Speaker
Abstract
Solopreneur & Sustainable Business don't often go together, but that's what can happen when you create something "Good Enough" and hang around "Long Enough". Joe, a true Unicorn in the volatile games business, has survived for 16+ years by creating 19 games in his Clutter Franchise. He'll share the many lessons he's learned and just might leave you wondering: Could I do this too?
Interview
There is no better time than now to consider going solo and trying to build a sustainable business centered around your Software Engineering skills. Why work for someone else and just get a small slice of the profits when you can become a solopreneur and reap all the benefits.
I will share my story in depth of how I have built a sustainable business in the ever-volatile Game Development sector. My Clutter Franchise has generated over $6.5 Million in sales in 15+ years (about $2.5 net to me). Although it took a little while to work up to it, my Clutter games now bring in over $200K/year (most of that is “soft income”) and I don’t answer to anyone else. My experience is applicable to anyone thinking about building their own sustainable business (not just in Game Dev). Hopefully, by the end of my talk, you’ll be asking yourselves: “Can I do this too?”
The whole tech sector is extremely volatile, especially with all the speculation going on about AI. Just about anyone in Tech, can find themselves “laid off” (or my favorite excuse “reduction in force”). Being a successful solopreneur that’s built my own sustainable business (keyword sustainable --> I actually know how much I’ll make in the next few years (at the minimum)) has made me immune to recent upheavals. Maybe it’s time you consider a similar path.
It’s all risk vs. reward. How do you mitigate all the potential risks while still upping the possibility for substantial rewards? I am pretty risk adverse, but it was still worth it for me to take the chance, run the experiments and see if I could build something substantial.
“Everything You Do Is In Preparation For A Future Path That You Can’t Predict” – That is one of my core beliefs, and I hope to convince you of how important that point of view is. If you can really grok the importance of that, then I’m hoping to also convince you of the importance of “The Lottery Tickets of Time”. That should give you plenty to think about and maybe even motivate you to make some changes in your own life.
QCon is new for me, but I think I’ll hear talks that I just won’t be exposed to elsewhere. I was a Senior Software Engineer specializing in Tools & Reliability before shifting my career into Game Development, so I’m looking forward to meeting other members of my older “tribe” (outside of current tribe Gamedevs).
Topics
QCon San Francisco 2025 is a three day conference for senior software engineers, architects and team leads. An international program committee of working engineers selects every session. Patterns and practices, not products and pitches.
From the same track
Tuesday 18 November
10:35 Ballroom A Session Engineering Leadership Lead Without a Ladder: How I Climbed Into Engineering Leadership Pauline Jepp Head of Engineering @TicketSwap Climbing into senior engineering leadership isn’t always a matter of following fixed rungs—it can be more like scaling a rugged, ever-shifting mountain. You know there might be a path somewhere on the south face but for some reason the North face has more appeal. 11:45 Pacific DEKJ Session Panel: The Path to Senior Engineering Leadership Pauline Jepp, Brad Grantham, Kasia Trapszo, Joe Cassavaugh This panel discussion provides aspiring and current engineering leaders with a clear roadmap for advancing into Senior Engineering Leadership roles. 13:35 Ballroom A Session Solopreneur A Solopreneur's Journey: From Engineer to Puzzle Master and Storyteller Joe Cassavaugh Creator of Clutter, Game Developer/Solopreneur - Previously @iWin, @WorldPlay Solopreneur & Sustainable Business don't often go together, but that's what can happen when you create something "Good Enough" and hang around "Long Enough". Joe, a true Unicorn in the volatile games business, has survived for 16+ years by creating 19 games in his Clutter Franchise. 14:45 Ballroom BC Session Staff Plus Engineering Beyond Coding: How Senior ICs Grow Influence and Drive Impact Kasia Trapszo Principal Engineer @Netflix, Leading Architecture for the Commerce Platform Many engineers reach a point where technical excellence alone isn’t enough to drive meaningful impact or advance their careers. Senior individual contributors must learn to influence without authority, build trust across teams, and navigate challenges like imposter syndrome to truly lead. 15:55 Ballroom A Session Technical Leadership Turning Outward: Growing From Code to Influence Brad Grantham Software Architect and Team Lead @LunarG - Responsible for Cross-Platform, GPU-Independent Graphics API Capture and Replay Technologies As individual contributors we sharpen our technical chops striving to improve our code and craft. But you may become aware you can do more, and could help others and the team. The path to make that shift isn’t always clear. 17:05 Seacliff D Unconference Unconference: The Path to Senior Engineering Leadership