How to create and profit from a winning idea, learning from two entrepreneurs that have crafted hit games. Have you ever thought to yourself that you had an idea what could win? You knew this idea could change the landscape of an industry and all you would need to do is bring the idea to market. On this episode of Man Versus Brand, we talk to Tim Swindle and Scott Brown, the creators of the wildly successful game Paddle Smash about their journey. Scott Brown & Tim Swindle are the creators of PaddleSmash, a new outdoor active game that combines elements of Pickleball and Spikeball.
Scott Brown is the co-founder of Marbles: The Brain Store, a retail concept focused on building better brains through play, which eventually grew to 40 stores, a website, a catalog business and a proprietary product division. While there, he headed the curation of all store products and formed Marbles: Brain Workshop, overseeing the creation of more than 150 proprietary products.
Tim Swindle is an entrepreneur and investor, helping build and exit multiple companies. As an early investor and employee at PointDrive, a Chicago-based sales software company, he led operations before the company was acquired in 2016 by LinkedIn. During this time, Tim created Utter Nonsense, an entertaining card game that was quickly carried by several retailers and ultimately within all 1,800 Target stores. Utter Nonsense was acquired in 2017 by private equity backed, PlayMonster.
We discuss what it took to create the game, their journey as business partners and the landscape of outdoor and board games right now!
It’s an episode worth checking out.
Quote of the Episode: “Tim covered it really well. This is the cliche. The Mike Tyson quote that, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” We are trying to get a legally bound plan in place, so that we are ready when the punches start happening. I think Tim is a bit right in that you don’t have to worry about a contract until it’s bad but I also think you have to (have a plan), when it's going really well. When things are going well, people can get greedy, and it’s nice to just know there is a plan in place to get that sorted through.” Tim and Scott speaking on contracts, partnerships and protecting your business and business relationships.
Topics Covered:
- New Ideas
- Entrepreneurship
- Game Creation
- Discover Your Passion
- Business Partnerships
- Product Development
Guests: Tim Swindle and Scott Brown
website: https://paddlesmash.com/
purchase: https://www.amazon.com/PaddleSmash-Exciting-Outdoor-Tailgate-Backyard/dp/B0BD9D61C4
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paddlesmash/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paddlesmashgame
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timswindle/
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescottbrown/
Top Picks:
Tim’s game recommendation: Otrio - Strategy Based Board Game
https://www.amazon.com/Marbles-Otrio-Strategy-Based-Adults-Families/dp/B08FCQT33W
Scott’s game recommendation:Trivial Pursuit
https://www.amazon.com/Trivial-Pursuit-Master-Trivia-Exclusive/dp/B003EYUTW8
Host: Deeon Brown
website: deeonbrown.com
website: projectbigbrand.com/
linkedin: linkedin.com/in/deeon-brown-6b747b43/
Instagram: instagram.com/bestdeeonever/
Man Versus Brand:
website: manversusbrand.com
instagram: instagram.com/manversusbrand/