Not sexy, not entertaining, not newsworthy, but anyone with an ounce of common sense would insist on these qualities in a company they were considering investing in.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race?
Back in January of 2020, Gaimin in general and Clive Aroskin, the COO (Chief Operating Officer) in particular were shouting the centrality of accountability and transparency in how Gaimin was incorporated and how it operated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMwBq42Xsv4
Fast forward to autumn 2020 and Gaimin passed the UK HM Government’s Revenue and Customs authority standards, which qualified it to be awarded an R and D grant.
When the UK government gives you money you must have got something right, right?
- Legit?
- Got accounting systems? Check
- Accounts up to date? Check
- Got legal compliance? Check
- Got demonstrable evidence of work so far? Check
- Got a clear development plan? Check
- Directors passed due diligence? Check
And more besides, which tests Gaimin passed with flying colours.
Fast forward to Clive’s next AMA and the themes have developed and deepened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7661W2HdowM
Ensuing compliance, proper financial planning and budgetary controls might not be the best dinner party, bar, or social conversation, but has there ever been a business that has managed to flourish without them?
Arguably, a business which is based on what some might say is a parallel world — gaming — needs grounding more than most in the real world. The sector is littered with honourable (and some not so honourable) failures.
This had to be a case for COO, Clive Aroskin.
The board members and business founders of Gaimin go back a long way, approaching, if not exceeding 100 years of friend, and business common ground.
Yet they still hold daily business meetings across three continents.
Because that is what it takes to get business done, in a joined up way.
The COO role is of necessity, all things to all people. All things that are not covered by other roles, which are more easily understood, or more tightly defined. As Clive explains, the CFO, the finance guy, has taken a health-related break from the Gaimin business. So that is now covered by the COO.
As Clive explained in the January 2020 AMA, the process of putting the pieces together at Gaimin is like a jig-saw.
So what? I hear you ask.
Well, again, not riveting social conversation, but essential business practice.
The common thread running through all the founder member AMAs is the acceptance, in fact, insistence that it all has to work, be thoroughly tested and will not be released into the wild until they are happy to stand behind their products and services.
In the realms of get rich quick crypto and to a much lesser extent, blockchain schemes, it is a case of buyer beware. Due diligence is hard to undertake when researching some businesses. They have not been in existence beyond an initial incorporation. They have not even gone through a single accounting cycle. They do not publish updates, they are not accessible, and they have only vague plans.
It is harder to deliver real-world performance in business than it is to promise riches based on vapour-ware.
At Gaimin, the trajectory is different. The intent is to get things right. And to focus on gamers and gaming as a community and to embrace and give back to that community.
How this is taking place will be the focus of another update.
In the meantime, the jigsaw man, accounting, legals, and financial planning suddenly don’t seem quite so boring, after all.
