Spontuneous® – A Venture of Fun
September 7, 2010By Big Sky Business Journal
People will spend money if it’s for something that makes them happy – especially in troubled economic times.
Rob Ridgeway, Billings, decided some time ago that he wanted to be a purveyor of something that created laughter. What could do that better than a board game? A game that involves music, no less?
Exactly one year to the day – August 2, 2009 – that Rob came up with the idea for a new board game, 5500 copies of “Spontuneous®” rolled off the assembly line in Battle Creek, Michigan.
It was a long hard process, even for a business graduate, who had owned his own business before. But after wading through the patent and trademark processes, exploring marketing options, negotiating with publishing and toy companies, designing, packaging and webpage production, Ridgeway thinks he has a winner.
It began while hanging out with family and friends, when his sister mentioned a word that triggered another friend to sing a song containing that word. “I do that all the time,” laughed his sister.
“I do too,” said Rob. Thinking about it for a minute, he said, “Wouldn’t that make an awesome board game!?” The group of family and friends then took turns calling out words, challenging each other to sing a portion of a song containing that word. After playing for nearly two hours, they were certain the idea had potential.
Rob researched the industry for months before deciding to move forward. Step by step, he began the process, which included creating a name for the game and trademarking it. With the help of Billings graphic designer Mark Johnson they developed a design and prototype. Developing the rules took some refinement – over twenty revisions in fact – but Rob stuck with it. He attended Toy Fair 2010 in New York to network and talk to people in the business.
Rob found that several major toy and game companies were interested in his concept. They gave him encouragement, saying it could be the next “big party game.” But he decided that he would rather take on the risks of production and marketing himself, rather than selling the rights to a company that may or may not produce it. “If I sold it to a national company they could just put it on a shelf and never do anything with it,” he said.
It had always been part of Rob’s long term goals to be an entrepreneur, so he wasn’t adverse to the idea of plunging ahead on his own. He was amazed at how much goes into the development of a game, but finally, there it was – a bright colored yellow box with “Spontuneous®” sprawled across the lid – just in time for Christmas sales.
Besides on-line sales at spontuneous.com, Rob initially plans to sell the games at $29.99 apiece at a kiosk in Rimrock Mall through the holiday season. Five hundred games, the Platinum Collector’s Edition, are personally signed by Rob and are being sold as a limited edition for $99, but includes a regular game which can be opened and played.
Although he says he never really imagined himself producing a board game, Rob was always a big fan of Monopoly and the Farming Game. In fact, he was quite intrigued with the story behind the Farming Game, which is that of a Washington farm family trying to figure out how to make their land payments during the early 1980′s. The game was envisioned on the seat of a tractor by the farmer as he drove round and round the field.
In fact, Rob said that one step in the process of bringing his own product to market, was to call that family and to visit with them for insights and advice on how to avoid potential pitfalls.
Having been raised on a ranch near Stanford, Montana, Rob not only had some empathy for the Farming Game, but he understands the risks and hard work of an entrepreneurial life style. While in college he had a customized t-shirt business that he operated from the back end of his pickup during football games, which did quite well.
Rob attended Montana State University in agricultural business and economics and graduated from Gonzaga University with an MBA in marketing.
Since graduating, Rob has worked in the banking business and is currently a sales executive for Payne Financial Group.
To read the published edition click here.