We recently had the chance to connect with Leonard Tatum and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Leonard, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
There are many things we are proud of that nobody sees. There are a few initiatives we don’t announce publicly. One such initiative is Tatum Tech, our bi-annual event in South LA.
At Tatum Games, we’re known for developing the world’s most powerful and advanced technologies and dev tools for game developers. MIKROS Analytics and MIKROS Marketing are fast growing necessary staples for all game developers and game studios. But with Tatum Tech, we shift the focus. Tatum Tech is a bi-annual event (held in Q1 and Q4) that aims to bridge the digital divide in South LA by providing underrepresented youth with the tools and opportunities they need to pursue careers in technology, particularly in the videogame industry. At Tatum Tech, we give away 100+ computers to kids, teens, and young adults, empowering them to cultivate their skills.
Alongside this donation, attendees participate in hands-on technology skill development workshops, led by industry professionals from top game studios such as Riot Games, Bethesda, and Microsoft. These workshops offer invaluable exposure to the technology field and foster the growth of practical skills in game development, coding, and other vital areas of STEM.
Our objective is to increase the representation of marginalized groups—particularly minorities and females—in the videogame industry, an area where these populations remain critically underrepresented. According to recent data, only 2% of game developers are Black, and 3% are Latinx, which reflects a broader trend of underrepresentation within the technology and gaming industries. Additionally, women represent about 24% of the gaming workforce, significantly lower than their male counterparts. By targeting these groups, we seek to change the narrative and ensure that future game developers are able to see themselves reflected in the characters they create and the stories they tell.
This effort not only promotes diversity and inclusion but also opens the door to better career opportunities and higher salaries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM jobs are expected to grow at a rate of 11% from 2019 to 2029, nearly twice the rate of other industries, with many of these roles offering salaries far above the national median. By providing access to these careers, we aim to enhance the quality of life for individuals in South LA, fostering a new generation of tech talent that can contribute to the future of gaming, technology, and beyond.
Through Tatum Tech we have given away over 500+ free computers. It’s a significant financial commitment for our company, but we continue to host the event without hesitation. The people we service are overlooked, and no one else does anything to bring them opportunities and uplift them. That is why we continue to host Tatum Tech each year quietly, diligently, and without fanfare. We don’t care about recognition, we care for results.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Leonard Tatum, and I am the Founder of Tatum Games. Tatum Games is a minority-owned, Google-backed tech startup focused on solving some of the toughest problems in the mobile gaming industry, from analytics and advertising to user acquisition and security. With over 20+ years of software engineering experience, I’ve had the opportunity to build solutions and technologies for companies such as Disney, Tesla, NASA JPL, Genentech, NBCU, Fox and more. Across the board at these organizations, and this is especially true in gaming, there was a consistent struggle to understand and identify the most valuable users.
Tatum Games was born out of that challenge. Our flagship product, MIKROS, is more than just analytics. It’s an entire ecosystem designed to level the playing field for indie game developers and small game studios. Through MIKROS Analytics, MIKROS Marketing, and other technologies, we are providing powerful tools that help smaller teams compete with the biggest names in gaming all while building a tight-knit digital community. Many have joined MIKROS Mafia, a digital community of over 150,000+ developers.
One of the things I’m most excited about is MIKROS Marketing, a one-click, go-viral solution that connects game developers with real audiences through partnered agencies, influencers, and Discord communities. Our platform is outperforming traditional ad networks by solving common problems like poor targeting, low ROI, and frequent ad rejections.
But we’re not just building tools. We’re building access. Through our invite-only initiative, Tatum Tech, we’ve given away several hundred computers and hosted hands-on training for underrepresented youth in South LA helping to bridge the digital divide and bring new voices into the gaming industry.
At Tatum Games, we believe the future of gaming should be open to everyone. Our goal is to make game development more inclusive, more profitable, and more accessible. The world builds games with MIKROS.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I wouldn’t say there was a single moment that shaped how I see the world. It’s more about the journey. Life hasn’t always been smooth. I’ve seen what it’s like to have nothing, to hit rock bottom, and to have no one there to help. Those experiences taught me the reality of the “haves” and the “have-nots.” And now that I’m in a position to help others, it just feels natural to do so. I know what it means to struggle, and I also know how far a little support can go. If more people simply looked out for each other, the world would be a much better place.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Tatum Games has almost closed it’s doors a few times. We’ve had to pivot, we have been told no by over 2000+ investors world-wide over the course of two years. We’ve had partnerships fall through, faced economic setbacks, and navigated global challenges that could have ended everything. But we kept going.
Every “no” has reinforced why we’re doing what we do. We are building for the game developers who have HUGE dreams and aspirations. We share in those dreams and aspirations and help them achieve them. That mission is what grounds us. It’s what keeps us moving forward, no matter how hard things get.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
There’s a notion in business that everything must revolve around immediate revenue. There’s this idea that if a company is built around helping people first, it must be a non-profit or a passion project with no commercial value. That thinking is short-sighted.
At Tatum Games, we believe real success comes from building an ecosystem; a community that grows together, shares value, and generates long-term network effects. Sometimes, the best way to create ROI is by giving without expecting something immediately in return. Trust builds loyalty. Loyalty creates lasting partnerships. And over time, that becomes far more valuable than any short-term gain.
Our long-term vision isn’t always obvious to those focused only on the next quarter. But we’ve spent over two decades in this industry. We’ve seen the patterns. Quick wins fade. Exploitation burns bridges. But when you solve problems alongside your customers, when you truly care about their success, that connection becomes unshakable. That’s what we do at Tatum Games. We build with our developers, not just for them. We are accessible, accountable, and invested in their outcomes not just their spend.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
We feel out of our depth every day. At Tatum Games, we’re building technologies that rival the giants like Google, Microsoft, and AWS. But unlike them, we’re a small team solving problems they haven’t even attempted.
Take our MIKROS Analytics platform for example. We’re not just tracking users, we are understanding them. We use encryption at every layer, machine learning pipelines, behavioral scoring models, and patented mobile-to-mobile (M2M) technology to infer user behavior across multiple games. Our platform creates a collective data pool, so indie game developers can finally access industry-wide insights that were once only available to massive studios.
These are not trivial systems. We use homomorphic encryption, cross-game identity stitching, multi-layer anonymization, and context-aware segmentation to deliver KPIs no one else can. Metrics like Spending Scores and Reputation Scores are computed based on data ecosystems, not just isolated apps. We don’t just deliver analytics, we empower strategic decisions through AI that replaces the need for an entire data science team.
So yes, we are constantly working beyond the boundaries of what feels comfortable. But that’s the nature of innovation. You only make breakthroughs by operating just past your limits and surrounding yourself with a team that’s crazy enough to believe it can be done.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://developer.tatumgames.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tatum-games-llc
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tatumgames
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tatumgames
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TatumGamesLLC
- Other: MIKROS Mafia: https://discord.com/invite/6FzqSUDRXQ
Image Credits
Copyright Tatum Games
