Eric Preisz is the CEO GG Interactive, a Vancouver-based software company that develops game-based learning experiences (primarily computer science) for schools. Preisz was the featured guest at our Boardroom Breakfast Wednesday morning, held at the Fort Vancouver Artillery Barracks.
Here are 10 things we learned during the discussion:
10. Having lived all over the United States, Preisz said that moving his company (formerly known as Garage Games) to Vancouver was driven by his growing family; he wanted to raise his children in an area with excellent schools and a strong sense of community.
9. When it’s time to unwind, Preisz likes to get involved in non-technology-related activities such as gardening.
8. Immediately after graduating college with a degree in computer science, Preisz landed his first software development job. However, he said he was surprised by the amount he still needed to learn, to close the gap between being a beginning programmer and an experienced programmer. That experience gap, he explained, is why he now struggles to hire employees who are fresh out of school.
7. So what should a young computer scientist who is fresh out of college do to gain experience? Preisz said incubator spaces and open source projects are great for gaining that much-needed real world experience.
6. When asked about attracting talent as a Vancouver-based tech company, Preisz said that for his needs, Southwest Washington is a better fit than Portland because he seeks senior programmers who are attracted to more family-focused environments.
5. Currently, through its game-based computer science learning software, GG Interactive reaches approximately 57,000 students. Preisz said he wants that number to one day be in the millions.
4. Preisz said GG Interactive focuses on game-based learning because high school students respond positively to games; game-based learning serves as a motivator, creating a relevancy and attracting interest into the world of computer science.
3. An opportunity in education? Preisz said he would like to see more educators focus on project-based teaching. He wants to help grow collaboration between industry and education.
2. When asked how to grow the tech industry in Southwest Washington, Preisz said that software companies really want to share what they are doing with other software companies. So, he explained, the more companies that are created here, the more the tech sector will succeed. “It is growing but has yet to hit that critical mass where it will become an engine that can drive itself,” he said.
1. Preisz said that the growing cluster of tech startups in downtown Vancouver certainly played a role in attracting his company to the region.