Today's Entrepreneur: Clyde Autin

Today's Entrepreneur is Clyde Autin, founder and CEO of Gamers Grid. 

Clyde Autin, a Parisian by birth and cosmopolitan by way of life, currently lives in San Francisco. In 2016, while studying to get his Bachelor’s in Finance at the California State University of Northridge, Autin founded a networking app for gamers, called Gamers Grid, for iOS and Android. Autin himself is a gamer and a fervent car enthusiast. His YouTube channel on cars Powaup has close to 4K subscribers.

Here is some cool info about Clyde.

I am: An entrepreneur

I've founded: Gamers Grid LLC

I work or worked for: BioMarin, MCG Law Firm

My achievements: my YouTube channel reached over 2 million views and over 4,000 subscribers.

Goals as entrepreneur? I want to change the world.

My favorite startups: Mint, Lyft, Twitch, Instagram

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Most rewarding: Influencing others in a positive way, showing that, regardless of your background, you can become successful (although I don't consider myself successful yet).

Most frustrating: Finding the right people to join you in realizing your vision.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?

Not taking constructive feedback, or not listening to the data.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

(1) You have to be willing to make a lot of sacrifices; (2) don't be afraid to ask for help; and (3) time management is essential.

What are some important qualities to be a leader?

I think that a leader should first and foremost be a great listener; you should be able to take feedback from the people following you and the people that are invested in you, but at the same time, a leader should know when to disregard what others are saying and go with what you know is right. A leader should also have a tough stomach because every decision you make has consequences that will affect a multitude of people. 

What does Gamers Grid mean to you?

Gamers Grid to me is way more than just an app to find gamers. It's a tool to find new friends. For some people, games are a gateway out of life's troubles, a place where you don’t have to be pressured by social rules and you can be someone else; a superhero with incredible strength, a professional athlete, or simply a truck driver.

I decided to put everything I had into this company along with resources from my family because I know that video games have the power to unite people regardless of background or culture. But the way video games are built, the majority of games are inaccessible if you do not have friends to play with.

When I was at TwitchCon, where we launched Gamers Grid, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Boccamazzo, the clinical director for Take This, a charity that seeks to inform the community about mental health issues.

Dr. Boccamazzo saw Gamers Grid as not just another app for gamers, but as a possible outlet for someone dealing with depression or recovering from drug abuse. With its interactive features, Gamers Grid can become a way to find friends and connect socially in a beneficial way.

Gamers Grid is not just an app; it’s a platform to connect the world.

How do you see yourself in 5 years?

Five years from now I see myself working on expanding Gamers Grid to foreign markets, with an emphasis in the APAC region. Gaming is much more accepted as a culture there: when I was in Japan, it was common to see older people in their 70s playing video games on their phones while riding the train.

Who is your biggest supporter in your work?

My biggest supporter in my work is my step-mother, Kathryn Autin. She has taught me a lot about business while growing up, and even before I came up with the idea of Gamers Grid she set me up in the right path to entrepreneurship. When it was time to start Gamers Grid and I needed capital to get going, she did not hesitate to invest in the company.

... & More

Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the internet industry. Skilled in Analytics, Microsoft Word, Sales, Retail, and Databases. Strong entrepreneurship professional with a Bachelor of Science (BS) focused in Marketing and Finance from CSUN.