About Me
Hi, I’m Vikas Goel. I build game-tech, help founders think clearly, and write for underdogs who want to bet on their Plan A. My work sits at the intersection of play, AI, and real-world outcomes.
​
I’m the founder & CEO of XO, a game-tech operating system built for emerging markets. We’re making gaming infrastructure more open and AI-native—so players can compete, creators can build faster, and partners can launch at scale.
​
Alongside XO, I run Vikasifications as my personal lab: essays, tools, and experiments that turn fuzzy ideas into practical actions. I mentor startups, invest selectively, and share what’s working (and what isn’t) without the fluff.
​
I’ve spent 14+ years in startups as a builder, writer, and early-stage investor. I care about three things: clarity over noise, compounding over hacks, and creating real value for young people who are trying to make their first big leap.
WHAT I’M DOING NOW
• Scaling XO across MENA & KSA; doubling down on AI-led creator tools
• Publishing field notes on gaming, startups, and decision-making
• Mentoring founders; collecting patterns for My project (more on this later)
• Building an Academy, with operators and creators
• Publishing white papers, books and other materials for underdogs about turning ambition into action
What i love doing
Travels
Start-ups
I’m a leisure and business traveler who likes to keep things practical. In each city I split my time between walks and taxis, taste local food—street stalls to small cafés—and wander through markets and malls.
I love good design, especially in shoes, and I photograph everything from shop fronts to street corners. You’ll find my snapshots on Instagram, and once in a while I’ll write a straightforward TripAdvisor review.
I’m not a vlogger; I prefer quiet notes, good meals, and photos that tell their own story.
I build and back ideas that serve gamers, creators, and youth. At XO, we’re turning gaming infrastructure AI-native so players can compete, creators can build faster, and partners can launch at scale.
Beyond XO, I mentor founders and share clean, no-jargon playbooks: define the real problem and ICP, design simple unit economics, and run 30/60/90-day experiments that compound.
I write, speak, and sometimes invest—always with the same goal: clarity over noise and progress over perfection.
