logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
49m 22s

Ep137 - Elan Lee | Exploding Kittens & T...

TALKS AT GOOGLE
About this episode

Game designer Elan Lee visited Google in 2019 to talk about the work that went into the record-setting Exploding Kittens Kickstarter. Exploding Kittens is an irreverent, highly-strategic card-game version of Russian roulette, and is the most funded game in the history of Kickstarter.

In this Talk, Elan discusses how his groundbreaking work on Alternate Reality games such as The Beast and Ilovebees made him aware of the power of positive online communities. In addition, he describes how his analysis of previous Kickstarter campaigns showed him the connection between daily community engagement and acquiring new backers.

Originally published in July 2019.

Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

 

Up next
Aug 4
F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff | Driven
Susie Wolff, F1 Academy's Managing Director, former professional racing driver and one of the most respected women in motorsport, joins us to discusses her book "Driven," an inside look at the competitive world of Formula One and her trailblazing 20-year career. After cutting her ... Show More
44m 20s
Jun 16
How to Disagree Better | Julia Minson
Julia Minson is a behavioral scientist and a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research dives deep into conflict, communication, and how we make decisions. She specializes in the psychology of disagreement: how we handle opinions and judgments that look different from ... Show More
33m 14s
Apr 2026
Map Men | Jay Foreman & Mark Cooper-Jones
Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones, better known as Map Men, are comedians, cartography enthusiasts, YouTube sensations, and educators. With over 100 million views across platforms, they have single-handedly cornered the "pop-geography" market, becoming the saviors of every geogra ... Show More
28m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2025
The Board Game Billionaire: From a $10k Kickstarter to $100M/Year Business
Want your own $100M side project? Get our guide to win your first 100 customers: https://clickhubspot.com/wfp Episode 699: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to Elan Lee ( https://x.com/elanlee ) about growing Exploding Kittens ... Show More
1h 16m
Mar 2023
Get to the fun part: Game creators Matthew Inman and Elan Lee on Exploding Kittens
To make something irresistible, get to the fun part — fast. That’s how Exploding Kittens became one of the world’s most popular games. When cartoonist Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal) and game developer Elan Lee (former Xbox) designed the card game Exploding Kittens, they took fun ver ... Show More
35m 17s
Dec 2021
#267 Crowdfunding on Kickstarter with Anya Combs
<p>Anya, Director of Games for Kickstarter, joins Dirk and David to talk about how the crowdfunding platform works with creatives in the games industry. The three discuss why games, and especially tabletop games, have thrived on the platform and how to make sure a Kickstarter cam ... Show More
53 m
Mar 2024
How do you make an addictive video game?
This episode will change how you look at games. We talk to Ben Brode, the designer behind Hearthstone and Marvel Snap, about how a creative person learns to make the things they love, and about the secret ideas hiding in games as simple as rock-papers-scissors.If you'd like to su ... Show More
50m 13s
Apr 2023
#276 – SaaS Trends, Crowdfunding a Book, and Life After Success with Rob Walling of TinySeed
Rob Walling (@robwalling) talks his new playbook on SaaS, why he launched on Kickstarter, the latest startup trends, how to have a winning mindset, and whether we should build a Kickstarter for Indie Hackers with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen). 
1h 2m
Jun 2013
Start-ups
Entrepreneurs discuss how much money you need to start a business - and where to get it from - with Evan Davis.Why do some start-ups require millions and others just a few hundred pounds? And what are the benefits and pitfalls of finding investors on the web? It's called crowd-fu ... Show More
28 m
Sep 2024
Kickstarter Confidential: Insider Tips from the CEO - Live at CoCreate
<div>In this episode of the B2B Breakthrough podcast, host Sharon Gai sits down with Everette Taylor, CEO of Kickstarter and a visionary entrepreneur. Everette’s journey from launching his first business to steering Kickstarter—a leading platform for creators and inventors—offers ... Show More
27m 47s
Dec 2020
#140 - How Much Do VCs Make?, A Booming Startup Replacing Fridges, and A Board Game Making $5m A Month
Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) and Sam Parr (@TheSamParr) discuss: - 06:05 A booming grocery delivery startup, Fridge No More - 12:00 The "Ukranian Tik-Tok", Coub - 13:01 The $4b startup you haven't heard of: GoPuff - 21:09 A board game doing $5m a month: Hunt A Killer - 23:20 The booming ... Show More
59 m
Nov 2024
#329 Small Games with Ellie Dix
<p dir="ltr">This episode, Dirk and David are joined by Ellie Dix, owner of The Dark Imp and author of The Board Game Family. They discuss Ellie's career and path into game design, as well as the intricacies of how she manages to design so many games. Topics include managing smal ... Show More
52m 48s