Jessica Stasi Rovello

Jessica Stasi Rovello is co-founder of a business whose main purpose is to create new ways of having old time fun. Coming out of the 80’s culture of Ms. Pac-Man and the beginnings of the current trend toward online entertainment, Jessica and her boyfriend (now husband) saw an opportunity to fill a void while actually making a living. Unable to find their old favorite computer game online, they looked at themselves – young and carefree – and decided to go for it.

The result is Arkadium Games a company that designs games for businesses that want something a little unique to advertise their products. AARP, Dunkin Donuts, National Geographic, and Fandango have all turned to Arkadium to create online flash games (Advergames) for their products. (AARP saw a 294% increase in traffic! That must have been a great game!) The main focus of this company is to create online flash games. From 2 people, the company has grown to a little less than 100 employees and, according to Jessica, they still take time to have fun.

Jessica is a traveling businesswoman, with her main destination being the Ukraine. She loves the country and the people but they have also provided the biggest headaches as well. Flight layovers on the way to the office in southern Ukraine make getting to work a rather long commute and while, her favorite part of working overseas are the wonderful people she has met, some of them can be a little testy. The Kiev governmental official who decided one of Jessica’s employees didn’t have the right credentials to get out of the airport was a downright bully while the drunken passengers on a flight running up and down the aisle swigging vodka and screaming “ROMA” until they passed out were just plain obnoxious.

The biggest obstacle Jessica encountered when starting her overseas business was definitely the Ukranian legal system and real estate market. Jessica explains: “We bought a corporate apartment a few years ago after establishing our office and let’s just say it was a very different transaction than what we’re used to here. It involved a suitcase full of cash.”

The country has its cultural differences too which makes life interesting – one is the rather odd social practice of taking women to the SAUNA on a date. Imagine going out in a bathing suit, especially on a first date – now that’s different. Her other favorite place to be overseas is Italy, where, she says, “you’re surrounded by beauty and art and wonderful food and wine, and the men there LOVE women, especially American women.” Yeah, that could be good!

Jessica is fortunate to be married to her business partner. Their young, small family (a 1 ½ year old son and a newborn) keeps them hopping and not just from country to country. Her family aside, her most satisfying moments are when she sees her business grow every year while still staying true to its roots. As Jessica puts it: “Even though we have close to a hundred employees now we still laugh, organize poker nights and genuinely love coming to work every day.”