Starting a company is a bad idea, but worth doing
I’m sharing some blog posts about startups and game studios again. It will be a mix of old favorites and new nuggets — hopefully of wisdom. I hope y’all enjoy!
I’m a huge fan of starting your own company, and here’s why:
Even if you fail, you win.
Starting a company is a great way to lose money, add tons of new stress to your life, and push yourself to your absolute limits. But things worth doing are rarely easy. So if you’re up for it, start your company right away.
I’ve started six companies — meaning I was in the room when someone (sometimes me) said “let’s start a company” and I agreed to be a co-founder. I’ve helped a bunch more companies get off the ground as an early employee, advisor, or investor. From this perspective I’ve learned to recognize some common patterns that startups encounter:
- You’ll learn more than ever before.
I’ve always learned more from my failures than successes, probably because I do nothing but think about what a dumbass I was for days, weeks, or months afterwards. Picking apart my actions and mistakes was excruciating, but the lessons gained were invaluable. However, obsessing over them has made it easier to avoid repeating (some of) them. You will learn a ton from starting your own company, not just about making money or making games, but about a million subjects you didn’t know you needed to learn about.
2. You’ll be more employable.
When previous startups of mine failed, I had to go get a real job somewhere else. The good news is that having a failed startup as the most-recent endeavor on your résumé is very attractive to potential employers. You look serious. You look brave. You look like you know what you’re doing. And if your new job is someone else’s startup, then you have just learned valuable lessons immediately applicable to what they’re doing. So if you play it right, you can land on your feet even if you fail.
3. Résumé acceleration.
Having your own company is a great way to get a “CEO” or “VP” title on your resume, which could catapult you into a new role at a “real company” after you leave (or sell) your startup. Sure, you probably have to forgo a paycheck for months or a year at your own company, but you’ve hotwired your career and can now go somewhere else to do bigger things on someone else’s dime (until you get the urge and nest egg to go start something up again).
Wrapping up
There will never really be a “good time” in your life to start a company. As I’ve gotten older I’ve only amassed more responsibilities and more demands on my time and resources. This is true for just about everyone I know — but we’ll never be this young again, so if you have the inkling to start a company or game studio, just do it. You’ll learn a ton, accelerate your career, and learn more about yourself and the world around you than you ever imagined.
See y’all next week! Play nice!
Patrick
P.S. Lots more writing like this is on my website: https://patrickcurry.com/
P.P.S. Hey, it’s me! Social media preview acquired!
