What Kind of Person Starts a Trivia Company, Anyway?
“So wait…you own a trivia company?”
This is what an astounded friend of a friend said when I first met him about fifteen year ago, right after I launched TrivWorks as a side business. I thought it was an amusing question then, as I still do today. Why? Because when said out loud, it does sound kind of preposterous.
What exactly is this company supposed to be, anyway? Something like Wonka’s factory, only instead of confectionary I crank out queries? “Trivia company owner” can’t possibly be a real job, can it?
Well, fifteen years, thousands of clients and tens of thousands of event attendees say it is!
What motivates a person like me to start a trivia company, let alone keep it going – and growing – for fifteen years? Allow me to explore the depths of my psyche here on my blog, to help try and shed some light on the subject.
I Am NOT a Trivia Expert
Let’s get this out of the way upfront: I am not a “guru” of all things trivia. Truth be told, I’m not even good at it. There are folks out there who start their pub quiz business or trivial factoid newsletter because they love the stuff. They thrive on writing clever questions, on showing off how much they know. I’m not like that, and in fact have never been. People naturally assume I love trivia, am amazing at it, live and breathe it – but that’s not me. That’s not why I started TrivWorks.
I Am Creative
If I did have to describe myself in one word, or if others who know me were do to so, I think that world would be “creative.” I’ve always had an imaginative, artistic bent; call it “thinking outside the box,” if you prefer. I like to come up with things: ideas, jokes, stories, puns, you name it. Yes, this also extends to trivia questions. However, when I think of creativity in terms of my chosen profession, really I’m not thinking so much about writing Q&A, but in how I market myself, how I lead events, how I engage a crowd in unique ways. For this reason, starting a trivia company was a natural fit for me.
I Love Creating Fun & Engaging Experiences for Others
If “creative” is the word I’d use to describe myself, than my singular purpose is to use that creativity to produce fun & engaging experiences for others to enjoy. I truly love doing this. It brings me immense joy to see a room full of people – strangers, in the case of my work gigs – having an absolute blast, laughing and high-fiving and just enjoying themselves for a couple of hours. Not everyone can do this, but I can. I have an ability to roll into a room armed with nothing more than a stack of questions and a microphone, and can give them the time of their lives. To me, this is the most rewarding thing there is.
I Love Surprises
People don’t often associate trivia events with surprises, but to me that’s what they really are. I love surprises, specifically planning and revealing them. I enjoy putting thought and effort into them, personalizing them, and then watching the reaction as they are disclosed. With trivia, that’s exactly what I do. No one in that room knows what’s coming next except me; what question, what round theme, what interstitial game, what prize, nothing. But I do – and I know that it will be so great once I share it!
I Love Making People Laugh
When my kids were younger and asked me what I did for my job, I’d say “I make people laugh.” They wouldn’t have understood the concept of company event entertainment, or team building activities, or being a corporate emcee. But laughter? They could relate to that. And honestly, that’s all I really do! I make people laugh. My events are designed to be a blast, and after doing this for so long, I know how to inject the right amount of humor into virtually every piece of it. Why do I do it? Because I love making people laugh. I love it! Again, it’s not something everyone can do, but I can for some reason – and it brings me immense joy to do so.
In Summary
What kind of person would start a trivia company? To be sure, there’s some hard-core trivia lovers out there, people who fancy themselves future Jeopardy contestants (or hosts). To start a corporate trivia company at this level, however, and sustain it for as long as I have, takes something else. It takes a true love of the performance that is trivia hosting, of the various creative challenges, of the payoff in seeing people enjoy what you’ve produced. In short, the kind of person who would start a company like TrivWorks, is…me!
For further reading, check out “Confessions of a Trivia Company Owner: No, I Don’t Want to Be a TV Game Show Host.”