Fitbit, Khan Academy and even the Facebook liking and commenting system are examples of game-inspired business design, according to Birmingham-based start-up Stormburst Studios, which develops game-inspired software for business use.

The company was founded by former game developers Derry Holt and James Heath, who have launched a sales tool, OneUp, that allows sales teams to pit themselves against each other in a fantasy sports competition. By using gaming concepts such as leaderboards and dashboards to replace spreadsheets, OneUp offers a gamified approach to sales management to motivate and engage employees while allowing managers to gain detailed performance insights.

The company plans to use the investment to further develop the OneUp platform, fund key hires across marketing and business development, and build relationships with clients across a range of sectors including recruitment, insurance and tele-sales.

“It’s fantastic that Mercia have seen the value in what we’re building here at Stormburst Studios. For a long time we’ve spoken about the void between the video games industry and conventional business software – and our belief in there being a happy middle ground that benefits all parties,” CEO and co-founder Derry Holt said.

“The future is looking incredibly bright for the company and we can’t wait to see how far we can take Stormburst Studios with Mercia’s support.”

According Chris Kilroy, investment associate at Mercia, gamification has the potential to offer considerable benefits across a wide range of business sectors. “Our advisory board of independent digital experts have identified it as one of the potential ‘breakthrough’ technologies for the years ahead,” he explained. “Founders Derry and James have a unique mix of sector expertise and business acumen. They have both the drive and skills necessary to build a highly valuable and successful company and we look forward to supporting the team as they continue to scale over the coming months.”

https://growthbusiness.co.uk/achievement-unlocked-win-work-gamification-2544506/