My cadence on Twitter has been to post something meaningful every day to my followers. Either it’s about a piece I’ve written or some content that I’ve created. Often, I might have an insight or something that I just want to share, relating to gaming startups.

What interests me in web3 gaming
– Digital ownership
– Games industry becoming bigger
– No platform owner. No MS, Sony, Apple

What things are hard to believe in
– Virtual land, without a fun game
– Decentralized decisions on creating fun
– Web3 not becoming UA driven quickly
— Joakim Achrén (@joakim_a) April 9, 2022

I’m so pleased that for the first time in gaming, there is no platform owner, a gatekeeper who gets to decide what games get highlighted or is taking a cut of the revenues. We are building games that will require developers to get much closer to their audience. I’ve talked about audience development before, and I’m pleased about the movements in community building on web3.

My thoughts on web3 gaming in early June 2022
– Community building is intensifying; startups building large growth teams
– More crashes are inevitable; win by betting on long-term
– Product stickiness playbook VERY different from F2P
– Going web3 not a silver bullet to fundraise
— Joakim Achrén (@joakim_a) June 1, 2022

I want to add here that competition in web3 is starting to get more fierce, which could mean that things will get a lot harder soon for developers entering. Gaming investors are becoming more sophisticated and looking for studios working on more sustainable solutions and not the next ponzinomics winner.

Being an entrepreneur is always hard. Even when you think that you have the best idea, the best team, and all the resources to do things, there will be conflict, countless ”the sky is falling” days, and not wanting to do it anymore.
— Joakim Achrén (@joakim_a) February 6, 2022

Being an entrepreneur is always hard. Even when you think you have the best idea, the best team, and all the resources to do things, there will be conflict, countless” the sky is falling” days, and no wanting to do it anymore.

I want to add a softener here. The hardness of doing startups is less brutal when you have great co-founders who can share the burned. But still, being the CEO is really tough and lonely. The best way to soften the CEO’s work is to talk, spend time with peers, and get a great coach or mentor.

Most people assume being CEO is a hard job—stressful, busy, high-pressure. But the stress is one thing; the isolation is another. You might have a co-founder, but you shouldn’t have a co-CEO. It’s a one-person job, and you’re all alone up there.
— Tony Fadell, Build

This reality is always so mind-boggling. I'll attempt this for a blockchain games company next. pic.twitter.com/yf0wlOjrwb
— Joakim Achrén (@joakim_a) February 2, 2022

Not much to add here. This is what the optimal cost structure looks like when doing free-to-play games. Would be awesome to reinvent this for web3, so that the “staff” and “other” get more exposure.

Bonus: blast from the past

As a bonus, I’d like to share a few interesting links and pieces from the past that I’ve shared on EGD.

Index Ventures’ guide on ESOPs

The Employee Stock Option Plan is the best option for companies to motivate their employees for the long term. I wrote a piece on building an ESOP and referenced Index’s guide in that piece.

Kristian Segerstrale lecture from 2011

This lecture from Super Evil Megacorp CEO Kristian Segerstråle is still the best Kristian content out there. Filmed eleven years ago, but more relevant than ever. I wrote a piece about the talk.

How to create a pitch deck

In early 2021, I did a webinar on the topic of how to create a game studio pitch deck. In this webinar recording, I shared all that I know about what pitch decks should communicate. Watch the recording and grab the presentation by going here.