Cards Against Humanity Inspires Six-Figure Party Game

Notes from Chris

Episode 339

Tim Swindle was 30 when he joined a college friend’s software startup. While he had high hopes the company would make it, he also understood the risk. A side hustle seemed like a good idea, just in case.

Cards Against Humanity, a card game that Tim loved, had recently become massively popular. In some ways, it reminded him of a game he and a friend had come up with back in their twenties when they would gather with other friends at a lake house outside Chicago. Each person would write the name of an actor or character on one piece of paper and then a funny phrase on a second. They would then take turns pulling a paper from each pile and reading it in the voice of that actor or character. The concept just worked. No one took themselves seriously, especially after a few drinks.

The success of Cards Against Humanity made Tim take another look at that lake house game. He wondered if turning it into an actual product could work as his side hustle. So on New Year’s Day, 2014, in a Chicago bar, Tim and the friend who had created the game with him decided to give it a try.

Tim says they spent the next six months working nights and weekends to launch on Kickstarter in August. They wanted to get their game into the hands of customers by the holidays.

Their hard work paid off, and by August of that year, they launched a Kickstarter campaign for their game, which they titled Utter Nonsense. The campaign raised a bit more than their $15,000 goal. With that money, the partners placed their first order to get the game produced. In the meantime, they were put in contact with a founder of Marbles: the Brain Store, a boutique toy and game shop with about 30 locations across the U.S. known for finding new and innovative games.

Tim and his partner intended to sell directly to customers similar to how Cards Against Humanity is, and they never really considered selling their cards in any kind of retail stores. Naturally, they were surprised when they got a call in January of 2015 from a buyer at Target, who had read an article written about them and wanted to sell Utter Nonsense in their stores—an idea that threw the game’s creators into utter overwhelm.

Target was good about calming their concerns, and the two realized that Cards Against Humanity had actually created a huge opportunity in retail for party games. The deal was made, and Tim reports that Target has been an incredible partner. In fact, since that first game, a family version has been added, along with a holiday pack for the 2017 season.

Not only that, in less than two years, Tim’s side hustle has turned into his main hustle. Utter Nonsense now generates 6 figures in revenue per month and is very profitable. The business is cash flow positive with no debt and no overhead.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Utter Nonsense: Studies show (probably) that it's good to indulge in a little nonsense from time to time—get yours and learn more about Tim's card game on his website!
• Kickstarter | Utter Nonsense: The Kickstarter campaign that started it all
• Marbles: the Brain Store: The boutique toy and game shop known for finding new and innovative games that reached out to Tim and his partner about selling Utter Nonsense in their stores
• Cards Against Humanity: The cult card game that inspired Tim and his partner to start Utter Nonsense

SEE ALSO:

• 9 Tips For Launching A Successful Kickstarter Campaign: Here are some tips if you're looking to test out crowdfunding your side hustle
• “Game Night in a Can” Makes $75,000 for TV Producer: A crowdfunded project to bring LA comedy to households across the country becomes a big success
• Epic Scavenger Hunt Becomes 6-Figure Income: An event planner creates a competitive scavenger hunt game that takes place across Boston. Can you really make money while having so much fun?

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,