CLOSED

Indie game studio opened · CLOSED after 2 yr 9 mo

Dương Thị Hương, 34 · 2 yr 9 mo

“Indie game studio speedrun. Didn’t know until I tried. Now I know.”

I closed after 2 years and 9 months. No debt remained, just 377 customers.

On the last day, you posted the shutdown notice and turned off the servers. Cash -₫267,876, debt ₫0, 0 employees, 377 customers. You settled the last bills and closed the laptop. The business failed, but that time did not disappear.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openDương Thị Hương, 32. You have decided to try starting a company in Other provinces (Can Tho, Mekong Delta, etc.). No idea, no product yet. Savings ₫269,544,132, employed (₫27,022,308 a month).
2. Debt from day onePersonal debt: ₫2,580,019 a month for 59 months. It comes out regardless of the company.
3. 6/2026: what now?Start a business: «Indie game studio» — You are going with «Indie game studio». Still no company, no product. Now find out whether the idea is real.
4. 2026 · year 1 beginsChinese Demand Cooled
5. 6/28 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
6. 7/2026: what now?Interview 20 people — 9 of 20 said they would pay. 7 only said it would be "nice to have".
7. 8/2026: what now?Decide to build it — You decided to build. Validation ends here.
8. 8/27 · Down sickYou came down with something. You took medicine and pushed through, but could not concentrate.
9. 9/2026: what now?Build it yourself — You settled on how to build it.
10. 9/21 · A competitor movedA company solving the same problem announced a funding round. Nobody in the comments mentioned you.
11. 9/28 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
12. 10/2026: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
13. 11/2026: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
14. 12/2026: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
15. 12/7 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
16. 1/2027: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
17. 1/23 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.32%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
18. 2/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
19. 3/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
20. 3/28 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
21. 4/2027: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
22. 5/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
23. 5/15 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
24. 6/2027: what now?Quit your job — You quit. The next morning, not having to go to work felt strange.
25. Chinese Demand CooledA prolonged slump in Chinese domestic demand and real estate lowered Asia's export outlook. Clients who bought raw materials cut orders, and domestic consumption turned cautious as well.
26. Year 1 closeRevenue ₫0, loss ₫21,183,317. Your salary put in ₫53,202,716; cash ₫299,020,369.
27. 2027 · year 2 beginsThe Currency Calmed Down
28. 6/20 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
29. 7/2027: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
30. 7/3 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
31. 8/2027: what now?Launch — You pressed launch. 53 sign-ups on day one. You refreshed ten times.
32. 8/21 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
33. Give a project bottleneck an ownerDefer for free — You spent nothing and will reconsider at another opportunity.
34. 9/9 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
35. 9/12 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
36. 10/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 31 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
37. 10/27 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
38. 11/2027: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 41 new customers this month. While the number climbs, it looks like a company.
39. 11/7 · Patent warning letterA legal demand letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
40. Time to hire?Not this time — You never posted the job ad.
41. 1/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 54 new customers this month. A post drew questions, and the questions turned into sign-ups.
42. 2/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 46 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
43. 2/10 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
44. 2/24 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
45. A specialist could unblock the productDefer for free — You spent nothing and will reconsider at another opportunity.
46. 3/20 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
47. 4/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 53 new customers this month. While the number climbs, it looks like a company.
48. 4/18 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
49. 5/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 24 new customers this month. A post drew questions, and the questions turned into sign-ups.
50. 5/21 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
51. Time to hire?Not this time — You never posted the job ad.
52. The Currency Calmed DownThe dollar's strength eased and the VND/USD rate came down. Imported material costs fell a little, and anyone paying overseas suppliers could breathe again.
53. Year 2 closeRevenue ₫64,504,952, loss ₫11,003,889. Cash ₫95,818,613.
54. 2028 · year 3 beginsA Quiet Year
55. 6/17 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,764. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
56. AI redrew the marketAI tools changed the industry’s cost and speed. Companies that adopted them move cheap and fast; the rest pay twice for the same customer.
57. Đỗ Thanh Tùng asks you to co-signRefuse — “Sorry.” The calls thinned out after that.
58. 7/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 26 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
59. Financing declinedThe Unsecured consumer loan application was declined.
60. 8/2028: what now?Apply: Unsecured consumer loan — You waited for the Unsecured consumer loan decision. But underwriting declined it. Credit and cash flow need another look.
61. 8/6 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
62. Financing declinedThe Bank working-capital loan application was declined.
63. You are short of moneyBank credit line — You walked into the bank with documents and proof of income. They said your trading history is short. Now you wait for underwriting. But underwriting declined it. Credit and cash flow need another look.
64. 9/19 · Server bill spikeA test server you forgot to switch off had been running all month.
65. 9/29 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
66. 10/2028: what now?Incorporate — The company is registered. Your business card now says CEO.
67. 10/11 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
68. 10/26 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
69. 11/2028: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 51 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
70. 11/18 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
71. Time to hire?Not this time — You never posted the job ad.
72. 12/24 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
73. 12/28 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,764. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
74. 1/2029: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 32 new customers this month. While the number climbs, it looks like a company.
75. 1/23 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
76. 1/26 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
77. 2/2029: what now?Take a job and run it on the side — You rewrote your CV. The interviewer found the startup story interesting.
78. 2/4 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.

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