"You want to start a company? Kate… did I hear you right?" Bruce looked at his daughter in disbelief.
Catherine nodded seriously.
"But aren't you already in that… uh, Angel Costume Design Company? As the president?"
"It's a costume company I run with Lily and the others, but this one is a toy company. And I'm not the president, Dad."
"Oh? You mean that strategy game?" Bruce had also skimmed through his daughter's book, but he had to admit that there were people in this world who simply didn't understand romance.
"That's right."
"But do you really need to start a company?" Bruce was still skeptical.
"I have money! I can spend it however I want!" Catherine protested.
She didn't want to reason with him—she simply offered the most "practical" argument.
Bruce shrugged.
In fact, Catherine was now making more money than he would in ten years; she clearly had the capital to burn. What Bruce didn't know was that the dollar would continue to depreciate.
"If that's what you think… sweetheart, let me remind you that things aren't that simple. This isn't a novel. From hiring to production to retail… do you understand?"
Catherine looked at him expectantly.
"All right… I get it. But don't cry if we lose money."
In a way, Western families are more indulgent with their children—or rather, they support them in forging their own paths. Bill Gates's mother was an IBM executive, and yet Bill Gates still dropped out of Harvard to start his own company.
In any case, thanks to Catherine's persuasion, Bruce finally accepted her idea.
The company was registered, and it was time to get started.
Catherine had already chosen a prime location: Elijah, Georgia.
Laws vary across the United States—after all, it's a federal country. Taxes do too. Georgia is one of the states with the lowest taxes in the U.S.
On top of that, the state offered generous tax incentives. Simply hiring local workers exempted the company from a large portion of taxes. Aside from tax avoidance schemes or moving factories overseas, building a factory in Georgia was, in Catherine's opinion, the best choice.
After a great deal of effort, the Hogwarts Magic Factory was finally established.
As for recruitment, Bruce took charge of it, still somewhat worried about his daughter. After all, he was an engineer, had been promoted to assistant manager, and had considerable management experience, so things moved quickly.
This was the first time Catherine realized just how capable her father was; she even considered hiring him officially.
With the company established, it was time to promote the products.
But before Catherine even stepped out the door, business was already knocking: the name Harry Potter was now a guaranteed money-maker.
It's worth noting that the novel's reputation was now nearly on par with The Lord of the Rings.
Of course, this was largely after the release of Catherine's The Blair Witch Project.
Some people who had never read books before—or had overlooked the novel—suddenly became interested in Catherine and her Harry Potter series after seeing the film, doubling sales that were already strong.
Even the paperback publisher regretted revising their original contract with Catherine. But had they not done so, Catherine could have chosen another book, and they would have made nothing. After all, many other books would become famous in the future. At worst, Catherine could have simply written Vampire, since that novel was already quite well-known.
Companies are always cautious with new products. However, Catherine's clever demo version allowed everyone to experience the game's appeal in advance, which was one of the reasons so many companies reached out to her.
With her own factory, the newly manufactured products were already exquisitely made—thanks to Catherine's relentless pursuit of perfection.
Quality and price are the keys to success, no matter the era.
As for selling the game board, Catherine had a clear plan.
Specifically, the initial offerings would likely include rulebooks and basic game tools, while the "models" would consist of new character figures and terrain puzzles to expand gameplay, along with background stories and monster lore. Catherine put significant effort into making sure her game appealed to all ages and genders. Of course, her primary target was the children and teenage market, with a secondary focus on the middle-class audience with more leisure time—this was the core audience for the strategy game.
Moreover, Catherine didn't want to create just a simple casual strategy game.
Her goal was to cultivate a "culture," similar to Barbie dolls or superheroes.
From this cultural core, a massive value chain could be built.
For example, Catherine could create video games based on this model, which was also a future trend. The reason Catherine had always wanted to create a V-game was precisely because it would be a pioneering effort.
To achieve this, Catherine needed to expand her magical world into a complete system.
Since Hogwarts had become an American school of magic, its scope could not be limited to Europe like J.K. Rowling's version.
Therefore, although there are three magic schools in Harry Potter—Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic—Catherine did not plan to use those names. Instead, to expand global reach, she elevated these two schools to "national-level" institutions. One was located in England, where Hogwarts had originally been set, but placed in London. Half-jokingly, she called it "The Clock Tower."
The other school was located in the Middle East—after all, the Middle East is widely regarded as the cradle of magic.
Catherine was still working on these two "maps," which would later be sold as model expansions.
One thing Americans love is explaining everything with science.
Anything labeled "scientific" is considered reasonable. Just like American comic books: even though they're full of superpowers, publishers always give them a seemingly plausible sci-fi background. A closer look shows that among American heroes, those who rely on magic are far fewer than those who gain power through science fiction.
While Catherine didn't want to frame her story as science fiction, she felt it still needed a coherent system.
After much deliberation, unsure how else to proceed, she simply added a concept she'd picked up somewhere: "magic circuits." These circuits were unique to wizards, and each circuit represented an attribute point of "magical power." It didn't feel entirely correct to her, but it was acceptable—at least it provided an explanation.
And so it was settled.
In addition to official models, Catherine also provided independent resources—terrain puzzles—that allowed players to design their own stories and even modify the game's rules and lore.
Catherine also designed a special award, granting an annual Best Creativity Award and Best Game Award.
The prize was a golden dragon designed by Catherine herself—well, inspired by World of Warcraft.
This kind of game might not bring Catherine huge immediate profits, but it carried great significance for her.
With a cultural chain in place, the industry could expand, and profits could multiply hundreds—or even thousands—of times.
Barbie dolls and Transformers were perfect examples.
And just imagine—twenty years from now, Americans growing up playing video games she created. How satisfying would that be?