Helen Walton: Rewriting the Entrepreneur’s Narrative

G.Games was not something I had planned to do before co-founding it. Like so many other things in my life I can blame my co-founder Paul for the accident.

I began my career at Unilever in the Personal Care Brand Manager position. My career began at Unilever as a graduate trainee. I was able to gain experience in sales, marketing and product development by working on different brands.

I recall that their recruitment process was looking for “entrepreneurial individuals”. In the last decade, about 50% of my “intake” have started their own business …. This is something I think of when trying to explain to recruiters what we really want, versus what we think wants!

The organisation used to frustrate me. The work was equally divided between internal presentations and delivering services to customers. After leaving, I joined a marketing and creative services agency where I began as a free-lancer before adding creatives I respected. It was a great time and I enjoyed it a lot.

Although running an agency is great, there are limits to the amount of scale I can achieve. I wanted to do something new where I had control over everything. I didn’t want to hand off my concept to someone else who might then turn it into something completely different.

At that very moment, a client asked me to create a book series on the subject of delivering software to scale. This is how I first met Paul and Dan my G co-founders.

Helen Walton is the founder of G.Games

Source funding

Before we met, neither of us had ever dreamed about creating an online gaming company. Paul, who is a Eurovision fanatic, was a devoted gambler. We had no idea what the industry was about.

In an industry that is highly specialized, crowdfunding was not possible. We had to bootstrap the business for two years. The initial agreement was to work for one unpaid year. However, that year turned out to be six.

The learning curve was steep. From compliance to the product, we had to learn everything ourselves. We sat around at shows, talking to everyone who would listen. The people who gave us advice and answered my stupid questions are still in our debt. This generosity I pay forward by offering my time to startups and founders.

Looking back at it, I am still amazed by our willingness to jump in. Although we were certainly naive, I think it’s unlikely that anyone would have been brave enough to launch a business if they weren’t optimistic and naive.

A fairytale story?

The fairytale of founding a business is not always what people expect. It’s not all fun and games. There is a lot of hard work involved. Some may be able to’start-up and big exit within three years,’ but many others will fail, usually through bad timing or luck.

We thought that the hardest part of our job would be working long hours for low pay and facing technical difficulties. But we never considered how emotionally draining and demotivating it can be.

The trials and tribulations

It happens so often that a product or deal in which you invested a lot of time doesn’t pan out, or when an unanticipated compliance issue kills your strategy. You may feel that everything is going wrong, yet you must smile and carry on as though things were fine. You may feel ignored or undervalued on some days, and wonder what you did to be so foolish. It feels like you’re struggling and straining, but nothing is happening.

You may also have those days where you stop, take a step back, and realize that you are a 100-person company that has already made a profit. These are the days when all of your hard work is worth it.

Choosing the Right Support

You need to be able to work as a team with your co-founders, and create a culture that is shared by the people you hire. Psycholog Bruce Tuckman identified four stages in group growth: Forming (storming), Norming (settling down), and Performing. You will go through many of these cycles over the course of a 12 year relationship.

We have all learned our strengths and weaknesses since founding G. You need to work together with them, especially when others come and go. If you have complementary skills, it will be easier to share work and responsibility and appreciate each other’s knowledge. It’s true that “storming” times can be painful, but it is the result of an intense relationship. Wait and the bad weather will pass.

Professional and personal

A supportive life partner is also a great help. As a woman founder, I don’t feel that the burden of childcare and domestic duties is adequately addressed when one is in the startup world.

Before I left for my work trip I spent several days organizing school pickups, drops-offs and dinners. From wherever I am, I can check homework and read bedtime stories.

These work trips will be much more manageable if you’re a high-paid executive with the means to pay for childcare, or if your partner has a career that is different from yours. When you’re unpaid and your partner is working full-time, it can be difficult to balance these demands.

When I would hear people say that ‘ofcourse being female makes no difference’ on a panel, I wanted to shout. I was aware of how difficult it is to even attend an evening function. It’s important to note that I am still fortunate to have a partner who is willing to take the financial risks of G. Many men and women would not be able to do this.

What other sexism is there?

According to research, female entrepreneurs have a harder time raising funds. Paul was the leader of our team when it came to raising money, and I took charge in areas like product, marketing, and operations.

Sometimes I feel guilty that we did not challenge and confront such stereotypical beliefs. We’re not social justice activists, but entrepreneurs.

A rewarding journey

Many founders in the gaming industry have completed this journey without a partnership or by themselves. Many have spoken about both the advantages and the challenges of working alone.

G is the only person I could imagine doing things differently. It is a great blessing to have such wonderful partners with whom to discuss ideas or plans and to know we’ll execute them together. We share in the risks and pains of the business like no other.

We’ve always been trying to be different. It’s partly because I don’t think we had preconceived notions of what G should look like. We could create it.

Our business is extremely lean and focuses on innovation. We have found that it is easier for us to hire because we don’t compete with other companies on the talent merry go round.

If Only…

How would I have felt if you had told me that it was going to be difficult for me to start G.Games? It would have been nice to know the exact challenges that G.Games faced. Would it have scared me away from trying or made me aware of everything I did not know?

It’s like having a child if you want to start your own business. You will not be ready if you wait for the perfect time, when your finances have been sorted out and you are prepared. Just dive in, and you’ll figure out the rest as you go.

People say having kids is exhausting, but you are proudest when they grow up. That’s how running your company feels.