As Not Seen On T.V.

Jonathan and I are both big fans of HBO’s comedy series: Silicon Valley. With its satirical insights into the tech industry and its cast of well crafted and hilarious characters, we can’t help but keep watching week after week. Lately though, as we continue to develop our novel entrepreneurial life, Silicon Valley has become incidentally a point of comparison for us.  Though our dramas are petty compared to the tech-world troubles the series is based around, there are still those few experiences that as developers we find all too recognizable.

For example, in a previous episode, “To Build a Better Beta,” (aired: June 5, 2016) the protagonists are seen anxiously waiting to launch their Beta. A similar feeling of excitement mixed with uncertainty came to us the first time we decided to begin selling our product.  I admit that when the time came I was all too comparable to the show’s main character Richard Hendricks (played by Thomas Middleditch) in feeling ill-prepared for a real launch. However, much like Richard by the end of the episode, it was the positive reviews from our peers that eventually helped push the project forward.

For the most part, finding these comparable moments gives us a positive feeling. Not only does it add a level of realism to the show but in turn it helps us find reassurance within our own business strategies. Still, in all episodes of the show, there is one thing we have yet to see. That feeling of, “What do we do now?”

For us, the line between fact and fiction becomes drawn in the unseen periods between each episode. Because the show is a serial, something new has to happen during each episode. For us, in watching the show, it gives us the illusion that a business develops speedily along a track of day to day plot developments. The reality is there seems to be a lot more waiting in developing a business; there seems to be a lot more patience required. I constantly feel I am always looking for the next green light ahead of me before moving to the next step. Sometimes this means waiting for that next email, or for the next Google Analytics spike. Other times it’s waiting for a meeting, or the next convention where we can demonstrate BaRPG. The fact is life would be far less frustrating if we had an editor, or at least some kind of fast forward button (Adam Sandler references aside).

 

In comparing ourselves to Silicon Valley, I feel like BaRPG is during that moment between episodes. We’ve sent some packs to game reviewers, we’re meticulously been hunting social media for meet ups and conventions and we’ve even been talking to some agencies about potentially finding a publisher. Still, for the most part I feel like we’re waiting and searching for that next green light, our next big step, our next bounding leap to lead us to our next stage of development. Is it Kickstarter? Is it finding a publisher? We don’t know because simply put, we too are waiting for the next episode.

 

Till then, keep questing you fine drunks!

Phil and Johno

 

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