Fail Forward: From Startup Failure to YouTube Triumph with Arjan Egges

Beyond Coding

In this episode, Arjan discusses the hard-earned lessons from his failed startup and how they informed his successful pivot to YouTube. Learn about the realities of startup risks, the value of user engagement, and the strategies that helped him grow a digital audience.

Connect with Arjan Egges:

https://www.youtube.com/@ArjanCodes

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjanegges

References:

The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Full episode on YouTube ▶️

https://youtu.be/SpFQYgB1kf4

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OUTLINE
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:33 - Arjan is thinking about starting a podcast
00:02:18 - Teaching game development
00:04:36 - Teaching and researching
00:06:57 - The value of teaching
00:08:35 - Patrick wanted to do Game Development
00:09:56 - Starting a first company
00:13:36 - 90% of startups fail
00:15:23 - Shattering your ego
00:17:06 - Healthy optimism
00:18:41 - Letting go of your ideas
00:19:49 - Why Arjan's first company failed
00:24:14 - Pivoting and still it didn't work
00:26:30 - The value of talking to your users
00:27:44 - The Black Swan and the unpredictable
00:30:09 - Risk vs. reward
00:32:53 - How Arjan started on YouTube
00:37:43 - Going viral on Reddit
00:38:43 - Digital education and YouTube
00:41:00 - Getting fixated on YouTube metrics
00:42:47 - Negative comments on YouTube
00:44:25 - How Arjan expanded his team and content
00:47:47 - Learning to work with an editor
00:50:36 - Content and development cycle
00:54:33 - Automatic feedback collection
00:56:31 - Final thoughts