Kids are focus of video game company Elf Island

Liz Kronenberger and her husband Craig came up with the term “gaming for good” to describe the mission of their new company.

The entrepreneurial Atlanta couple set out to create a video game company where kids could make a difference in the real world. They wanted to combine competitive game playing, social interaction and storytelling with social responsibility.

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Johnny Crawford/jcrawford@ajc.com

Liz Kronenberger is a video game entrepreneur.

THE LIZ KRONENBERGER FILE

• Title: co-founder, Elf Island
• Age: 37
• Family: Married to Craig Kronenberger (also business partner); twin boys who are four
• Home: Morningside
• Education: BA, Ohio State University
• On her iPod: U2's new album "No Line on the Horizon;" "Don't you Worry 'Bout about a Thing" by John Legend
• What you don't know about her: Her boys have four names. In addition to their traditional middle names, they have quirky middle names: Cowboy and Rocket. She and her husband designed cowboy and rocket logos for the boys while she was pregnant.

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They formed the company, called Elf Island, about two years ago. The site, ElfIsland.com, launched in April. Through one non-profit partnership, when kids help save a polar bear in the online world, they also help real polar bears.

The target market is kids ages eight to 12, though Liz and Craig have heard about teens as old as 15 playing.

Q: Tell me about your professional background and what led you to start Elf Island.

A: We owned a children’s entertainment company in the ’90s and sold it in 2000. During that time, we kept a close eye on the space as a whole. It was around the launch of Penguin [Penguin Club, the popular site for tweens] that we saw more and more kids flocking to the virtual world space. We were following the research and knew this was definitely a space that was here to stay. Interestingly, we were looking at it and saying, this is fantastic, entertaining kids, but nobody is instilling social responsibility in a fun and entertaining way. So we were visiting a friend’s house and their daughter was carrying around a stuffed animal, so we asked her, how would you like to take care of a real polar bear? When we saw the look on her face, we knew we had something special.

Q: What was your children’s entertainment company in the ’90s?

A: It was called Spunky Productions. They were episodic cartoons that were syndicated. We also created what was, at the time, the number-one Christmas site for kids, Claus.com

Q: After you sold that company, were you working at other jobs or looking for your next entrepreneurial idea?

A: We were working. Craig worked with a number of different interactive marketing agencies. I was consulting in marketing and PR.

Q: So when did you start the company Elf island?

A: We started in June 2007. The first thing we did was to create the mission. We started the company with five people, and we worked for a good solid week or two out of our house. The first thing we did was (write) down the mission of our company, and we used that as the epicenter for everything we did in terms of concepting.

Q: What is your mission statement?

A: To unite and empower kids by making a difference in the real world.

Q: What is the business model? How do you make money?

A: We are launching with a subscription model.

Q: Do you give a certain percentage to the non-profits you support?

A: The donations to the non-profits are part of our operational structure. It is not a percentage of profit. A certain dollar amount is not extracted from subscriptions. It is part of the operational budget and it is taken out regardless.

Even though we are just launching our subscription model, we have made four donations to four different non-profits during recent months.

We partner with the non-profits and we determine a particular project. Based on the project, we understand the dollars that are needed to propel that project. Building a house is a very different cost versus tracking a polar bear versus helping repair boats to help shark preservation. So they are all very different.

Q: I know you and Craig are parents. How does that affect what you do?

A: Craig and I are the parents of twin boys. Being parents also ignited the start of Elf Island. We are helping the future stewards of our world. If we can compel kids to do good in an entertaining way, our idea is that they will take that throughout their lives and that helping others will be somewhat of an innate feeling.

Q: What’s it like working with your husband?

A: Craig and I are a really good team. We are both marketers but Craig has more of the digital marketing and the creative focus, where I have more of the marketing and communications and PR. Both being entrepreneurs, we wear a lot of different hats. Craig is a numbers guy. We really enjoy working together. Our past is a testament to that.