Custom consoles prove a game changer for unemployed graduate

START-UP NATION: Memods:When an uploaded video of Dave Pepper customising a games console went viral within hours, the computer science graduate knew he was on to something, writes PAMELA NEWENHAM

DAVE PEPPER started out 2010 unemployed. The computer science graduate spent his time customising games consoles in his kitchen, taking them apart and remodelling them into something unique and different from the consoles owned by his friends. Then a friend suggested shooting a video about his creations and uploading it to YouTube.

“I’d always been interested in games consoles and spent a lot of time at college taking them apart, putting them back together and trying to customise them. I then spent four months in New York and Los Angeles looking at the gaming industry and toy market and thinking about various designs. When I came back my friend said I should upload a video of what I make to the internet.”

The video went viral and within a matter of hours had clocked up 100,000 hits. The video was being referenced by gadget and gaming websites such as Gizmodo and Kotaku, and Pepper got hundreds of emails from people asking where these custom games consoles could be bought.

“A lot of people contacted me following the video wanting to buy the product. I made a good few of them and sold them but quickly learned I wasn’t going to be able to keep up the pace, especially as larger companies such as Virgin Gaming in Canada had started contacting me wanting the products en masse.

“One minute I was unemployed, the next I was getting a call from the vice-president of marketing for Virgin Gaming.

“They have a network of about 30,000 gamers and thought it would be a good idea to have the game console attachments with their branding and logo on them,” he says.

Pepper was having to make every console attachment by hand, which took a lot of time and money, he adds.

“I knew I was going to have to start thinking about funding and large-scale manufacturing.”

Within four months Pepper had pitched the idea to several investors, three of which came on board, and raised more than €100,000 in funding for production of the snap-on custom toys.

“We went into design mode and were told it would take a year to a year and a half to develop the product. We pushed hard and had it developed within five months.”

And so Console Armour was born.

The product clips easily onto the Xbox 360s and is designed to offer a custom look in a matter of seconds.

“The last two years has been crazy. I went from being unemployed to running my own business, raising six-figure funding and working with 22 contractors in areas such as packaging, design and manufacturing.”

The company is currently selling from its site memods.combut has entered talks with major retailers across the globe.

“Retail is difficult at the moment. They ask a lot of you. We want to keep the business online for now and build up our presence online before moving into retail.”

Pepper admits however, that the finished console armour product, which is proving popular among gamers and attracting the attention of some large gaming companies is not something he is entirely happy with.

“I want it to be more creative. As it is, it just clips on. I want to bring creativity back to kids, and pull them out of the games, even just for a short time, to put the attachment together and actually make something.

“Kids to me grow up very fast through gaming. You’ve got seven-, eight- and nine-year-olds playing warfare games and it can be very stressful. Kids still need toys though, so I want to combine their love of gaming with toys and make it creative.”

Pepper is in the process of developing a more creative version of his console armour.

“We have been working like crazy to take console armour into the make-and-do arena, like Lego/Mecanno/Airfix for the 21st century. Our core market is the eight- to 15-year-old boys but we hope a lot more gamers will enjoy creating and building around the games they love.

“The product’s parts are interchangeable, meaning when a new game comes out and we have a DIY pack for it, you only have to buy a plastic frame (not the electronics) and the parts tree to build something new and up to date. You start with Dragons then rebuild on zombies or space craft.”

And what advice does the 30-year-old entrepreneur have for other people considering embarking on new ventures in Ireland?

“Don’t be afraid to try. If you’re fearful, put that to the back of your mind. There’s money out there and millions of people to talk to. I’ve only ever met one person not willing to help.”

Pepper is also quick to point out the advantages of the internet for new technology start-ups.

“The net can be used to test products very quickly. You can get feedback about a product or idea very fast from people all over the world.”