Humans of the Islands - Sam Ratumaitavuki
Sam Ratumaitavuki
Co-founder of two Mobile Game Publishing Companies & Creator of Fortafy Facebook
Fijian
I was born in NZ, I'm half Fijian / half European. I grew up in Ranui (West Auckland) and also Logan (South Brisbane) in my teens.
I'm known by different people for different things but at the moment I run one of the most active Facebook pages in the world Fortafy which has nearly 13m likes. Along with being a co founder of a two mobile games publishing companies Fortafy Games which published the biggest indie game of 2015 Color switch which has over 150m downloads and also Perfect Tap Games in which we just released a mobile game called "Chicken Scream" which also went number 1 all around the world.
I'm known by different people for different things but at the moment I run one of the most active Facebook pages in the world Fortafy which has nearly 13m likes. Along with being a co founder of a two mobile games publishing companies Fortafy Games which published the biggest indie game of 2015 Color switch which has over 150m downloads and also Perfect Tap Games in which we just released a mobile game called "Chicken Scream" which also went number 1 all around the world.
Are you still involved in the music industry? What was that experience like?
I never felt apart of the so called "Music Industry" and in all honesty everything I did or was involved in, was recorded at home in a home set up we did everything on our own from the beats / mixing / videos / marketing. I was signed briefly but felt better being in control of my own path. The guys I recorded with were your "artists", I looked at my self as the ideas / marketing / connector of dots making sure the music got to where it needed to go, making sure all the DJs had and were playing the songs we made etc.
It was a good experience for me and was more so a way to make more money hosting in nightclubs as being more of a "BRAND" allowed me to stand out and charge higher rates and travel around Aus, NZ, the Islands. thats why a lot of the songs were nightclub based as thats where I originally started as a street promoter at Magic City. (brisbane rnb club). These days I still help a few of the younger guys more so on the business and hustle side just trying to ensure that they reach their full potential.
I never felt apart of the so called "Music Industry" and in all honesty everything I did or was involved in, was recorded at home in a home set up we did everything on our own from the beats / mixing / videos / marketing. I was signed briefly but felt better being in control of my own path. The guys I recorded with were your "artists", I looked at my self as the ideas / marketing / connector of dots making sure the music got to where it needed to go, making sure all the DJs had and were playing the songs we made etc.
It was a good experience for me and was more so a way to make more money hosting in nightclubs as being more of a "BRAND" allowed me to stand out and charge higher rates and travel around Aus, NZ, the Islands. thats why a lot of the songs were nightclub based as thats where I originally started as a street promoter at Magic City. (brisbane rnb club). These days I still help a few of the younger guys more so on the business and hustle side just trying to ensure that they reach their full potential.
Your Pacific Smiles Calander was an awesome way to give back to Fiji. Have there been any other involvement you've had with Fiji/The Pacific?
Not at this stage, every day I am thinking about how I can help out. After going to Fiji, PNG, I came away realising that by giving someone a fish they will still be hungry tomorrow, where as teaching them how to fish they can feed their whole family. So at this stage of my life I want to get as far ahead as I possibly can in this technology sector and then come back and implement things I have learnt in business to make sure each dollar isn't just given away but invested.
I have big plans to help out on a grand scale when the time is right, but understand that in order for me to help as much as I can, I need to better myself and set myself up first.
Not at this stage, every day I am thinking about how I can help out. After going to Fiji, PNG, I came away realising that by giving someone a fish they will still be hungry tomorrow, where as teaching them how to fish they can feed their whole family. So at this stage of my life I want to get as far ahead as I possibly can in this technology sector and then come back and implement things I have learnt in business to make sure each dollar isn't just given away but invested.
I have big plans to help out on a grand scale when the time is right, but understand that in order for me to help as much as I can, I need to better myself and set myself up first.
The app Colour Switch was a massive success - how did that idea come about? And were you expecting it to go off like it did?
Color Switch wasn't made by me. My role in the company and the reason I'm there is to make sure people download the game. Right away I knew Color Switch would be a success and together with my team we formulated a marketing plan which worked. Using the connections I made in the social media industry, I was able to come up with a successful viral marketing campaign which is still on going to this day and will continue for a long time yet.
You're now based in Dubai - what are you up to over there?
I moved to Dubai after visiting and falling in love with how everyone over here is here for one reason, to get ahead in life. Seeing the vision and success over here motivates me to do better daily. I felt NZ and AUS were too small to fulfil my potential. Much like the generations before us felt about the islands and moved to NZ / AUS.
Color Switch wasn't made by me. My role in the company and the reason I'm there is to make sure people download the game. Right away I knew Color Switch would be a success and together with my team we formulated a marketing plan which worked. Using the connections I made in the social media industry, I was able to come up with a successful viral marketing campaign which is still on going to this day and will continue for a long time yet.
You're now based in Dubai - what are you up to over there?
I moved to Dubai after visiting and falling in love with how everyone over here is here for one reason, to get ahead in life. Seeing the vision and success over here motivates me to do better daily. I felt NZ and AUS were too small to fulfil my potential. Much like the generations before us felt about the islands and moved to NZ / AUS.
What have been your biggest successes and challenges on your journey so far?
Biggest success would have to be how my wife and I are raising our daughter and how tight we are even though we are together 24/7. I would say my biggest challenge so far was to shed that mindset of what someone like me is capable of achieving in life. I still feel I'm just beginning to walk... next is the jog then the run, then I must fly!
Our people are navigators, we settled all throughout the Pacific thousands of years ago and I believe that for a while we lost that vision as we tried to adjust to the western world. Hopefully I can inspire my generation and the next that we can do whatever we put our mind to as, cliche as it sounds.
Biggest success would have to be how my wife and I are raising our daughter and how tight we are even though we are together 24/7. I would say my biggest challenge so far was to shed that mindset of what someone like me is capable of achieving in life. I still feel I'm just beginning to walk... next is the jog then the run, then I must fly!
Our people are navigators, we settled all throughout the Pacific thousands of years ago and I believe that for a while we lost that vision as we tried to adjust to the western world. Hopefully I can inspire my generation and the next that we can do whatever we put our mind to as, cliche as it sounds.
