Local Video Game Company Shares Secrets of Success

Budcat Choose Iowa City Because of Labor Pool

By Lee Hermiston • Iowa City Press-Citizen

A group of students learned that going into business totally rocks.

Jeremy Andersen, studio head for local video game developer Budcat Creations, spoke with a group of students in the University of Iowa’s Jacobsen Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship. Budcat Creations is best known for developing a number of the immensely popular Guitar Hero games.

Dawn Bowlus, instructor and director for the Jacobsen Institute, said the purpose of the week-long course is to encourage an entrepreneurial mindset in young children.

Andersen told the group of about 30 11- to 13-year-old students that through hard work, determination and making the most out of opportunities and calculated risks, he’s been able to make a career out of playing and developing video games.

“I’ve been playing video games forever,” Andersen said. “I just absolutely loved playing video games when I was a kid.”

However, Andersen said education was always important. He said he learned early on that you can’t have fun without working for it when his mother would make him complete his school work before playing games. That work ethic continued through high school and college, the City High and University of Iowa graduate said.

“School is important,” Andersen said. “It’s the fundamental start to how you succeed in life.”

After graduating from college in 1996, Andersen initially worked in construction before breaking into the video game business when his brother, Jason Andersen, helped him land a job with video game developer EA Tiburon. Over the next few years, Andersen continued his career in video game development, working for other large companies in the video game business.

In 2004, the Andersen brothers and friend Isaac Burns formed Budcat Creations in Las Vegas. However, Jeremy Andersen said it was difficult to get people to come to Las Vegas and the company relocated to Iowa City in 2005. Since that time, the company has grown from six employees to 70, he said.

“We knew we could find talent in this area,” Andersen said.

The company took off in 2007 when it developed a PlayStation 2 version of the game Guitar Hero Legends of Rock for Activision. Since then, Budcat Creations has helped launch several other Guitar Hero titles and other video games.

Andersen said the secret to his success has been motivation, determination and self-management.  “You have to get motivated and stay motivated,” he told the class.

Yair Abramoff, 12, of Iowa City, said he enjoyed hearing from Andersen.  “It was cool,” Yair said. “And it was cool to see a big company is here in Iowa City.”

Bowlus said she thought Andersen’s presentation, which included giving away copies of video games and an opportunity for students to play Guitar Hero, struck a chord with the students.

“We talk a lot about passion,” she said, “that’s why these guys are perfect.”