What comes to mind when you hear the word startup?

Millennials playing ping-pong? Busy types running around, quoting Elon Musk, and drinking soylent? If it all seems confusing to you, it might be that you’re just not quite hip enough.

This comic was created by Elizabeth Pich, half of the talent behind War and Peas, for the Toggl Team.

Ever wonder why startup offices are synonymous with ping-pong tables? It all started in the 1990s. Ping-pong wasn’t perceived the same way as it is today: as a quick way to blow off steam or a ‘culture’ builder.

Instead, it was a brain exercise in which people of all ages could participate. These claims are backed by neuroscience research, which has found that ping-pong enhances motor functions, long-term memory, and strategy functions.

So, maybe a ping-pong break is a worthwhile use of your time after all!

Cool! Have you done any more startup comics?

Well if you work for a startup, there’s a good chance we’ve explained your job with a lightbulb.

We didn’t stop there. We’ve also theorized what a startup may be like if it were a zoo. We think it’s pretty accurate, at least in our experience.

If you work at a startup, you’ll probably appreciate our illustrated guide to the Seven Circles of Development Hell. We also did a comic about what the world would be like if it were created by a developer (it’s not pretty).

You might also enjoy The Unicorn Startup Simulator. It’s a highly realistic, deeply immoral game about life in the gritty startup scene of Silicon Valley.

We built the entire game during a weeklong team retreat in the Scottish lowlands (highlands were not good, terrible wifi).

If you like our comics, we put out new ones every Thursday. So follow our blog, Facebook, or Instagram for new comic goodness.

If you have any cool ideas that we could put into a comic, do let us know in the comments below and we promise to add you as an easter egg when it comes out.

Until then – keep on trackin’!

Emma Murray

Emma Murray makes content and content and even more content. She believes everyone has a few good words in them. She also does photojournalism here: https://www.emmakathleenmurray.com/