Checkmate: How we built a new product in just 6 weeks

Magnus Carlsen's endorsement of the Fantasy Chess project, a new game where players bet on chess pieces and their movements, catalyzed a rapid and innovative development process at Iterate. Inspired by 3M's self-organizing, flexible work environment that led to the creation of the Post-it note, Iterate allowed employees to self-select into teams and work on projects during their spare time. This approach fostered a culture of initiative, responsibility, and smart collaboration, enabling a cross-functional team to develop a beta version of Fantasy Chess in just six weeks. The team's success was bolstered by a shared goal, morning sync meetings, and a collaborative spirit, all while leveraging expertise from prior software projects and inspiration from Magnus Carlsen and the Norway Chess tournament. This method of trusting employees to self-organize and innovate proved effective in adapting to the fast-paced changes of the modern world, positioning experimentation and learning as core to successful product development and innovation.