Today we’d like to introduce you to Gergely Maklari-Kis.
Hi Gergely, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story starts in Hungary in Europe. That’s where I’m from and where I actually lived until I was 31. I am actually a pharmacist. I knew that this is what I wanted to be from high school. During my university years, I focused on the fact that I would have to run my own pharmacy when I finished my studies. This was because my grandfather was a pharmacist, so there were two pharmacies in my family. I have always been a leader. I couldn’t have imagined myself any other way.
However, after six years of running a pharmacy, there were changes in my country that unfortunately, we could no longer accept. Together with my family (my mom, dad and brother), we decided to move and start all over again. That’s when the idea came up to open an escape room in the United States of America. My family had always wanted to see what life could be like in this country. So we thought we would give it a try. We sold most of our companies in Hungary and invested in escape rooms. Specifically, a franchise called PanIQ Escape Room. We invested in five escape rooms in total, four of which are operational. The last one is under construction in Miami Beach.
Unfortunately, we wanted to start this new life at the worst possible time. After the construction of the first rooms started, the Covid-19 epidemic broke out. It completely set everything back. Work slowed to a halt and we were unable to travel into the country because of the visa ban. My wife, my children, and I had to travel all the way to Poland to even attend a visa interview 1 year after the outbreak. In Hungary, we were constantly refused. After several months of preparation and waiting, I was lucky enough to get a National Interest Exemption in Poland so we could travel with our visa. Then the real local work began.
I am the CEO of PanIQ Escape Room Atlanta and our upcoming Miami Beach unit. The Atlanta one is one of our smallest units but one of the best performing. We have managed to create a real little jewel box within the big city. I’ve been able to put together a great team, and thanks to them we’re getting better and better feedback. I believe that hard work has paid off and we must not give up. I have never faced a challenge like the one I had to go through with Covid-19. It has only made me a stronger and better person. My goal is to run the best escape room in Atlanta and Miami beach, where people leave with a wonderful experience and recommend us to all their friends.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As I mentioned before, the hardest part was the covid-19. Because of this, we had to constantly change our plans as to when we would travel, if we could travel at all. We had to manage the construction from Hungary, which is on another continent. There were constant emails, meetings and phone calls with a 6-hour time difference between the two countries. Because of the visa, I only got my visa late. Because of this, I only had four months to prove to the United States that I was worthy of having my visa extended. During these four months, I had to put all the finishing touches on the Atlanta unit to get it open and to show that I had a very important role to play in making this unit work perfectly.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I operate an escape room in Atlanta and in Miami beach. Escape rooms are a fairly recent form of interactive entertainment in which teams ranging from two to twelve players are placed in themed environments to accomplish a shared goal. They do this by working together to find hidden clues and solve puzzles that moved them closer and closer to the end. In PanIQ Room’s escape rooms, PanIQ strives to immerse our players in a different world where they can leave reality outside for a while. PanIQ Room creates an authentic atmosphere, which represents a specific theme, and every element from lighting to smoke effects, are carefully developed to enhance the players’ experience. This way the players feel that they are part of a movie or video game, but here, they are writing the script. PanIQ focuses on 3rd generation (newest) escape rooms with electronic locks, which allows for smoother gameplay and greater opportunity to surprise players with secret passageways and other unique features. PanIQ Entertainment has developed a custom kiosk system, which interacts with the players during the game, offering visual hints whenever they get stuck with a puzzle.
Pricing:
- $32/person in a public room
- $37/person in a private room
Contact Info:
- Website: https://paniqescaperoom.com/atlanta/en
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paniqroomatlanta/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/paniqroomatlanta
Image Credits:
PanIQ Escape Room Atlanta
