Most startup hiring mistakes come down to two things: hiring too fast and hiring too narrow. Garry Hill, head of talent at Makers Fund, sees both across a portfolio of 130+ companies. Before Makers Fund, he recruited at SpaceX, Amazon, Blizzard, PlayStation and Reddit.

We start with the hires who looked perfect on paper and still failed, from pedigreed engineers who burned out at Blizzard to SpaceX's weekend interviews, and how those company cultures really compared. Then we get practical about hiring for game studios and startups discussing referral, interview processes, culture, and how to tell what a big-tech candidate is a fit or not for a startup.

Garry also explains why senior talent should consider fractional roles, how talent needs change from seed to Series A to Series C, what good onboarding looks like, and the "truth serum" question he uses when interviewing co-founders.

A vital listen to anyone hiring or getting hired in startups-

chapters:

00:00 Blizzard, SpaceX, Amazon: the hires who looked great and failed
12:05 What a head of talent does at Makers Fund
14:59 Too fast, too narrow: common founder hiring mistakes
19:56 Culture add, not culture fit
24:53 Vetting big-tech hires: what did you actually do?
31:09 Startup life and going fractional
35:03 Seed, Series A, Series C: how talent needs change
44:36 Testing co-founders and the truth serum question
52:26 Gaming founders vs. tech founders
1:00:18 The tell that a co-founder will actually build

Strip out inflation and the games market has barely grown in a decade.This week we dig into Newzoo's latest numbers and what they say about where growth comes from: mature Western markets, existing players and five giant companies taking almost all of it. Then we look at how cheap social games like Big Walk and How to Fish cracked the top 10 PC revenue chart, what Naughty Dog's new Last of Us tease means, and why Chinese developers are rushing GTA-style mobile games out ahead of GTA VI.Topics Covered:• Mark Pincus and the $400M Supercell deal that almost happened• Why 2021 is the wrong benchmark for the market• Real growth after inflation is closer to 2% a year• Growth comes from mature markets and existing players• China's advantage at home and abroad• CPIs keep climbing while mobile installs fall• Five companies drove almost all of 2025's growth• Big publishers retreat to their core franchises• Friendslop games break into the PC top 10• Naughty Dog confirms more Last of Us• Chinese GTA-style games launch ahead of GTA VI• Why nobody can compete with GTA head onCHAPTERS:01:01 Ethan Returns Industry Layoffs01:34 Upcoming Events and Newsletter03:15 Mark Pincus Interview Scoop09:45 Newzoo Outlook Beyond COVID11:37 Growth From Mature Markets15:58 Inflation and Real Growth Math23:28 Mobile Revenue vs Installs CPI Surge27:03 Growth Concentrated in Five Giants29:49 Publishers Retreat to Core Franchises31:04 PC Market Reality Check32:53 Friend Slop Breakouts47:43 Last of Us Future Talk01:00:54 Why GTA Has No Rivals

War Dogs sold 2.2 million copies in four days and nobody saw it coming.

This episode we break down Bulkhead's early access hit. A hardcore milsim with three teams, no matchmaking and a $40 price tag beat Helldivers 2's launch curve on Steam, and its peak concurrents grew every day of launch week. We get into the persistent cash economy that might be the teamwork fix Battlefield never found, why the 1v1v1 format splits the panel, and whether a sub-100 person studio can pull off a live service with extraction and PvE modes on the way.

Topics Covered:

• War Dogs launch numbers and who is playing
• The persistent cash economy and how it kills gear fear
• How cash rewards fix Battlefield's teamwork problem
• The 1v1v1 format debate
• Metal Gear Solid V and the lineage of in-round economies
• The risks of a cross-mode economy with extraction
• Marketplaces and gambling mechanics in shooters
• Bulkhead's go-to-market and the 5,000 player promise
• Where War Dogs ranks on Steam a year from now

CHAPTERS:

00:00 War Dogs Shock Success
01:42 Sales Metrics Breakdown
08:03 Persistent Cash Economy
16:19 Milsim Critiques and Vision
33:46 Economy Lineage Discussion
34:38 Progression Beyond Cosmetics
35:25 CEO Vision And New Modes
36:45 Cross Mode Economy Risks
39:03 Stakes Gambling And Chaos
40:36 Marketplaces In Shooters
45:15 Launch Strategy And Trust
51:20 Marketing Constraints And Nostalgia
52:23 One Year Predictions Debate
01:01:05 Wrap Up And Next Episode

Mark Pincus founded Zynga that was later acquired of $12.7B by TakeTwo and still thinks he misplayed the hand. On this episode he unpacks the playbook behind Life at the Speed of Play: why all new fails, how to run a company as a democratic dictatorship why anyone lecturing you about culture has a team rolling their eyes behind them.Life at the Speed of Play: https://www.lifeatthespeedofplay.com/Key timestamps:1:30 — Why Mark wrote Life at the Speed of Play8:49 — How to test instincts: proven, better, new15:45 — “Know your goal or suffer death by a thousand compromises”20:36 — The “democratic dictatorship” approach to leadership26:59 — Getting people to do the right things when you’re not in the room29:34 — Getting teams to take bold risks and innovate36:14 — Why CEOs should spend time on product39:15 — What Pincus would do differently at Zynga44:04 — Reflecting on the games industry and missed opportunities50:40 — ADHD as a feature for product makers, anchored by a singular vision52:14 — Why most MVPs don’t succeed