I just began playing a startup game with Joel Miller. We each will take $100 and try to double it. Whoever doubles their money first wins. The winner takes 1/2 of whatever profit the loser has made over the initial $100 investment. The game started last Friday and it will end on Aug 23. If there is no winner by Aug 23, there is no winner.

This game has 3 main purposes:

1. Fun. This game is meant to be a fun challenge that unleashes creativity. The competition will be fun and the reward is high.
2. Learning. There are many opportunities to make money in the world but it’s easier not to look for them. By turning it into a game, it’s easier to put some focused energy into this.
3. Beating Joel. Somebody has to do it.

In order for this to work as a game, we need a few rules.

Rules

1. You cannot sell things you already own

If I could just sell a laptop and say, “look I doubled my money” that would not be a good game. Likewise, your regular, established work income does not count.

2. You can take tools and supplies you already own to make something new

While I can’t just sell a raspberry pi that I have sitting around, I can add a webcam, add some software, put it in a box and sell it as a video baby monitor. It has a new purpose so it is a new thing.

Likewise, if you have extra screws from a DIY 3D-printer build (Joel), you can use them to build another 3D printer to sell (while you can’t sell your existing 3D printer).

3. You can’t count a return based on more than your $100 investment.

If you want to spend $150 on parts for something and then you sell it for an extra $100, only the percentage of the return that matches the $100 limit counts. In this case $150 in to $250 out, you could only count $75 towards the game.

Likewise, if you invest $1,000 and make $100 by August, only $10 of that would count towards the game.

So that’s the game. I’ll keep you posted with strategies and updates as the game progresses. How would you play this game?