We recently connected with Jeff Bogensberger and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The idea for The Laughing Otter came from personal events and driven by a combination of macro and micro-level factors.

On the broader level, I saw people all over suffering from challenging times and the bombardment of negative messages from social and traditional media.

On a more personal level, the tragic loss of a friend who took his life, the birth of your son, and a feeling that the next phase in my career had to be about making a difference.

I have always lived by a simple phrase ‘Life doesn’t have to be this hard and we should all be having a lot more fun’. I decided that there was room for a brand to emerge that promoted positivity, have fun, and enjoy the world around you without being preachy with an ulterior motive.

The brand definition is a little ambiguous on purpose which leaves The Laughing Otter to go in many directions with open entrepreneurial creativity. Anything that is fun, makes people happy and has a social impact is fair game.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The Laughing Otter is an innovative entertainment company dedicated to delivering fun and immersive experiences through a diverse range of channels. With a focus on creativity, engagement, and cutting-edge technology, we aim to captivate audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Channels:

Website: Our website serves as the central hub for The Laughing Otter experience. Here, visitors can read positive news articles, explore upcoming events, discover communities, shop for merchandise, and engage with multimedia content. With a user-friendly interface and regularly updated content, our website is designed to provide an engaging and interactive experience for our audience. The Laughing Otter niche websites for Gaming, Music, Travel, Outdoors, Kids and Food will be released over the next couple of months.

Events: From live performances, online games to retreats, The Laughing Otter hosts a variety of events designed to entertain and inspire. Whether it’s a comedy show, a gaming tournament, or a themed party, our events offer something for everyone to enjoy. We strive to create memorable experiences that bring people together and leave a lasting impression.

Gaming: The Laughing Otter is building the world’s largest gaming community. The community supports forms of gaming from development to esports. Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, casual player or looking to monetize your love of gaming, there is room for you in the community.

Merchandise: Show your love for The Laughing Otter with our exclusive merchandise. From t-shirts and hats to plush toys and collectibles, our merchandise is designed to let fans express their passion for our brand. The Laughing Otter is designed to be used like Disney uses Mickey Mouse.

Multimedia: Dive into the world of The Laughing Otter with our multimedia content. From videos and podcasts to articles and artwork, we produce a wide range of content that celebrates creativity, humor, and storytelling. Whether you’re looking for behind-the-scenes insights or just want to be entertained, our multimedia offerings have you covered.

Emerging Tech: At The Laughing Otter, we’re always looking to the future. That’s why we’re investing in emerging technologies and heavily involved in the Web3 community.

Mission Statement:

At The Laughing Otter, our mission is simple: to bring joy and laughter to the world through fun and immersive experiences. Whether it’s through our website, events, games, merchandise, multimedia, or emerging tech, we’re committed to creating moments of happiness and inspiration that stay with our audience long after the experience is over.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Pivoting has been a fundamental aspect of both my business and personal life. Like most people, except for a fortunate minority who might not need to make major shifts pivioting never stops.

For The Laughing Otter I made two major pivots, firstly I parted ways with a partner that was committed to other things and once that was done a complete strategy and branding move from an education platform to a multimedia entertainment company.

Having said this, any entreprenuer will tell you that pivots happen on a daily bases. If you aren’t open to new ideas your are leaving opportunities on the table.

The ability to be able to make a decision to change direction just from a phonecall is why someone founds a business and doesn’t work for a corporate. That is the excitement of it all.

That is not to say to be rash in your decision making but it is to say, don’t be scared to recognize new opportunities.

Every exciting thing that happened over the last 2 years and is happening now is a direct result of making the decision to change direction.

Here is how most businesses work. Pull a lever, observe, adjust and pull another lever.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

This one is simple. I had to unlearn the thinking that everyone else knows something that I don’t and that there is some silver bullet that they aren’t sharing.

I come from a small town with immigrant parents which fostered in my a humility and insecurity that I needed to get over.

I will share two of my favourite quotes on this topic.

‘The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.’

‘You will only truly understand business once you get over the idea that successful people are geniuses and failures are fools’.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelaughingotter.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laughingotterglobal/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelaughingotterglobal
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbog
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/laughing_otters
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0VqPJdnCodQllrPCjTeFtA

Image Credits
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