We are thrilled that Cristóbal Conde has joined True Office as Executive Chairman! Read all about it here and below.

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Compliance Is Not A Game, But Learning It Should Be, Tech Veteran Says
Thomson Reuters Accelus – 8/15/2012

“The goal should be that everyone instinctively knows how a model business citizen behaves in a global environment,” Conde said. …he has discussed these ideas with other global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Most of the attendees were frustrated by spending so much time and money on compliance training that just emphasizes minimum standards rather than aspirational goals. But Conde said he was frustrated by the attitude of some CEOs who don’t get the message, saying “they consider compliance training a tax rather than an opportunity”.

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Accenture and Kravis-backed Fund Help Technology Start-Ups
Institutional Investor – 8/16/2012

Recently, FinTech mentor Cristóbal Conde, formerly CEO of SunGard, a provider of diverse software platforms and services to financial firms, joined the executive ranks of True Office-a move that exemplifies the benefits of the FinTech program.

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True Office Appoints Executive Chairman
Compliance Week – 8/17/2012

“True Office, a start-up technology company that gamifies regulatory compliance training, has appointed Cristóbal Conde as executive chairman, effective immediately. FinTech Innovation Lab provided a unique opportunity for True Office to test its innovative approach to compliance training with senior leadership at a number of leading financial services firms,” said Maria Gotsch, President and CEO of the New York City Investment Fund.

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Corporate Compliance Is a Game for Cristóbal Conde
American Banker – 8/24/2012

“As a CEO, I was frustrated by the courses we would have to put employees through. I saw [compliance training] as a missed opportunity. As a CEO of a firm you want to reaffirm core values, and encourage good corporate citizenship.”
- Cristóbal Conde

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How the press reacted to seeing us in action at 2012 FinTech Innovation Lab demo day:

“The True Office app could become a saving grace for anyone who is sick of being stuck in arduous compliance training sessions. It takes what is usually a drab corporate training and turns it into a fun, iPad-based game, complete with challenges, hidden surprises, and multiple goals to encourage replay.”   (Read more from Inc.: 6 Start-ups Defining the Future of Finance)

“‘Another advantage that True Office offers, Sodowick says, is the ability to measure how well employees are remembering what they’re learning. In four pilot tests the company ran last year, it found that 95 percent of employees better understood their companies’ policies after completing the game.’”    (Read more from Xconomy: True Office Turns Boring Corporate Training Into a Game)

“Instead of reading boring documents or watching corporate videos, “training” can now be completed in 15 minutes of gameplay. Employers can measure the progress of players, and the app is compatible with both iOS and Android apps and can be played on any computer hooked up to the web. Training games can also be customized based on a corporation’s needs.” (Read more from Mashable: App Turns Dull Employee Training Into a  Game)

In April True Office was selected to take part in an amazing program. The FinTech Innovation Lab 2012.  It was an amazing 3 months working with, and having access to, some incredible people. Demo Day was 17 July 2012 when we unveiled our app…

What is the FinTech Innovation Lab?

“..2012 FinTech Innovation Lab, created by the New York City Investment Fund and Accenture; and, nurtured by Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Citigroup, UBS, State Street, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase and a host of venture funds.”   (Read more: Big on Big Data: 6 Smart Startups to Watch)

“The competitive three-month program—the six participants were chosen out of 70 applicants—offers a crash course for early and growth-stage tech companies targeting the financial services industry. The companies get to work with banks and mentors to test out and refine their products, and they get entrée to the major financial institutions that are their potential customers.”   (Read more: FinTech Push Yields Early Results)

“That’s not Jamie Dimon,” joked Adam Sodowick, founder and CEO of True Office, as an avatar in his game walked onto the screen. However, Mr. Dimon’s employer, J.P. Morgan, was one of the 12 banks that mentored the FinTech Innovation Lab participants who demoed their products to potential investors and senior executives in the financial industry Wednesday morning at Credit Suisse. (Duh, “FinTech” stands for Financial Tech–get in the game!)”   (Read more:  Tech Gets the Wall Street Treatment at FinTech Innovation Lab Demo Day)

“As part of FinTech, True Office was invited to set up a table in the Citigroup lobby. Don Callahan, the bank’s chief administrative officer, stopped by, and after tinkering with the app for a few minutes he left his business card and some kind words. The benefits of the FinTech program have “even exceeded my optimistic expectations,” said Sodowick, who has gotten his app into the hands of employees at Citigroup, Morgan Stanley (MS) and Barclays Plc. (BARC)”   (Read more from Bloomberg: Startups Woo Wall Street Banks In Tech Arms Race)

And that was just the start…

True Office was featured in the Tech section of the Fortune  500 edition of the magazine back in May 2012. It was the start of a busy summer for us.

“Adam Sodowick wants to make corporate compliance training, er, sexy — or at least make it more exciting than it is today. That may sound like an uphill battle, but the True Office CEO thinks he has a way to engage employees and make HR folks breathe easier.”

(Read more: Pong for Corporate Training? )

It’s of absolutely no concern to me whether or not anyone agrees on what exactly the definition of ‘gamification’ is. My skepticism around the term stems from the narrow view that to ‘gamify’ a process is to simply issue badges and create leaderboards.  For me, as an end user, these ‘game mechanics’ while useful, feel like very ‘short-term’, fun fixes which quickly become boring.  They are by their very nature, ephemeral.

Personally, if I’m working really hard and excelling at my job, I want two things: recognition and a raise.  All of these points need to ultimately take me to a better economic place and get me authentic recognition.  Everything else is nice, kinda fun and ultimately short lived. Badges and leaderboards ultimately leave me empty and wanting more.

When we set off to build True Office, we knew that we wanted to focus on one of the most tortuous tasks ever inflicted on the workforce – mandatory compliance training.  We wanted to bring the best consumer web experiences (primarily games and mobile apps) to a woefully outdated business process, which is still stuck in the early 80′s.

Moreover, we felt that we were on a dual mission to expose and educate employees on high risk issues and complex ‘grey’ areas, such as insider trading, workplace harassment and even construction site safety.

When we set out to design True Office, we knew that adding an element of entertainment to the mix was critical, but we generally hated most of the’edutainment’ (an exponentially more horrid term than ‘gamification’) products and so called ‘business simulations’ that we’ve ever seen.

So what we did was to really embed real-life stories and juicy narratives into games; in the form of lightweight mobile and browser based apps, which transform the classic tick and flick, 3-ring-binder, lecturing approach of mandatory compliance training.  We’re actually able to cover all of the key legal issues through telling great stories and great game mechanics.  And we also add testing to the into the mix to boot and make that part of the game (and story), too.

Why we chose to ‘braid’ stories into our game design is simple: engagement and retention is just so much higher when you teach using stories.  It’s been happening for centuries.  The delivery vehicle – mobile app, bedtime story, campfire – can be practically anything.

While this approach may on the surface seem to be quixotic, we see no better way to help companies reduce risk and to help expose employees to inherently risky and highly complex business issues.

Having fun and adding play to the process is the way to win.  And yes, this can include all the legalese and best elements of consumer apps and games out there.

Below is a very short, animated video which tells our story and download the app at True Office.