I just began playing a startup game with Joel Miller. We each will take $100 and try to double it. Whoever doubles their money first wins. The winner takes 1/2 of whatever profit the loser has made over the initial $100 investment. The game started last Friday and it will end on Aug 23. If there is no winner by Aug 23, there is no winner.
This game has 3 main purposes:
- Fun. This game is meant to be a fun challenge that unleashes creativity. The competition will be fun and the reward is high.
- Learning. There are many opportunities to make money in the world but it’s easier not to look for them. By turning it into a game, it’s easier to put some focused energy into this.
- Beating Joel. Somebody has to do it.
In order for this to work as a game, we need a few rules.
Rules
1. You cannot sell things you already own
If I could just sell a laptop and say, “look I doubled my money” that would not be a good game. Likewise, your regular, established work income does not count.
2. You can take tools and supplies you already own to make something new
While I can’t just sell a raspberry pi that I have sitting around, I can add a webcam, add some software, put it in a box and sell it as a video baby monitor. It has a new purpose so it is a new thing.
Likewise, if you have extra screws from a DIY 3D-printer build (Joel), you can use them to build another 3D printer to sell (while you can’t sell your existing 3D printer).
3. You can’t count a return based on more than your $100 investment.
If you want to spend $150 on parts for something and then you sell it for an extra $100, only the percentage of the return that matches the $100 limit counts. In this case $150 in to $250 out, you could only count $75 towards the game.
Likewise, if you invest $1,000 and make $100 by August, only $10 of that would count towards the game.
So that’s the game. I’ll keep you posted with strategies and updates as the game progresses. How would you play this game?