Why will an operator happily drop $50,000 on player acquisition, yet refuse to invest in the retention tools that would keep those players around? What does a founder do when the person buying the product can't greenlight it on their own? In a fresh interview for iGaming Heroes, Gamixter founder Andrey opens up about the journey from running a 150-person agency to building his own retention product, picking up the pieces after parting ways with his CTO, and getting his sales strategy badly wrong. On 3S.INFO, we dig into the industry's heavy reliance on bonuses, the constraints platforms keep imposing, and why a strong product won't sell itself, along with why staying resilient matters more to a founder than being certain they're right.
- You went from marketing for major brands to building your own product. At what point did you realize you wanted to build something of your own?
That came after my first agency job. I spent a year there, realized the format and the company's whole approach didn't fit my business ethics, and decided to start my own agency. From there, it snowballed. We kicked things off with two people, and by the time I sold it, we had 150 staff across three countries. Then I got invited to Parimatch, and that was a challenge of a different order — working alongside other strong specialists, where the final call is no longer yours.
- What is Gamixter? It is a B2B gamification platform for iGaming operators. It plugs game mechanics into a casino's site, designed to boost engagement and retention. It is a tool for companies running gaming products. The toolkit includes tournaments and leaderboards, missions, prize wheels, lootboxes, daily rewards, and jackpot mechanics. An operator can turn them on individually and configure triggers based on specific user actions or CRM events.
- What turned out to be the most unexpected thing when you moved from CMO to founder?
The most unexpected part was running into such different levels of expertise and industry understanding. Parimatch is genuinely a very strong company in every respect, from marketing down to the smallest product features. I assumed it was like that everywhere, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. Most of the time, we are not even talking about our product; we are busy teaching and growing the expertise of other teams.
- When did you realize you had to dive deep into the product yourself? Did that change your attitude toward marketing?
It started with our first drawn-out integration. We were living under the assumption that an operator's platform handles the basics you'd expect in today's online world. Turns out, that is not always the case. It became clear that you have to know and understand for yourself what's happening on our side and on the platform's side, what operators want most often, and what platforms frequently can't give them due to their various limitations. But a big network of friends worked in our favor: we got to explore almost every popular platform out there and get a real sense of what was happening on the other side. And when your team is just five people, you're expected to know the important stuff yourself and be able to steer the team through it.
- You mentioned parting ways with your CTO and effectively rebuilding the product in 2025. What did that change in your approach to the team and the business?
It confirmed Dr. House's take: everybody lies. And if you want results, you should build in checkpoint stages and litmus tests for ideas, the team, and partners from the start. The belief that everyone wants what's best for the product and will therefore get what's best for themselves shattered against the harsh rocks. Still, it helped me personally ramp up my product and technical expertise in a big way. Big thanks to the situations and the people for that.
- Which entrepreneurial failure turned out to be your most valuable lesson?
The most valuable failure was the business idea that the operator calls the shots, and that's who you sell to first. We work in a strange world: an operator pours colossal money and effort into keeping their project alive, yet has no say in picking the tools and solutions that could really help them. For me, that was a revelation that cost almost half a million in revenue, but it taught me a lot about how a typical casino project actually runs. Still, the way I see it, that's not how it should be. If I'm the one bringing in 5 million to launch a casino, then let me choose what I'll use to make that money back and what I'll work with.
- If you were launching Gamixter from scratch today, what would you do differently?
- I would fund it strictly on my own dime.
- I would go straight to platforms for distribution, not operators.
- I would not believe that the product solves everything.
- You're building a retention product and selling it to operators. What surprises you most about how they buy? Why do good solutions go unsold while bad ones get bought?
After two years of running the product, nothing surprises me anymore :D But there are a few recurring issues that really make you think.
- A shaky grasp of their own unit economics. It's easier for an operator to sign off on a $50k affiliate spend than to invest the same amount in tools that would make that spend pay off better. Or to realize that improving retention by just 10% means their existing players will bring in several times more revenue six months down the line.
- A blind faith in bonuses. I dream of the day we stop living under the idea that bonuses are the cornerstone of player retention. If that's how it works for you, congratulations — you've landed in the "sell me a dollar for two dollars" situation. What keeps players around is the experience and the emotions that come with it. We can prove to almost any operator through testing that you can hand out 30–40% fewer bonuses while delivering dopamine far more often through game mechanics, and retention numbers will come out higher.
- Everyone is waiting for a magic "Money" button that solves all their problems with zero effort. Sadly, for all of us, that's not how it works. You can install the best tool out there, but without configuring it, testing it, and improving it every week, the results will be underwhelming. A shovel is a great tool, but you still have to use it and sharpen it now and then.
And overall, I find it hard to agree that good solutions go unsold while bad ones get bought. What gets bought is what fits. Whether it actually fits the task at hand, or just fits the person trying to tick a box — that's a whole other conversation.
- Was there a moment when the data from your product showed an operator something about their players that they refused to believe?
Yes, that the welcome pack isn't actually needed. For some reason, the industry still clings to this outdated idea of "we need a welcome pack with bonuses." It is not needed in 99% of cases. Build proper onboarding, different mechanics for different players and traffic types, and work on the stages of how players get pulled into the product. That will bring in more money than 1,000 free spins thrown at new players to drive sign-ups.
- You started in Belarus and then went global. Are there qualities among specialists from the CIS that give them an edge in global iGaming? What, on the other hand, works against them?
Mental agility, a strong technical foundation, and a fairly broad outlook. That is what genuinely sets us apart, and it is part of the reason why so much of this industry is made up of people from the CIS. And there is always a lot of love for Belarusians — I have heard from colleagues and partners more than once that we are workhorses. There is one downside to it, though: we are also too modest and too "tolerant," and sometimes that gets in the way.
- If you compare the Andrey who launched his first agency at 22 with the Andrey of today, what has changed the most?
I have become more flexible about the product. Killing something and starting over is no longer a tragedy for me — it is just a normal working tool. At 22, any pivot felt like a personal defeat; now it is simply a decision.
I used to rely on others and was convinced that results only happen together. Now I realize that sometimes one person going solo can outperform a whole crowd. Not because a team is unnecessary, but simply because waiting for everyone to mature to the right level costs more than just doing it and showing it.
And honestly: back then I thought business was about how cool you are. Turns out, it is about how resilient you are.
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Quickfire
- Marketing or product? - Marketing these days. Any product can be built if you really want to; marketing and distribution are turning into a bigger lever.
- What are you listening to: any band or track on repeat? - Fred Again.. has had my heart for two years now, but the whole current techno and DnB scene is a regular fixture in my playlists.
- The most useful mistake of your career? - Leaving Parimatch.
- The city where you work best? - Barcelona.
- One word for iGaming five years from now? - White.
