Founder's Voyage
165 - The Mistakes that Killed my First Business - Spencer Walker-Fooks
Published: 6 April 2026 at 12:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Our own Co-Founder Spencer Walker-Fooks talks about his first business, Unseen Games, the motivations behind it, and the mistakes that eventually killed it. This episode is a little different, it comes from one of our live events in London.
Over four years, Spencer navigated the challenges of creating a social gaming console for pubs and cafes, ultimately drawing transformative lessons from both the highs and lows of startup life.
š” What Youāll Learn from Spencer's Journey with Unseen Games:
šøIn a Double-sided Market Validate the Economic Buyer: Ensure your product or service addresses the needs of the actual decision-maker who controls the purchase, not just the end user.
šøBuild a Diverse Team: Avoid skillset redundancy; prioritize bringing in teammates whose strengths and perspectives differ from your own, especially outside of your expertise.
šø Pivot Fast and Reduce Dependency: Stay nimble and ready to adapt your business model when circumstances change, and avoid relying too heavily on a single industry or channel, if a black swan event hits that industry, it could kill your business.
šø Donāt Succumb to the Sunk Cost Fallacy: Recognize when to let go of a project, regardless of the time and energy invested, to make room for new opportunities and growth.
You can connect with Spencer on ā LinkedInā to follow his journey.
š„ Big thanks to VidOps for supporting Founders Voyage. Use code voyage at ā vidops.ioā for 10% off expert audio, video, animation, and photography services.
š Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier ChacĆ³n SĆ”nchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life.
š„ Want to support the journey? Join us on ā Patreonā and help amplify more voices like Spencer.
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