Is it better for Improbable to focus on attracting more enterprise clients or enhancing our offerings for indie game developers?

Introduction

The trade-off we're examining today is whether Improbable should focus on attracting more enterprise clients or enhancing our offerings for indie game developers. This decision is crucial for our product strategy and will significantly impact our market positioning and resource allocation. I'll analyze this trade-off by considering our business context, user impact, technical feasibility, and resource implications.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm thinking our current client mix might be influencing this decision. Could you share the current split between enterprise and indie developers using our platform?

Why it matters: Helps understand our starting point and potential for growth in each segment Expected answer: 70% enterprise, 30% indie Impact on approach: A more balanced split might suggest a dual-focus strategy

• Business Context: Based on our revenue model, I assume enterprise clients contribute significantly more per account. Is this correct, and if so, what's the typical revenue difference between enterprise and indie clients?

Why it matters: Clarifies the financial implications of focusing on either segment Expected answer: Enterprise clients generate 10x more revenue on average Impact on approach: A large revenue gap would lean towards prioritizing enterprise clients

• User Impact: I'm curious about the growth rates in both segments. Are we seeing faster adoption or churn in either the enterprise or indie developer segments?

Why it matters: Indicates where the market momentum is and potential for future growth Expected answer: Indie segment growing faster but with higher churn Impact on approach: Might suggest need for better retention strategies for indie developers

• Technical: Considering our current platform, are there significant differences in the technical requirements or scalability needs between enterprise and indie offerings?

Why it matters: Helps assess the feasibility and resource requirements for enhancing each segment Expected answer: Enterprise requires more customization, indies need better out-of-the-box solutions Impact on approach: Could influence decision based on our current technical capabilities and roadmap

• Resource: How does our current team structure align with supporting enterprise vs. indie developers? Do we have specialized teams for each?

Why it matters: Assesses our operational readiness to focus on either segment Expected answer: Stronger enterprise support team, smaller indie developer relations team Impact on approach: Might require team restructuring or hiring based on chosen focus