@andrewchen@jasoncitron These talks were one of the best aspects of being part of @speedrun. We learned so much from other founders experiences. Awesome that you are sharing these!
What happens when you pivot? Well, you might have employees quit
They might even quit via Post-It Note. (Ouch)
This is what happened in the early days of Discord.
Here we have the great @jasoncitron sharing his wisdom on what it was like to pivot from a video game studio into the communications platform we now know as Discord. Some of his team hated the idea. Some quit, others had to be managed out.
Amazing case study on what it means to pivot. tldr; it can get messy. Even when you are on the way to building something as important/impactful as Discord.
Fantastic discussion, and thank you for sharing Jason!
The strategy is familiar and predictable by now. A pile of outrageous statements - all to ensure we spend the next days talking about him, not about you and not about how Kamala Harris will make life more affordable and restore the right to choose that he took away. It’s bait.
There are only two places where proclaiming "America is the garbage can of the world" would get loudly cheered.
1. At a Putin rally
2. At a Trump rally
This is your chance to wrestle your country back from these crazy fuckers.
Do not squander it.
Vote.
Demo Day in the bag! @a16zGames SPEEDRUN was one of the most amazing experiences of my career.
A real boost to getting @2weeksgames the traction we need to make the best games.
Thank you so much to everyone at a16z Games for everything!
Lots of fellow SEA/Gen Z founders have asked if they should apply to a16z @speedrun.
TLDR: Yes. It's the best place kickstart your gaming startup dreams!
Coming from Manila, coming to LA has been game-changing for our team at @bycloutkitchen / @backseatgg.
Long answer ⬇️
Why a16z is investing $750k into very early stage startups
(and why you have less than 72 hours to apply to our 12 week SPEEDRUN program in San Francisco starting in January!)
I previously published the slide deck we used to raise $600M for first games fund, in which described our thesis, our areas, etc: https://t.co/SwLuxolfN7
Then we started investing. And we learned a lot, very quickly. Among those is that there are a ton of very early stage startups out there that are building in interesting areas adjacent to gaming, but not specifically games. While this was part of our thesis originally, we found a ton of companies started in AI and B2B and gamified apps and AR/VR, etc. Many of these early wouldn’t know what to do with $10 or $20 million but they would benefit from the a16z team (now numbering nearly 600 strong!) that provide access to everything from hiring, partnerships, financing, marketing, and everything else.
It also does not slip our mind that many of the best startups on the planet were started by first time founders and also repeat founders that also have a chip on their shoulder. We feel like we’re not able to help as many entrepreneurs if we just focus on ones that have a ton of revenue and are growing quickly (though we want to do those too!)
The only way for us to move forward on this is to build something. That’s a first class effort with the whole team behind it. And that’s why we created SPEEDRUN. We look at thousands of new startups over a short period and pick out the best 1%. And we give each of these companies $750k. But this isn’t defined by revenue (although that is always appreciated) but rather the strength of the team and the idea.
So now, twice per year, we put out an open invitation to startups to introduce themselves. And we set aside ~$40 million twice per year to quickly invest in a few dozen companies, where we review several thousand in a 60 day window.
And that window is now about to close, in the next 72 hours. We have accepted roughly a dozen and a half companies, so we still have quite a few slots open and ready to go. I’m hopeful that many of you might be interested in the slots or that you may have friends that you can introduce us to that are just starting out with their companies
Applications for SPEEDRUN 004 close in a few days. The program is amazing and all of the folks at a16z Games are incredible. Last chance to apply!
https://t.co/XDe61Pc0ap
SPEEDRUN has been amazing for 2weeks. The program that A16Z has put together has taught me so much about getting a business started and also provided us with key resources and connections that continue to make a huge difference to our company.
I highly recommend applying!
SR004 applications are open TODAY!
$750k in funding. 12 weeks of building with the best of the best.
submit your app 𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐩 for an early decision @ https://t.co/OBsX64v30x
SR004 applications will be open from August 26th to September 30th, 2024:
✦ lock in $750k for your games x tech startup
✦ join a community of builders and industry veterans starting January 2025 @ San Francisco
✦ pitch your product IRL to 450+ investors and partners within our network at Demo Day
More info -> https://t.co/D1m341rGEc
Wow. Just wow. My hands are actually shaking.
I can’t even begin to explain how hard the entire @Flat2VRStudios and @ImpactRealityXR team has been working to bring the best flatscreen games to VR.
We are so happy to be reimagining, adapting & porting the following games:
- @TromboneChampVR
- FlatOut VR
- @RoboquestGame VR
- Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR
Thank you so much to our partners for trusting us with your beloved IP @HolyWowStudios, @strategy_first, @StarbreezeAB / @RyseUpGaming and @3DRealms . We will make you all and the VR community proud!