# Start and found a Company

> Clock in, found a Company with a name and a logo, and reach the Board. Also how to open, continue, and delete Companies.

To start playing, click the **Founder** badge on the title screen, choose **Start a company**, name it, and select **Found**. The Board opens in the Garage, the first [Era](https://wiki.playquorum.dev/eras/garage.md), and the clock runs.

![The title screen: a badge reader with the Founder badge.](https://wiki.playquorum.dev/play/title.png)

*Look at the Founder badge. Clicking it is the only way past this screen.*

## Found a Company

1. Click the **Founder** badge. The reader says **Clocked in** and the **Main menu** opens.
2. Select **Start a company**. The **New company** screen opens. If you already have a Company, the same row reads **New company**, and a **Continue** row sits above it.
3. Type a name in **Company name**. The field holds up to 40 characters. An empty field founds a Company called Untitled company.
4. Pick a logo from the **Logo** tiles. The big logo beside the name changes with each click.
5. Leave **B2B SaaS** selected under **Venture**. Other Ventures show a price in Legacy, and you cannot choose one until you have the Legacy for it.
6. Leave **Mutators** alone. Each one shows a lock until you earn it.
7. Select **Found** followed by your name, at the bottom of the screen. The row stays in view while the list scrolls.

You will see the Board with four Nodes: **Users**, **App Server**, **Analytics**, and **Payments**. The game shows only a few controls at first. [The screen at a glance](https://wiki.playquorum.dev/play/the-screen.md) names every part of it.

On the title screens, `↑` and `↓` move the selection, `Enter` opens the selected row, and `Esc` goes back one page. A **Back** row at the top of each page does the same.

## Other ways to start

The **Main menu** has more rows than **Start a company**:

- **Start in Pre-seed** skips the Garage. The Design already has its own Database Node, so you start with the lessons of the first Era learned.
- **Sandbox** opens a Board that changes nothing in a Company. The guided Sandboxes each teach one mechanic. The free Sandbox has every Component unlocked and no Cash.
- **Challenges** are fixed puzzles scored on cost and tail latency.

New players should use **Start a company**. The Garage is the shortest lesson in the game.

## Open, continue, and delete Companies

The browser keeps every Company as its own Company file, so a second Company never replaces the first.

![The Companies page: one row per Company, newest first.](https://wiki.playquorum.dev/play/companies.png)

*Look at the right edge of each row. The Company you played last says **Current**; the others show the date they were last saved.*

1. On the **Main menu**, select **Companies**. The row shows how many Companies are saved, for example **3 saved**.
2. Select a Company. Its file page shows its Venture, Era, users, and clock.
3. Select **Continue** for the current Company, or **Open company** for any other.

To delete one, open its file page and select **Delete company**. A second step asks you to confirm: **Delete forever** removes the Company and its Design, and **Keep company** cancels. There is no undo for this.

A Company saves itself while you play. Sandboxes and Challenges do not save. For the save rules, read [Clock, undo, and saves](https://wiki.playquorum.dev/play/clock-undo-saves.md).

## Mistakes to avoid

- Do not expect **Continue** on the first start. It appears only when a Company exists.
- Do not found a Company to test a mechanic. Use a Sandbox, which cannot hurt a Company.
- Do not select **Delete forever** unless you mean it. **Delete company** only asks, but **Delete forever** cannot be undone.

Next: [The screen at a glance](https://wiki.playquorum.dev/play/the-screen.md).

Source: https://wiki.playquorum.dev/play/start-a-company