PROMPT
A few years ago, I began helping a start-up company get off the ground; the company was essentially a youth esports league that trained them in the games and business side of the sport. When I began with Game Crossing, I implemented a database, graphics, and the business’s administrative process. The founder wanted to include three of us: his neighbor, my fiancé, and myself in his business to discuss membership shares in the limited liability company. During the shares meeting, I learned he would combine my percent with my fiancé’s to equal the individual amounts allocated to himself and his neighbor. This action caused an argument; I was the only female and felt like the work I was putting in was not being seen or appreciated and that I was not seen as my own person. We did not conclude the meeting that night but instead paused and set a date later in the week to regroup our thoughts and examine the situation. After cooling down, I studied the problem and asked myself a series of questions, including looking at the conflict through the owner’s eyes. This was his company; he was bringing extra people in, and letting go of control of his “baby” was not easy. Knowing what I know now about businesses, even writing our names into ownership is a big deal because one member leaving a non-public company can dissolve it. During the examination process, my fiancé and I reached out to the owner to express our concerns and gauge his reasoning for combining our percentage. After going back and forth, we discussed our problems; he felt I did not care at the same level due to my availability, and I could not drive to every tournament due to a retail schedule. I was worried that the work I had done was unused or unacknowledged. But ultimately, we came up with a way to split the membership fairly, considering the owner’s past investments in the company. Our agreement was that the owner would retain his share, and the other three of us would get a smaller percentage with the option to buy in up to twenty-five percent. I was much happier with this deal and believe overall it was fair to the owner as well; he retained the investment he put in and kept all members on an equal footing.
However, this situation brought up uneasiness about what future disagreements could do. I had to sit back, answer crucial questions, and evaluate what was best for myself and my family moving forward. The most important question is why am I helping at Game Crossing; what was my goal and what was I trying to gain? And my answer was that it was a way to spend time with my son and fiancé; It was a family project and was not really something I was passionate about as a career. During my internal questioning and questioning with my partner, I discovered that our friendship with the founder was more beneficial and the esports industry was not for me. After these realizations, I talked to Victor and currently help Game Crossing in a consultant capacity, and even helped them rebrand.
INSTRUCTIONS
Consider the situation and write a 250-word response: How do you see critical thinking employed in the situation? Were there other strategies that might have been employed to come to the resolution? Be constructive with your criticism; remember you are speaking to a peer.
