Be wary of going into business with your friends. Though it sounds like a good idea, working with friends is often a recipe for disaster. “At the very least, partnerships with friends prevent you from being effective,” Nicole said. “You don’t say the things that should be said, or in the way that you should say them. You pull your punches.”

Do your research. “I think it’s important to know what you’re getting into,” Chris said. “You can’t be successful by just jumping into an industry without having some idea of how it works. I didn’t just start publishing games, for example. I started by writing for somebody else. I had to learn about how a game company operates.”