The Best Startup Simulations Today

Every beginner entrepreneur knows this conflict: should I give up my current job to give it all for my startup? Is my idea good enough to take off? How will I know how to succeed where my predecessors have failed?

There’s no definitive answer, and no way to positively know whether your business will take off. But there IS a way to test it, to some extent.

Today, we already know that a successful business doesn’t only lay on the foundations of a good idea but on time management, people management, marketing, investor relations, sales operations, and more. To put your business management skills to the test, before you enter the “real world,” some companies invented startup simulations for us to test.

These simulations put you in the shoes a company’s CEO, in the first days of your startup launch. Now, it’s up to you whether your business will sink or thrive. During these simulations, you will face some conflicts and challenges you’ll need to solve. For instance, what will you do when your product manager tells you that an ex-employee is using the company’s client list to promote their new product?

True, these simulations are in no way an actual indication of how your actual startup will do, but it’s a nice way to figure out your strengths and weaknesses before your actual company launch.

So, without further ado, here’s a shortlist of the top startup simulations out there today:

Unicorn Startup Simulation

This is a free simulation by Toggl, a time-management tool. Usage is free and the simulation launches quickly and works smoothly on your browser. It mostly faces you with dilemmas and questions coming from all company departments and asks you to decide which is the best option to handle them.

Vitronomics

This startup game is brought to us by Vitronomics, an online business games company. This simulation is not free and requires a monthly fee, but it’s also more complex in what it has to offer. It has 3 payment routes, from $8.25 a month for startups at the growth stage, to $13 for startups that have already started building their business to $19 for novice entrepreneurs at the idea stage.

The Founder, by Francis Tseng

This free-to-use simulation puts you in the shoes of a beginner entrepreneur, with a few employees and a dream to disrupt the industry. You’ll need to carefully expend, with the hopes of winning the best future outcome possible. You start in the year of 2001. You’ll need to choose a name for your company, as well as a city in which to launch. Then, you can start building your products, develop, market it well, and hope not to fail (yes, it takes quite a few tries to succeed…)

Game Dev Story

This is more of a fun mobile app, that puts you in charge of a game development company in the ’80s. You start small, but with big dreams. Besides developing your game, you’ll also need to take care of advertising, conventions, licensing, office space, hiring, and training of employees and more.