Gardens: Building a Startup Games Studio for success (makers of Journey, Spider-Man, Skyrim)
Oct 21, 2023
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Co-founders of Gardens, a startup games studio building a shared fantasy adventure game, discuss their organization design and decision-making process. They are joined by industry veteran Kristian Segerstrale. Topics include cofounder relationships, validating game concepts, industry trends, and building a successful game studio with employee-centric values.
Strong co-founder relationships based on trust and understanding contribute to a startup's success.
Extensive prototyping and vision setting before starting the company leads to a well-defined roadmap and clear goals.
Fostering a supportive and inclusive company culture prioritizes employee well-being and drives sustainable collective growth.
Deep dives
Founding Team and Co-founder Relationships
The three co-founders of Gardens, Steven, Chris, and Lexi, have known each other for a long time, fostering strong and trusted relationships. Steven and Chris are brothers, and Lexi is a longtime friend of Chris. They have similar ideas and a shared passion for the kind of games they want to make. Their solid foundation and alignment contribute to their ability to navigate challenges and work well together.
Prototyping and Vision
Before pitching their seed round and starting Gardens, the co-founders spent multiple years prototyping and refining their vision. They focused on creating a clear direction for the game and the company. They honed in on the kind of game they wanted to make and the company culture they wanted to build. Their extensive prototyping and vision setting allowed them to enter their seed round with a well-defined roadmap and a strong understanding of what they wanted to achieve.
Co-founder Dynamics and Conflict Resolution
Co-founder relationships are of paramount importance to the success of a startup. Gardens' co-founders foster productive and healthy dynamics. They have known each other for years, which helps create a strong bond based on trust and understanding. While disagreements and conflicts may arise, they emphasize resolving them by listening and finding solutions together. Their shared goals and open communication channels allow them to effectively navigate challenges without letting conflicts hinder their progress.
Industry Trends and Building for the Future
Gardens focuses on building a game that appeals to a broad audience while incorporating innovative systems. They pay attention to market trends and adjust their strategies accordingly. They believe in staying true to their vision and not letting market volatility or noise sway them from their core goals. While they are aware of shifts in the industry, they are committed to creating a game that aligns with their vision and resonates with players. They strive to be adaptable and safeguard against potential market changes by building a sustainable and stable organization.
Company Culture, Values, and Talent Management
Gardens prioritizes sustainable collective growth and development. They focus on creating a company culture that supports their employees and safeguards against burnout by emphasizing work-life balance and avoiding excessive crunch. They foster a supportive and inclusive environment where employees feel valued and supported. They believe in being transparent and equitable, openly discussing salaries and providing clear paths for growth and promotion. They aim to be the best home for top talent and continually refine their processes to ensure their team remains inspired and empowered.
If you were going to start a new games studio, how would you design the organization, the work environment, and work culture and values for the company?
We speak with the co-founders of Gardens, who are building a shared fantasy adventure game from a veteran team that has worked on games such as Journey, Spider-Man, Skyrim, and many others.
Gardens has recently announced an over $30M series A round, and we discuss how they are starting.
- How are they designing their organization? Why did they make specific decisions on how to work and operate?
Also joining us, is veteran game industry veteran Kristian Segerstrale. Co-founder of Glu Mobile, early investor in Supercell, cofounder and CEO of Playfish acquired by EA, senior exec at EA, and currently CEO of Super Evil Megacorp.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:38 How to deal with cofounder relationships?
2:35 Meeting Lexi for the first time and starting the company with lots of preparation
6:06 How do you fight and disagree with each other?
8:54 Most important issues to figure out as an early startup - need to resolve disagreements in a good way and personal motivations
12:42 Industry trends over next 5-10 years vs. focusing internally - strategic product decisions (platform) and fundraising strategy
20:08 Validating assumptions and asking for help
20:50 Gardens game: “an online PVPVE fantasy action adventure survival sandbox”
23:53 How to green light/validate game concepts at Garden and convincing investors of funding from Seed to Series A through prototyping
29:00 How did they think about designing their organization and establishing company culture and values?
34:06 Will Garden’s employee-centric focus and support of “work-life-balance” hurt their ability to succeed? Is hard-core necessary?
40:50 How to be successful without working in office and without hardcore work ethic?
47:20 What are key concerns for success? Scaling/hiring
49:37 Hiring from 3 to 20
51:53 Objectives from Series A funding and overall ambition for the game project
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