Hey, Chrissy! Thanks for coming to our events every year and congrats on your recent successes! You always seem to be in the center of the fun crowd. So, who in the toy and game industry do you have the most dirt on?

I thought you would never ask.  Just kidding, but I am sure I now have every reader at the edge of their seat!

You both license and self-publish games, what makes you crazy enough to do both? 

Landing a licensing deal with zero game design experience, on your first and only concept that had never been to market, is like striking gold in this industry.  Yet, that is exactly what happened with my first game, Friend or Faux, originally pitched at CHITAG back in 2017.  We left armed with feedback, knowledge, and a plan to do a Kickstarter.  Less than a year later, we had our final design, a successful Kickstarter, and a couple of interested companies, ultimately landing with Goliath.  I was bit by the inventor bug.  I created more games to pitch and quickly realized the odds of getting a game licensed are slim. My ego got the best of me and said, “time to do this ourselves!”  So, there I was now with just a smidgen of industry knowledge thinking, how hard can this be?  The answer?  Hard, very hard. 

Even though you self-publish, you still pitch ideas for licensing?

My brain is always working on new ideas and at this stage in my business, there is not enough time or money to do them all on my own.  So, I pitch my ideas to other companies, in hopes they will bring them to life for me.    

Do you enjoy pitching? Do you prefer in person or virtual? 

After failing miserably pitching to a major retailer for the first time, I knew exactly why, I wasn’t true to myself.  This might sound strange, but I was trying too hard to look and sound professional.  I had to throw that experience away and learn to just be myself.  The more I pitched, the better I got, and found using humor helps me set a tone as well as set me at ease.  I have grown to really enjoy pitching.  It is a bit of a game in itself, sometimes you win, often you don’t.  Thankfully, I am not a sore loser!  In person pitching vs. virtual pitching is like reading the book vs watching the movie.  In person is always better!

What do you feel has been your greatest “win” so far working in games and toys?

From a licensing perspective, it is the deal I landed with Mattel following last year’s POP pitch event.  If you would have told me they were going to be the partners in my game ‘Girls in Bar Bathrooms’ now selling in Walmart, I would not have believed you.  Turns out, when in doubt, pitch!  You never truly know what a company needs and assuming you do could cost you a great opportunity!  I was lucky to have a friend and fellow inventor, Jillian Lakritz, encourage me to pitch this out of the box concept to the company I expected to have the least interest.  I owe her a lot of credit! 

From a self-publishing perspective, I have landed all three of my self-published games in stores like Barnes and Noble, Toys r’ Us, and Books a Million. In the chaos of owning and running a small business, I have to remind myself of these wins.  Hard work really does pay off!

What do you like best about working in the game and toy industry?

Everyone thinks my job is cool, ha!  I have also met other creative, interesting people along the way, that have become friends, support systems, and idea partners.  There is no lack of talent in the game and toy biz!

Any advice for those getting started?

I still consider myself somewhat new, but if I think about what has gotten me to this point, I would say to take the leap and put yourself out there!  No good idea gets noticed sitting in a closet, in a notepad, or as a thought in your head.  If you really want to be in this industry, immerse yourself in it and learn what you can, It will only make you and your ideas better.  As the old saying goes, luck is when preparation meets opportunity!