Zaid Al Kazemi

Can you tell about your idea that failed?

I’m highly ambitious and thought that was enough to win in business. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

I just wanted to build something iconic. I was completely naïve and thought all I needed was a great idea.

The idea for my first startup was a video game called “Ninja Hustle.” It was about cats. Ninja cats. Cat martial artists called the “OGs” who had to retrieve the “OG scroll” from the villain who stole it. Each cat had a backstory. And when you completed the game, each cat revealed a piece of wisdom from the OG Scroll.

Wisdom like this:

• “A ninja’s gotta do what a ninja’s gotta do.”
• “Aim over fame.”
• “Beauty is deeper than fur.”

Before starting this project, I learned the technical aspects of game design, wrote the stories and characters, and put together an industry-standard game design document (GDD). I couldn’t code (or do anything technical), so I hired a game development agency.

How did you notice that things started to fall apart?

I worked with the agency for months. They sent me character designs and worked on nailing down the idea. I thought they were superb until they sent me the first draft.

“Crap” is the word I would use to describe it.

The animation was janky. The unique controls I spent months visualizing were not implemented at all. Garbage.

Here’s a quick tip: if you have no clue how to assess the skills for a role, you can’t hire for it.

I cut my losses. Not to mention the year of sweat equity I’d put in. Sunk costs. Moving on.

Level design concept for Ninja Hustle

All my friends knew I was building something cool because I had concept art, tight stories, and the vision was exciting. When I told them I wasn’t pursuing it further, some were disappointed. But indifference was the majority reaction.

No one really cares about people other than themselves.

That’s why I try to support early-stage founders, because it is a very lonely stage where no one roots for you because you’re not “successful” yet.

What lessons did you learn from this situation?

The biggest takeaway was: if you want something done right, you have to learn the hard skills and build it yourself.

Don’t rely on outside help for skills that are core to the value you want to create. Invest in you.

My advice is to read books that are more advanced than what you’re used to and watch courses that are the same (more advanced than what you’re comfortable with).

Develop a habit of consuming high-level experiences fast without the need for comprehension. Because comprehension comes from repetitive exposure and eventually practice. But this is so uninteresting and boring to most people, so in the beginning, you have to force yourself to do it.

Level design concept for Ninja Hustle

And remember, all the dos, don’ts, and wisdom you need already exist. I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. All I needed to do was study my business idols and copy their principles.

How are things going now?

I am living my dream—the journey of learning all the skills to build iconic products and then using them to build them. My consulting career (I helped big companies with their brand strategy) was a good way to spend the learning phase.

I started building my public brand at the end of February this year, and I’ve grown my following to about 700 people. I launched a community called Build in Public 3.0 two weeks ago, and we’re at 300+ members.

And finally, I’m making good progress on an app I started building this year (also at the end of February).

Is there anyone you would like to tell about their failure?

@liltechnomancer and @pmitu.