Meet Gergely Maklari-Kis | CEO of PanIQ Escape Room Atlanta

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gergely Maklari-Kis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gergely, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I grew up in a family where my grandparents and parents ran their own business. So it was obvious that I would have to start my own business. I couldn’t have imagined myself as an employee, I always had bigger goals.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started my career in Europe in Hungary. When I was in high school, I decided to become a pharmacist. I continued my studies until I managed to get my diploma. I can call myself lucky because after I finished university I was able to start working in the family business straight away. At the beginning, I was only given professional guidance. But as a newcomer to the business, it was a huge challenge. I ran the family business for 7 years, and by the end, I was running all parts of it. It was a very exciting time in my life because on the one hand there was a very significant increase in the profits of the pharmacy and on the other hand we started to look abroad for investment. That’s how my family and I came to the USA. We felt that America could offer us more than Hungary. Unfortunately, we started this business just before Covid-19 broke out. Because of this, we managed to open our escape room in Atlanta after a great deal of hardship and difficulty. Before any substantial construction could begin on the building, the city closed and nothing could be done for several months. Because of this, an enormous amount of money was lost to pay the rent without any income. When the situation improved, a new contractor had to be found. The shortage of materials due to Covid increased the cost and time of the project. All this had to be managed without me being locally in America. You cannot just get into America. You need a visa to work. Obtaining this also became extremely difficult under Covid. I was turned down several times at the embassy because of the visa ban. They also didn’t care that I had a big investment to manage and a lot of time and money to lose because there was no one to coordinate the work. Eventually, we had to go as far as Poland where we managed to get a National Interest Exemption to get into America. There has never been such a test in my life as the pre-opening period. The only way I could get through it was to finish what I started at all costs. I worked 12 hours a day. I had to make calls, arrange and search for solutions from home with a 6-hour time difference between the two countries. So it took me 2 years to get it open and to get my family and me out to run the company. My goal is to run the escape room the same, if not better, success than the pharmacy back in Hungary.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is easy. There are lots of things to do in Atlanta. Of course, I would show him the PanIQ Room Atlanta. Afterward, we would definitely take a long walk in Piedmont Park and check out the Botanical Gardens. For a good lunch, we would look for a food truck in the park. For an afternoon break, we would visit the Georgia Aquarium. And in the evening, an NBA game. We are both big basketball fans so this would be a must for us.

The rest of the week would be more relaxed. We’d definitely check out Lake Lanier, a good baseball game wouldn’t be missed. We would see a show at the Fox Theatre and choose from the many museums. And if we’re lucky, we might even see a NASCAR race.

It would be a busy week for sure.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My father and my mother

Website: https://paniqescaperoom.com/atlanta/en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paniqroomatlanta

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paniqroomatlanta

Other: email: atlanta@paniqroom.com