Success Story: Venatos, Gaming Accessory Business

"At Venatos, we are working towards creating a new and exciting Canadian premium gaming peripheral brand which will provide gaming enthusiasts with exciting and unique tech gear." Check out this interview we did with Hasan Cheaib, Founder of Venatos, and learn more about this up-and-coming gaming accessory brand. Hasan, tell us about yourself. I am a software developer with a passion for business. I have been interested in gaming since I was a kid playing Mario on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) with my dad. I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario working at my parents' convenience store so I know how difficult it can be to operate your own business. I also dabbled in online trading through Kijiji during my studies at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) to make a few bucks on the side, and because I had a passion for meeting new people and building a customer base. I always had a dream of starting my own company and I almost got into real estate but my heart (and my loving wife) helped guide me to doing business in the thing I love most, gaming. How did you start your own gaming accessory business? I admire quality in a product. I always tend to watch videos on the latest and greatest on the technical aspects of technology to see what the features meant and whether it made sense to invest in that product for myself. It is difficult to always find what you are looking for so I figured if no one is willing to make this, then why not see if I can do it myself? This helped me push my ideas to tangible products that I know my customers would want because like me, they are gamers. Venatos was developed with the mission to create gaming gear that is unique, durable, and is based on gamer feedback. After finding a lack of creativity in the market and brands ignoring consumer demand for the specs needed to improve their gaming experience, we decided to launch our brand in May 2020. Currently, Venatos retails an RGB mouse pad with built in wireless charging and a gaming mouse with swappable covers, both of which have specs which are unlike anything currently in the market. What first inspired you to start a gaming equipment business? My family and my wife have been a great support system for me when it comes to my business side. They always have new ideas that help guide me to where I want to go. My wife also has a business degree which allowed me to leverage her knowledge when starting the business. What is one key lesson that starting a business has taught you? The most important things to consider when starting a business are to have a plan and to time things right. For example, when I wanted to incorporate my business through Ownr, I had a naming issue which could have ended badly, but due to their support staff things cleared up pretty quickly. Had I planned ahead, I would have done this step first, causing the naming issue to not be a problem, rather than have this logo and name on everything to then find out that I could not register that business name legally. Fill in the blank: the most rewarding part of doing what I do every day is... The most rewarding feeling you could get from a business is knowing that someone out there actually likes your idea and supports it enough to invest their hard-earned cash to get what it is that you are selling. This to me is the greatest feeling and nothing beats it. Any future plans for your gaming gear business that you'd like to share? Currently we only offer one item in our business and another on the way, but I hope to one day expand my inventory to have a variety of innovative products and maybe even start to build out computers and laptops. One step at a time though! One piece of advice you'd share with aspiring entrepreneurs. What is it? I think the biggest fault a person can make is to delay their dreams. I have always been a person of action. It took me less than a month to decide where I want to live and I am very happy with my decision. If you have an idea, write it out on paper, make a business plan and start small. Once everything makes sense, don’t delay, take action. Make sure you can live with the loss of the investment and assume that it just won't come back. Where can people learn more about Venatos? Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/VenatosOfficial Website: https://venatos.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@venatosofficial/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/nTQGWXt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venatosofficial/