Cubicle 7 Entertainment is a table-top games making company that makes social board and card games and also is now “one of the biggest role playing games companies in the world.’
Dominic McDowall, chief executive of Cubicle 7 Entertainment Dominic is pictured with Lorna Cooney, Senior Enterprise Development Officer, Meath Local Enterprise Office. Dominic is pictured with Lorna Cooney, Senior Enterprise Development Officer, Meath Local Enterprise Office. Cian Whelan from Cubicle 7 Entertainment is pictured preparing games to be shipped all over the world.
Dominic McDowall, chief executive of Cubicle 7 Entertainment, says the Stamullen based company’s market is global. “I am always amazed by the list of places we are sending products, we have at least one customer in pretty much every country!”
Dominic formed the company in 2018 with his wife Elaine. They now employ 27 people around the world including 15 at the headquarters in City North Business Campus in Stamullen, 4 in the UK and 8 elsewhere in the world. It also works with over 90 individual freelance artists, writers, graphic designers and editors each year.
He said the LEO in Meath, “has been a fantastic support, even just talking to them has been really helpful, really useful and reassuring.”
They qualified for a Priming Grant which, he said, “helped to fund a really critical three roles during the growth of the company and really helped to accelerate our growth. It was a really critical phase for us so this was hugely appreciated and really impactful.”
He also availed of mentoring and said, “this is my first business and the advice I got from the mentorship scheme has been so helpful.”
They have exclusive licences for some of the best known role playing games (RPG) including Warhammer and the BBC’s Doctor Who and have won a number of awards. In the niche industry of RPGs, the game is imaginative, immersive and interactive and the market, as well as being international, has grown in recent years.
In addition to licences for some of the most popular global RPGs, Dominic said, “we are also developing a lot of games based on settings we are developing ourselves.”
It has won awards from the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (AAGAD), a peer based network of gaming industry professionals who promote innovation and excellence in design and production of games and game related materials and from UK Games Expo.
Lorna Cooney, Senior Enterprise Development Officer, LEO Meath, said it is there to support companies and sole traders at all stages of their development including, for companies like Cubicle 7, their growth phase.
Cubicle 7 also availed of the ‘Technical Assistance for Micro Exporters’ (TAME) grant. It is to help small businesses in Ireland develop products and services that will unlock export markets.
Lorna said, “this helps companies like Cubicle 7 who are exploring new markets and checking out possibilities for exporting. The TAME grant allows them to attend or exhibit at trade fairs or conduct research on overseas markets.” “We feel it is critical that the LEO keeps up the contact with these companies and supports them through every stage of development.”
“It is particularly important in the growth stage as the promoter is very busy running their own business and we need to be there with the relevant interventions such as mentoring, financial support and advice to advise them along the way,” she added.
Meath LEO backed companies created 1,034 full time and 304 part time jobs in 2020. §