Start building the studio of your dreams with FIRM

A simple, free and effective framework for running your indie studio with clarity, focus, accountability, and results

USED BY STUDIOS, INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS LIKE:

What Is FIRM?

FIRM stands for Future, Issues, Rocks, and Meetings. It’s a simple, free and effective framework that helps you manage your indie dev studio with clarity, focus, accountability, and results.

This is a theoretical framework that can be implemented in any studio, and has the most value for studios of up to about 15 people.

It is based on principles and habits, and does not require specialized software. Honestly, you could probably drive this with nothing but a pen and some napkins, if you really wanted to.

You can watch me explain the framework in terms of Pokémon, here:

What Will FIRM Help Me With?

As an indie dev, there is only one measure of success: finishing and selling your game. Everything else is a distraction, and there will be time for it later.

Except, when “later” comes around, it might be “too late”.

Your company is bigger than your current game, and it is worthwhile to spend some time setting up the foundations of your company. That way, you don’t have to deal with a ton of unresolved issues when you do finally ship your game.

That’s what FIRM was designed to do: it will 1) help you work on the foundations of your studio 2) in as little time as possible, 3) setting you up for more success in the future.

Specifically, FIRM will help you achieve three core objectives:

FOCUS

Get clarity ahead of time on the things you will do and won’t do

ALIGNMENT

Make sure that all efforts align towards your chosen goals

ACCOUNTABILITY

Keep each other accountable for the things you commit to

Is FIRM Right For Me?

FIRM was designed specifically to help with the most common management problems faced by starting and small-sized indie devs. If you match any of problems described below, FIRM is the perfect framework to get you started on building a better studio.

1. You understand the importance of working on your studio but don’t know where to start

2. You’ve tried some frameworks or exercises before, but couldn’t make it stick

3. You already have some management elements in place, but are looking for improvement

FIRM Breakdown

FIRM is comprised of four main elements.

Future

Create a compelling vision for your company and communicate it to your team and stakeholders

Issues

Identify, prioritize, and solve the problems and challenges that prevent you from creating your videogame

Rocks

Set quarterly goals and track your progress and performance

Meetings

Run effective and productive meetings that align your team and drive results

What others say about FIRM

Lena Mech

CEO, Cozy Game Studio

“We use the FIRM framework to define clear goals that we measure every new task against. This helps us to focus on the right things and keep all co-founders accountable.”

Hugo Obi

Founder, Maliyo Games

“Working with Martijn and his FIRM framework has been a game-changer for me. Not only did it help me gain clarity on my priorities, but it also provided a roadmap for aligning my team to bring our company vision to life.”

Niki Smit

Co-founder, Monobanda

“The FIRM framework has helped us to set a clear guideline for our studio, and given us the tools to work towards that vision more effectively and with renewed confidence.”

Get started today

Join 100+ teams using the FIRM framework to run their studio