motivated by the opportunity to leverage quality as a conduit for more aggressive growth. At Keywords, this quality-growth mindset is a key
ingredient we seek in new partners. We are a growth- hungry platform looking to support and welcome high- quality studios; teams worldwide have the ambition to press the “fast growth” button. We look for like-minded people, who live by
their service quality and are moved by growth. This is something our M&A team is constantly on the lookout for.
INTEGRATE CULTURE EARLY AND WITH LIKE- MINDED TEAMS Every studio has its own company culture, often more entrepreneurial than Keywords’ culture. There are good reasons to maintain the ‘fire in the
belly’ ethos but, on the other hand, there are elements of Keywords’ ways of doing things that are important to be infused with the newly acquired operations, as they are essential to take these operations to the next level. And no two cases are the same. Sometimes, the two
cultures merge nicely; other times, we need to find a compromise. The key to this is to start communication early. Hence,
understanding if there is a culture fit is something that happens from the very beginning of the M&A process. Can this team work or thrive alongside people who
were previously competitors? Do they believe in the benefits of a larger platform? Are they ready to take the next big step? Can they work to give up some autonomy but know that they are gaining much more in return? Where possible, we also try to move studios that can
find synergies under the same Keywords’ service line management and, at times, under the same roof. It has worked well because, when it’s done right, it
becomes a breeding ground for the studios to exchange ideas and become more creative, to collaborate, surrounded by like-minded, passionate people who specialise in the same sector of the video games industry.
Ashley Liu is service line director at Keywords Art and Marketing
February 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 59
KEEP FOUNDERS (WHEN POSSIBLE) AND KEEP THEM IN CONTROL The culture of any small company is defined by its founder(s). This is something that we at Keywords are very conscious of and is one of the reasons why we look for the founders to stay with the company. We have seen this over and over again in the
acquisitions that we make. We like to say the day after the acquisition will be
very much like the day before the acquisition. Keeping the founding team helps preserve the culture and identity of the studio. A founder’s approach to the business directly
impacts the characteristics of a studio - including its quality of work, production schedules, staff happiness, and much more. Our preference, when possible, is for the founder
to retain control of decision-making by staying on as studio head. That said, sometimes founders have different aspirations they want to pursue, and it is not possible to retain them. But forging a relationship with the founders or studio
heads and empowering them to do what they do best is crucial to a successful acquisition at Keywords.
BETTER TOGETHER I joined Keywords in 2016 through the acquisition of Mindwalk Studios, now led by Zhang Jie. Mindwalk, along with our sister studio, Red Hot CG
founded by Dan Staton, in China, is on track to triple the business in 2022 since our acquisitions – something I don’t believe we could have achieved without Keywords. Our counterpart in India, Lakshya Digital, founded
by Manvendra Shukul, will have grown more than four times by 2022 since its acquisition in 2014. Our concept studio in Quebec City, VOLTA, led by
Claude Bordeleau, will also see similar growth rates. The Keywords platform has done well to let these
entrepreneurs grow and thrive; something we look forward to doing again and again.
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