Right now, I’m finishing one of four games remaining on a contract. I’m happy to do it and it’s very fun. I’m also creating two sites for two different contracts for collecting assessment data. I’m writing and testing out our game builder that is using Gemini Pro AI to enable anyone to write code to create games. I’m documenting and revising our developer version of the game builder, 7 Gen Blocks.
Then, there is all of the business stuff – writing newsletters, blog posts, sending out invoices, meeting with the accountant to file taxes, presenting to school districts who use, or want to use, our games.
Jugglers don’t get paid very well and sometimes the balls hit them in the head
So, what is the solution? One, obviously, is to hire as much help as you can afford. I hired an intern over the summer to handle some of the ‘paperwork’ which is now all done electronically, of course, like entering travel expenses. I have a research assistant starting who will be doing data collection and reliability testing.
Two major (and one minor) reasons why I don’t “just hire someone”
We participated in two accelerators, early in our startup journey, Boom Startup and Startup Chile. Both gave the same good advice, although SUP’s was more direct.
” Cash flow is more important than your mother.”
David Fernandez, Startup Chile Mentor
Our accounts receivables look really healthy right now with new contracts coming online, but until we deliver, which we are doing weekly, and until those customers for whom we have already delivered software pay us, our cash flow is not nearly as good as it will be a few months from now. So, juggling. Yes, we could borrow money, take investor funds, run up our credit cards, but I think David was right (sorry, Mom). I already have two people lined up to hire as soon as those wires hit the bank.
Someone else can’t learn for you
Our major product coming out is our 7 Gen Blocks Game Builder. Our developer version has been a rousing success, cutting time (and, hence, cost) to make educational software dramatically, leading to several new development contracts. Woo-hoo!
- Our first no code version was not intuitive enough for users.
- Our second no code version was easy to use, created using Gemini Pro and RAG with our own internal documentation as the augmented data. The original model was also going to be too expensive to scale.
- Now we’re on take 3, which you can see below. I think we have a winner. The user is asked questions that will then be used to create the code for the game and select or upload images to use.
We have had a number of junior developers testing the game builder and making games with it. The more I used the game builder, the more I said to myself, “Hey, we could set this as a default.” “We don’t really need the user to set this.” Could our junior developers have done this? Well, they didn’t and in many cases they really couldn’t. Using the developer version myself, I repeatedly encountered parameters that were set but not used – yes, I know that’s a mistake but you would not know these weren’t used unless you were very familiar with the code. That’s like expecting me to know that I never received the email that I didn’t know you sent me.
My third, minor reason for not hiring someone is that you don’t know who you’re going to get.
Even before AI, employers have been fooled by people who were just plain liars about their qualifications. They showed up at work and rand down the clock for a few weeks until they got fired. In larger organizations, those fake-it-till-you-make-it types might get away with it for months. I have many stories about experiences, both mine and my fellow entrepreneurs’, but that is for another day. All of the posts on the overemployed subreddit from people who have two or three remote jobs and are only putting in a couple of hours each day
So, what DO you do?
1. If you can’t be three people at once, try to hit three goals at once.
For example, this post is going up on or blog because I haven’t posted there in a while. It’s also going to be this month’s Learning Game (our LinkedIn newsletter) newsletter and sent out to our general newsletter.
2. Find “found time”
I learned this term from a Navy seal who had just gotten his MBA, when I told him that I am never stressed about waiting in line because I always have work with me. One hour wait at the DMV? No problem, I’ll edit a proposal I’m working on. I got to San Diego early for Pitch Latino to get ahead of the traffic, so I finished this blog post. (Speaking of which, I’m pitching at Proximo at the Latinx EdTech Summit on Friday, so if you’re there, come see me and let’s meet up.) Try answering emails while you are waiting instead of scrolling through your social media. You’ll “find time” and also end up less depressed about the state of the world.
3. Realize that tomorrow is another day – for everyone
I’m sure you are awesome but the fact is that no one is sitting up until midnight waiting on your blog post (like this one that it took me a week to finish). There are a few times, like when you promised job candidates you’d let them know by Tuesday, but generally, unless you are hiring someone or producing a coronavirus vaccine, it makes absolutely no difference if you get that email sent tonight instead of at 8 a.m. or have that meeting on Tuesday instead of Monday.