The Japanese Chess and Startup analogy
Shogi, the Japanese chess, is a complex and strategic game that requires players to think several moves ahead in order to outsmart their opponents. Similarly, the startup world is also a complex and strategic arena where entrepreneurs must think several steps ahead in order to outsmart their competitors and succeed.
It’s fair to say that I always been interested by strategy games, maybe it’s the reason why I enjoy so much my job as the CEO of Hippoc. Even when I find myself in very difficult situations, just like in strategy game such as Chess, Go and Shogi, there is always a way to win until you stop trying to find ways and make the final mistake.
Last December, I started to play Shogi, the game of General, the Japanese variant of chess. The modern Shogi is ranging between Chess and Go in term of number of possible moves, and therefore in term of difficulty. But the size of the Shogi board and the number of pieces varied greatly during the game’s history. “Sho” means “general” and “Gi” means “board”, and war generals used to play the game to test and improve their war strategies.
This gave me an Idea, apply what I learn playing Shogi to my actual reality, the Start up world. I though this would make my skills useful to my everyday life and at the same time, it’s a good opportunity to share this beautiful game with many other people.
The reason Shogi & Startup is a good analogy
Like in all chess variants, every piece on the startup board plays an important role, but the game parameters are even more complex than in chess in general. Still, there is multiple analogy that we can make between this ancient game and the startup world.
Just as in Shogi, where players must constantly adapt to the changing board and their opponent’s moves, startups must also constantly adapt to the ever-changing market and industry trends. Entrepreneurs must be able to anticipate and respond to shifts in consumer behavior and industry developments in order to stay ahead of the competition.
In Shogi, players must also make strategic decisions about which pieces to use and when to use them. Similarly, startups must make strategic decisions about which products or services to offer, and when to bring them to market.
One key aspect of Shogi is the ability to capture and promote pieces. In the startup world, this can be likened to acquiring and integrating new technologies or partnerships to enhance the company’s offering and capabilities.
Just as in Shogi, where the ultimate goal is to capture the opponent’s king, the ultimate goal of a startup is to become the leader in their industry, and ultimately to be the company that comes out on top.
Another important aspect in shogi is the ability to anticipate the opponent’s moves, in the startup world this is equivalent to understanding the market and competitors, this will allow to take the right decisions and anticipate the competitors moves.
In conclusion, the startup world and Shogi share many similarities in terms of strategy, adaptation, and decision-making. Both require a combination of foresight, flexibility, and the ability to stay one step ahead of the competition in order to achieve success.
