In this interview, Gaming Eminence speaks with Luke Trimby, Founder of Lukas Tech, who discusses his decision to launch a software consultancy in the competitive iGaming industry, driven by a desire to escape corporate instability and create a more sustainable business. Drawing on his extensive experience in front-end development, he outlines how Lukas Tech will deliver bespoke solutions to enhance the user experience.
Luke highlights early successes, including securing a major contract, while stressing the importance of delegation and collaboration to scale the business. Looking ahead, his focus is on delivering high-quality projects, mentoring new talent, and expanding client relationships to position Lukas Tech as a key player in the iGaming sector.
Gaming Eminence: Starting Lukas Tech Ltd is a bold move in a highly competitive market. What specific gaps or opportunities in the iGaming industry inspired you to take this step, and how do you plan to address them with your bespoke software solutions?
LT) "The iGaming industry is volatile, starting Lukas Tech has had a long gestation period after navigating the various challenges this industry has brought my way. For instance, as an employee, I had been struggling to find the security in the senior positions I was occupying. Whole companies were being consumed by their parent counterparts, simply due to commercial decision making, bad debts and/or lack of cash flow, or even decision makers abruptly changing their minds and axing the project after six months of recruiting a whole department.
So my options were to continue on the course as an employee, or seize the opportunity to take control of the reins and start my own entity which can be a stronger, more secure and sustainable base than what I had been exposed to previously. Suffice to say, I have had to frequently and rapidly change roles and, during these times, I quickly saw that my skill-set and years of hard work and experience are very sought after. I am extremely proud to now be in a position to offer my experience and skills not only to customers but to employees as well.
In my ten years working within iGaming, I am constantly made aware that engineers and developers who have a high level of hands-on experience with the technologies we use, remain incredibly sought after, it is a competitive market but it is a booming one. I have been sitting in this niche for some time and frustratingly have had to pass on some fantastic and exciting opportunities to work with some amazing people and products, just because I haven’t been able to commit to two things at once. With Lukas Tech, I can begin to do this by creating a team behind me and together we can work on far more projects than I could ever have done alone."
Gaming Eminence: Your background is heavily rooted in front-end development within the iGaming sector. How do you plan to leverage this expertise in the initial projects of Lukas Tech Ltd, and what unique front-end innovations can your clients expect?
LT) "Although Lukas Tech is in its infancy, I am fortunate enough to have already secured a long-term contract to work on a fantastically exciting project. It leverages multiple technologies and brings them together in synergy to offer a fresh new experience to the end-user. We have a small team of incredibly talented individuals overseen by some reassuringly big names in the industry, so we are really looking forward to bringing the product into fruition. We are not reinventing the wheel, rather, we are pushing the boundaries of what can be done with modern web technologies and also introducing that creative flair which can only be offered after gaining those decades of experience working within iGaming. There are actually two unique selling points to our product, I wish I could go into more detail but I am under an NDA, you will just have to watch this space.
From my personal perspective, this initial contract is a dream come true. I’m sure every experienced software engineer wants to work on a greenfield project and have the control and autonomy of being the principal engineer, but then again I’ve always welcomed big challenges. Before my years making slot games I was the sole mobile app developer where my first commercial release was the Sun Dream Team Fantasy Football, with a user-base of over a million players. We also made one for The Telegraph that year and they were both integrated with the Urban Airship push notification API, which is a huge project for a young lad who was just in university the year before.
So despite the pressure being on to make something elegant and scalable, I relish the challenge. Perhaps five years ago I would have been a little more apprehensive about taking on something of this magnitude, but in essence this is where I thrive and being able to take this on with so much confidence is a good feeling. It all comes from having produced a long list of successful projects over the years, I’ve lost count as to how many slot games I’ve personally worked on, it’s probably in the hundreds. In my early career where I was Tech Lead, together in a team of eight, we’d released over forty in a single year alone. I’ve integrated some games with third-party providers such as OpenBet and Yggdrasil, for a few of them I created a pseudo-3d system to give the impression of perspective, if anyone remembers that craze. So with this new venture we are once again toying with the possibilities of what modern tech can produce, it’s all very exciting."
Gaming Eminence: Launching a tech consultancy comes with its own set of challenges. Can you share some of the key lessons you've learned in these early months of Lukas Tech Ltd, and how these experiences are shaping your approach to client projects and business development?
LT) "A lesson I will be taking forward with me is that you cannot do everything yourself. It is apparent that I will need to source the expertise of others if Lukas Tech is to really succeed. I simply do not have the time to be even proficient at everything straight away and there are so many areas of running a business that need tending to. Can I make a logo? Sure, but it would be better placed in the hands of a professional designer who will be able to produce what I could, in a fraction of the time and to a much better standard. From a business development perspective this is really valuable because I then have more time to focus on areas much more suited to my skill-set. It is with no surprise after so many years of working as a software engineer that my biggest strengths are still with the code itself. I have a deep interest in the architectural aspects of what I do, coming up with software solutions that are robust, dynamic, scaleable and also usable for developers at all stages of their professional career. I also have a keen interest in training those who are just starting out. I am working with two interns at the moment and spending some time to provide them with hands-on experience, with the view to offer them to join Lukas Tech when the time is right for both of us. It’s a win-win situation I view as an investment, I provide their training and build their skills, in return they may want to provide their expertise further down the line.
Another lesson would be to not hold back when it comes to taking on challenges. I could have made this jump probably five years prior if I had the tenacity back then but I think perhaps fear or doubt got the better of me. You could argue that everything happens for a reason and this was actually the right time because of xyz reasons, but the feeling of finally having done it is really quite freeing and, as a result, I am even more determined to keep going and create opportunities for everyone and anyone involved. So from a customer's perspective they can rest assured that we are wholeheartedly committed to bringing things to the table for the betterment of all of us. As more new and exciting opportunities come into light for Lukas Tech, it will be imperative to set up a working structure where we can share responsibilities. It is my baby so I will be putting my all into it, but that doesn’t mean I should be working 18-hour days, at least not all of the time! I will be balancing my efforts to produce a working environment where I am as free as possible just in case anything requires my attention."
Gaming Eminence: As you embark on this journey with Lukas Tech Ltd, what are your immediate priorities for the next year? How do you plan to establish a foothold in the iGaming industry and build relationships with key stakeholders and clients?
LT) "As I mentioned before, Lukas Tech is in a very fortunate position to be working with such a high-profile customer so I feel the foothold, if not quite achieved already, is well in motion. So the immediate priority is to ensure the timely delivery of a quality product for them, after all our name and reputation can only be as good as the products we are able to create. But alongside that, we will be attracting more business as quickly as possible in order for us to begin to grow. The network around me as an individual has grown to quite considerable size and I will be looking to attract as many of those persons to be involved with Lukas Tech as I can.
I am flattered to have had many conversations with ex-colleagues who are highly skilled and have worked across many varying tech stacks, who have offered their expertise, and I look forward to being able to one day offer those individuals along for the ride. So in a nutshell, from a technical standpoint Lukas Tech is one hundred percent ready to provide the highest standard of development services. The missing link is simply locating investors, customers, projects and partnerships. If I can continue to level up my commercial business acumen and achieve these things, then I see a very bright future for the company. I would love to one day secure a long-term partnership that would allow us to create straight up games or gamified web content to our hearts content."