The room that used to be the Reitz Union printing lab now has three walls covered in board games.
Student entrepreneurs Andrew Birkett and Chuck Call of Atheris Games and Pablo Casilimas of Raw Moment Film Studios were awarded a two-semester contract for the space across from Wells Fargo on the ground floor of the Reitz after placing at the Big Idea Gator Business Plan Competition in Spring.
Casilimas, the CEO and creative director of Raw Moment Film Studios, said the Reitz location gives him a place to expand his business.
“Having this space at the Reitz is like a dream,” the UF advertising junior said. “It’s so surreal. I never thought I’d have my own company running in the Reitz Union. We feel pretty fortunate because we’re just students.”
After placing in the top five at the competition with his business partner, UF advertising senior Stephen Kim, who is also the company’s business developer and content creator, the two turned their passion for film and the creative arts into a business plan for a film studio that offers competitive rates.
Besides producing video content for university student organizations, local businesses and nonprofit organizations, the company specializes in wedding photography, professional headshots and website design, he said.
After the company’s contract is over, Casilimas said the business is hoping to expand.
“We want to turn this into a full-blown agency and be able to travel for certain gigs and bigger projects for bigger companies,” he said.
With the help of the Warrington College of Business Gator Hatchery, an office that provides a workspace, office support, mentors and resources for startup companies to succeed, the founders of Atheris Games were able to turn their ideas into a business.
Call, a UF graduate student in entrepreneurship, said the space gives the startup business a place to test new games among students.
“Our store fills a need for students who want to play tabletop games on campus without having to go to inconveniently located stores elsewhere,” said Call, the company’s chief financial officer.
With Birkett, a UF marketing junior, he created “Cul-De-Sac Conquest,” a board game about annoying your neighbor.
Currently, the store sells board games, card games and collectible figurines, but they hope to expand to sell comic books. Once their two-semester contract at the Reitz is up, they want to open an off-campus location.
“We’ve built great relationships with the people who’ve come in so far, and we just want to keep making better games, because the tabletop gaming market is so diverse,” Call said.
From left: Pablo Casilimas, the CEO and creative director of Raw Moment Film Studios; Stephen Kim, the content creator and business developer for Raw Moment Film Studios; and Andrew Birkett, a co-founder of Atheris Games, pose for a photo at the Reitz Union on Monday afternoon.
