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Jordan Stevens

Product @ mudstack

Jordan Stevens is the Founder and Head of Product at Mudstack, a platform designed to enhance asset management and version control for digital artists and game developers. With a background in engineering and a passion for graphics, Stevens combines technical expertise with creative vision to address common challenges faced by artists in the gaming industry.

Professional Background

  • Role at Mudstack: As Head of Product, Stevens focuses on developing solutions that streamline the artistic workflow, allowing teams to manage assets more effectively. He has been instrumental in launching Mudstack's version 1, which integrates local workflows with cloud storage, facilitating easier collaboration among artists.23
  • Previous Experience: Before founding Mudstack, Stevens held various roles in technology and design, contributing to his comprehensive understanding of both the technical and artistic aspects of game development.4

Personal Insights

Stevens describes himself as a "writer, engineer, graphics enthusiast, and hacker of all things," emphasizing a philosophy of servant leadership. He expresses a whimsical side, noting his unusual taste in music and his playful desire to embrace a Viking persona.13

Recent Developments

In recent news, Mudstack secured $4 million in financing and appointed James Gwertzman as the new CEO, allowing Stevens to concentrate on product development while remaining a key figure in the company's strategic direction.67

For more details about his professional journey, you can view his LinkedIn profile under the username jordanstevenstechnicalartist.5

Highlights

Feb 18 · linkedin

Well, it's that time of year again: the time when everyone posts the same messages about attending GDC and looking to connect with other professionals.

For the life of me, I couldn't come up with a unique approach to doing the exact same thing. I even asked ChatGPT. Thank the gods for artificial intelligence. With our power combined, perhaps we can write a half decent post about going to GDC?

The jury is still out on that one. Sorry folks.

In all seriousness, I am genuinely excited to be attending GDC this year. I promise not to bore you with the same old "Let's grab a coffee" pitch that everyone else (me included) has used in the past.

Instead, let me just say that I'll be around and I'd love to connect with anyone else who is also passionate about startup studios, asset management, version control, technical art, collaboration, etc, etc...

It's a big list. I am into alot.

If you want to catch up, talk shop, paint the town an off-red color, then shoot me a message and let's make it happen.

#gdc #gdc2023 #gamedev #indiedev

Jan 20 · linkedin

All these massive orgs doing crazy layoffs in gaming makes me really wish the venture community deployed all of that so called "dry powder" into the gaming space more readily. Especially on the picks and shovels side, which is pretty much barren in terms of funding unless you go hard web3 / ai.

So much talent is flooding the market right now, and startups with available resources to snatch up this talent are going to win in a big, big way.

Especially layoffs from orgs like Unity Technologies. I saw some folks that were impacted make their posts today, and I can't help but shake my head. These are product and engineering professionals that have years and years of demonstrated expertise at shipping groundbreaking solutions for studios around the world.

If I were Unity, I would be concerned with the cost of losing this talent rather than the cost of keeping it on. This is even more mind boggling given the current trends in the market.

If I were a VC in the gaming space, instead of just a simple founder, I would consider the impact that the high availability of talent can have on potential investments. Founding team is a big deal, obviously, but availability of high quality talent and ability to attract and hire that talent can make or break a startup.

My VC friends: it is time to get to work. Move faster and take advantage of this environment. Startups can't be the only people moving fast and breaking things. This is a monumental market opportunity to invest during a downturn and solidify the next generation of solutions for the industry. This is the time to dig deep and truly support the entire community, not just the ai/web3 segment. Embrace the wild visions. Lean into dreams and moonshots. Revenue milestones are obviously important, but the big motion in this downturn will be the ability to deliver a product and innovate for the next generation. Funds that act smart will acquire opportunities at big discounts and play a big part in the future of gaming technology. Good luck.

Gaming startups seeded today will have access to one of the most hyper qualified job pools in the history of the industry.

For those impacted by the layoffs, if you've got an interest in being part of the next generation of tools for artists in the game development space, shoot me a message. I'm not rolling in dry powder, but I might be able to make it rain a tiny bit for the right people.

Related Questions

What inspired Jordan Stevens to start mudstack?
How does mudstack's version control system work?
What are the main benefits of mudstack for game developers?
How did Jordan Stevens transition from engineering to founding mudstack?
What unique features does mudstack offer compared to other asset management platforms?
Jordan Stevens
Jordan Stevens, photo 1
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Location

Atlanta, Georgia, United States