Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Aiello.
Hi Lindsey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been a lover of games. I grew up playing cards with my grandma and board games with my family. But I never knew I would be creating one myself. However, I did always have a feeling deep down that I would have the opportunity to work on something bigger than myself. I didn’t know what kind of entrepreneurship adventure it would be, but I just knew something was around the corner.
The story really begins in November 2021. I was working at ClickUp, a tech start-up in San Diego, and had been there for a year. It was Thanksgiving, and my mom always hosts. Our whole family was in town, and we were looking for a game that everyone could play, one that was easy AND fun. We were sitting around the table, and then it hit me. “Let’s play Preferences!” My family had never heard of the game, as I had just learned it a few months prior. Preferences was introduced to me by a friend as a homemade game created by ripping up pieces of paper and making the game ourselves. So, I introduced it to my family; they were on board; we got the paper, made the cards, and had the best time. Everyone looovvveedd it. We laughed, we debated, and we felt like we learned new things about each other that we would have otherwise never known.
That night, I went to bed with my mind racing. I needed to make this into a game. I woke up the next morning and told my family – everyone thought it was a great idea. I originally thought it was going to be an app, but after sitting with the idea for a bit and getting advice from others, I decided it would be best to create a card game first. Who knows if an app will come later?
It was after this that I started working on Preferences. Pretty much two years later, after many challenges, quitting my job, and selling my car, 1500 games landed in my parent’s garage and are now in the hands of many. People have been playing Preferences and enjoying connecting with new and old friends alike, building lasting relationships, and creating meaningful memories. This is just the beginning. I still have so many games to sell, but I am excited for these next few months as we really begin to take things to the next level!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are many different challenges I could list off here, but I think there is a theme that is threaded through each, which is everything I am doing is new territory. I’ve never started a business before or quit my job to do so. I had never sold a car to have extra money because I couldn’t pay my bills. Doing things like that are tough, and very emotionally challenging. I’ve never dealt with manufacturers in China, created a product, written copy for a game. Everywhere you turn, there is a challenge because it’s all something I’ve never done before. But that is what creating a business is all about. You slowly build up resilience, and the challenges you face start becoming more like fun obstacles you get to solve. Of course this has not been a smooth road, I don’t think anyone starting a business would ever say it’s a smooth road. But I have learned a tremendous amount, and I look forward to the challenges I face because it makes me that much stronger and gives me the ability to deal with anything that comes my way. There have been financial challenges, communication challenges with the manufacturer, at one point I wasn’t even sure I was going to continue working on the game, but my trust in myself and in my abilities has kept me going.
I will say that the challenges I am facing now are quite different than the ones I faced before the games arrived in my parent’s garage. Creating a product and getting it shipped here is “easy,” I would say. You can easily google how to do something or watch a YouTube video, but what is challenging now is figuring out how to sell these games. How do you get someone to pull out their wallet and purchase something? How do you convey the value of your product? How do you market it? How do you do all these things with little capital? How do you promote yourself and the game on social media? These skills are very different than the ones it takes to create a product and get it shipped here, but each day, I am learning more and more and getting clearer on how to bring this game to life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As I’ve previously mentioned, I always felt, deep down, that I was going to have an entrepreneurial adventure. I don’t even really know how to describe it, but I felt that I would be working on something that was bigger than myself. Of course, I had no idea what it was, so I just went through life like everyone else, getting a degree and getting a job.
I had all sorts of interests, changing what I wanted to be when I grew up every month. One point I wanted to be a veterinarian, creating a way to heal my dog’s arthritis, the next month I wanted to be a professional motocross racer, and the next Hannah Montana. I also loved playing soccer and doing musical theater. I was definitely all over the place with my passions, but I was always a silly kid, never afraid to just be my weird self.
At the center of the game, it’s really about connecting and bonding with others; that is something that has always been a part of my life. I was a curious child, asking questions and getting to know people through learning about what they like and don’t like, which is literally how to play Preferences. The essence of the game really speaks to who I am as a person.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up with 2 sisters and a dad who loved the outdoors. So, you could say the three of us girls were the farthest from girly girls. I didn’t like pink; I was always outside, camping and dirt biking, but of course, there was the occasional dress-up.
I had all sorts of interests growing up, changing what I wanted to be when I grew up every month. One point I wanted to be a veterinarian, creating a way to heal my dog’s arthritis, the next month I wanted to be a professional motor cross racer, next Hannah Montana, and the next a rabbi (I grew up Jewish). I also loved playing soccer and doing musical theater. I was definitely all over the place with my passions, but I was always a silly kid, never afraid to just be my weird self.
I would absolutely NEVER do this now, but for some reason at the age of 5 I got up in front of an entire audience on a cruise ship and sang God Bless America for the talent show. I look back in awe that I ever did something like that as a kid.
Just like I am today, I was a very emotional child in touch with my feelings and really cared about people. I think that is why Preferences means so much to me. At the center of the game, it’s really about connecting with people and just sitting down and bonding with others; I feel like that is something that has always been a part of my life. I’ve always been a curious child, asking questions and getting to know people through asking about what they like and don’t like, which is literally how to play Preferences. The essence of the game really speaks to who I am as a person.
Pricing:
- $29 + tax in retail locations
- $29 + tax & shipping online
Contact Info:
- Website: preferencesgame.com
- Instagram: @preferences.thegame
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084061991263
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-aiello/
Image Credits
Asher St. Studio
