We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gwendolyn Taylor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gwendolyn below.
Gwendolyn, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
I can remember the exact date, that the idea came to me. It was Sunday afternoon on July 26, 2020. For the past 15 years, I was an avid viewer of HGTV. Loved all of the shows, from the Property Brothers, Property Virgins, Flip or Flop, you name it. On that afternoon, I initially grab my phone and went to Amazon to look for a house flipping game that I had in mind. And when I could not find what I had envisioned in my mind, I grab my journal and began to draw what I thought the game would look like. I transferred my drawing to a poster board and used index cards to create what would eventually become cards that would be used during game play. Of course, I didn’t personally know anyone who had ever created a board game, so with the help of the good Lord, I started the journey. I reached out to an amazing graphic artist that I know and sent her screenshots of my renderings for the game. She was able to create the first version of the game board and cards.
I said to myself, that I assume I will need a prototype, and I began to search for companies that created prototypes for board games. Within four months of the idea coming to me, I had a prototype in hand. It was so surreal to see this idea in a tangible state.
From that point, I knew that I had to have proof of concept, again, I learned all of this through grassroot research. I reached out to realtor friends, critical people, fun people, old people and young people and conducted my first focus group which occurred in March 2021. I turned my dining room into grand central station for Flip That House. Large post it notes all over the wall. I asked them to play the game, poke holes in the game and give me raw honest feedback. Even with 10 full pages of large post it banners on my dining room wall, they all agreed that I had created something amazing.
I took all of the feedback and suggestions and made updates to my game and sent it back to the manufacturer to create the second version of the prototype. In May of 2021, I reached out to Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson of HGTV and asked if they would be interested in coming to Saint Louis to participate in a a focus group for my board game. They agreed to participate in the focus group but had to do it virtually, Mike, his mom and siblings played the game via Zoom with us in Saint Louis. Their friend who is also a real estate mogul in Atlanta, GA, flew to Saint Louis and participated in the focus groups. They loved it and gave some valuable feedback and input.
After those focus groups concluded, we made more updates to the prototype and sent it back to the manufacturer again, for a third prototype. By the fall of 2021, I did my first interview with our local Fox affiliate regarding my board game and we began to take pre-orders for Flip That House. My first order was 500 units and over half of them were already sold by the time the games arrived.
By December of 2021, we were well on our way. We were at the fourth version of the prototype, which by the way each prototype cost around $300 each and I had purchased at least ten copies over the course of the past year.
Another HGTV reality star, Lauren Risley had a show on the network entitled “Call the Closer”. She and her team came to my home to participate in yet another focus group she loved it so much that it brought her to tears.
It is now March 2022, and we are ready to order games from the manufacturer. I was not able to locate a manufacturer state side, so I had to do some extensive research and located a manufacturer in China, 6,735 miles from Saint Louis. That was really scary to trust someone with a project of this magnitude so far from home, to send money to a company you never worked with before and to trust that you product would arrive as promised. The company was amazing to work with. They sent videos and pictures on a regular basis of the entire manufacturing process. Before shipping the entire order, they sent me a sample of the manufactured product and it was amazing.
In July of 2023, the UPS truck pulled up with 43 cases of games. It was really hot that day, and the UPS driver was not a happy camper. The games traveled by sea for 35 days, arrived at the port in Long Beach, CA, They took several days to clear customs and finally they were loaded onto the UPS trucks. When I received those tracking numbers from UPS it was such a relief and it was really happening. By the way, this was all accomplished without any investors, loans or selling my first born!!!
On August 21, 2022, we hosted the official launch party for Flip That House The Board Game. We had over 200 guest. It was an amazing five star event.
We are now collaborating with local school districts and we just received our first contract for the school year 2023-2024 to incorporate Flip That House The Board Game into personal finance. Additionally, the game is being used in other school district in Missouri and being considered by the Chicago Public School System.
We are currently working on the Second Edition of Flip That House The Board Game. We are taking it to another level and it is scheduled to be released late summer/early fall of 2023. Pre-Orders for the second edition of the game will begin in June 2023.
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?
Just to provide you with a little background, again my, name is Gwendolyn Taylor, I am 58 years old, soon to be 59.
I am married to Chef Bruce Taylor, which is another whole story within itself. I am the mother of two adult sons, grandmother of 5.
Currently, I am employed full time with the Centene Corporation as Manager of Provider Network. Some people refer to me as a serial entrepreneur. However, there is so much more to my story than what the eyes can see.
I am the owner of J & J Accessories, Featuring the Church Lady Fashions, co owner of Brucey B’s Catering Company and the founder and CEO of Flip That House the Board Game, LLC.
My latest project, Flip That House The Board Game, was birthed and downloaded from God right in the middle of the Covid 19 crisis in summer of 2020. I was laying on my sofa minding my own business, watching HGTV, and suddenly, this idea began to download into my spirit. As the scriptures tell us, write the vision down and make in plain. I did just that. The Lord put all of the right people in my path, including Mike Jackson and his wife Egypt Sherrod who have several hit reality TV shows on the HGTV network. My game is now in full production and being utilized in schools throughout the region. I have so much to share about my journey and how this whole thing came into fruition.
My game Flip That House is currently being used in several school districts as an educational resource. We are discovering that we definitely have a problem to solve and we believe that Flip That House is part of the solution. As we have begun to partner with area school districts, we are finding that mid and high school students in both inner city schools as well as in middle to upper middle class areas are struggling to perform basic math calculations. My game, Flip That House, requires players to use basic math skills which include addition, subtraction, multiplication and percentages and from what we are seeing, many of our students are struggling to do so. Living in this digital age of course has its advantages but also disadvantages as well. Students struggle to count money and make change during the transactions while playing the game. We are also finding that some of them struggling with reading. The cards within the game are written on a fifth grade level and we are finding that some students and even adults struggle to read and understand basic vocabulary used in the game. Our goal is to combine play with education with hopes of empowering and educating through gamification, financial literacy, the real estate industry and the nuances of real estate investing.
The tag line for my game is: “This Is Not Just A Game” And I really mean that and this is what sets my brand apart. My goal is to plug societal education gaps with regards to financial literacy, real estate and real estate investing. To create a resource for families, students, professionals to connect and share in conversations regarding finances and their relationship with money.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
My journey with Flip That House The Board Game has been amazing, but it has also been one of the most business ventures that I have ever undertaken. In addition to building the brand Flip That House, I still work fulltime as a health care manager which has been pivotal in financing and supporting my new business. Additionally, I am a foster mother, grandmother, wife and daughter of aging parents who I am also responsible for their oversight. Of course, when a business is new and first launching, the crowds are there and everyone is excited with all of the celebrations occurring. But soon the crowds leave, those that were excited and assisting with anticipation of the launching of the new business, soon fade in the crowd and one day you look up and find yourself with all of this responsibility on your own. In the beginning when I saw people drifting or not fulfilling promises, it was very disheartening, but as time went by, I begin to see that those who you need will be there when they are need and until their assignment in the process is over. Some people are willing to stay for the long haul, while others only want to be there for the celebrations. I called that phase “in the middle”. It’s in the middle when things can get tough, you are further than you were in the beginning, but haven’t conquered the mountain yet. So I found myself at times, becoming weary, not just with the business, but the business and all of the other responsibilities that I have. However, I had to refocus, do my best to remove all unnecessary distractions and understand, that God will provide the help that I need when I needed and that is how I have been able to keep forging ahead. It’s my faith that has brought me this far.
Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?
Flip That House The Board Game, now has a secondary business which is Flip That House Real Estate Workshops. This service is currently being offered to area school districts and other financial literacy programs. We landed our first contract with a major area school district for the 2023-2024 school year. We will go into the school and supplement personal finance and other entrepreneurial programs teaching our workshop. The workshop includes a student workbook, along with three distinct sessions around real estate, real estate investing and culminating with game play were the concepts learned will be applied.
Contact Info:
- Website: flipthathouseboardgame.com
- Instagram: flipthathouse_theboardgame
- Facebook: Flip That House The Board Game
- Linkedin: Flip That House
- Youtube: Flip That House The Board Game