We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.

Kelly , appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

LyriKel Genius was born, rather unceremoniously, during a road trip to Temecula with my Sister, Kristina, in the summer of 2019. We were in heavy traffic traversing from Los Angeles to the Temecula Valley Wine Country to meet friends for a wine tasting adventure. On our way, while I was driving, we had a slight fender bender which inevitably sullied the trip a bit. After information was exchanged with the other driver, my Sister insisted that I no longer drive and she would “take the wheel” for the remainder of the ride. Because we were leaving LA on a Friday afternoon, traffic was horrendous, and the silence in the car was deafening. I certainly did not want to ride in silence for the next couple hours and I certainly did not want my sister to be upset with me the entire journey.

As I was contemplating how to get back in my Sister’s good graces, I scrolled social media and came upon a now viral question, “At what time was Usher in his care cruising the streets?” I sheepishly asked my Sister the now infamous question and she responded through deep sighs and with distain, “What are you taking about?” I can picture her scrunched eyebrows and tightly clenched jaws now!! I asked again with the hope that the repeated question would begin to melt and soften her heart as she remembered the lyrics to a song from our youth. With a hint of hesitation and slight confusion related to the genesis of the question, my Sister answered in a sing-song tone, “It’s 7 o’clock on the dot, I’m in my drop top, cruising the streets!!” We burst into collective laughter, then continued to sing the lyrics to Usher’s 1997 hit, “Nice & Slow”. Before we realized it, my Sister and I were in a full blown karaoke concert. Her heart had been melted, she was no longer upset and the idea to “make some more song lyric questions” was born. We spent the rest of the trip and subsequent months creating questions much like the initial Usher question.

In the Spring of 2020, during a Zoom party that had become commonplace during the pandemic, my Sister and I “played the game” that we created on our trip to Temecula. It was a hit and everyone on the call had a great time. Many of the friends on that call inquired about “how they could get this game that was so much fun.” Those requests prompted me to research how I could do just that- Bring this game (that still did not have a name) to everyone so the fun my Sister and I had on our road trip and the fun had on our Pandemic Zoom Party could be recreated by anyone. I knew the game needed a name that would be memorable, would describe the game and could be a play on words. I decided on LyriKel Genius which met my criteria and embedded my own name (Kelly) into the title!! I began referring to the game as it’s new name, LyriKel Genius as I researched ways to bring it to market.

During the summer of 2020, I received guidance and mentorship from top level executives in the entertainment industry who encouraged me to patent my idea, copyright the material and trademark the name, LyriKel Genius, and associated logo. I wasted no time establishing legal protection for LyriKel Genius as I worked to create a tangible version of the card deck which would serve as a prototype. From there, I contacted several printing companies to bring my idea to life. After securing a printing company in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH, I moved to the production phase. My first production run was made available for purchase on Etsy.com in November of 2020. I was so proud of my accomplishment and sold out the first production run by the end of that year.

My enterprising mind continued to envision ways that LyriKel Genius could grow and be made available to more consumers. As I contemplated ways to grow the brand, I landed on the idea of creating LyriKel Genius into a mobile application. I asked myself, “What’s the best way to reach a large audience? Put it on their phone!!” Everyone has a phone and mobile applications are available to everyone…it was a “no-brainer” to create The LyriKel Genius App. Research began to find an app development company to bring my dream to life. In March 2021, I connected with Fictive Studios, discussed my idea for the app project and began working to bring The Genius App to life. After months of meetings, emails, pictures of app screens, choosing colors and fonts and creating questions for the bank, The LyriKel Genius App was launched on both the App Store and Play Store in November 2022. The app was received well and was available in addition to the card decks. LyriKel Genius, the app and card decks, continue to provide a new way to have fun at game nights, family reunions and friend gatherings. LyriKel Genius is still a staple at the long-past Pandemic Zoom Parties. It is beautiful to see that a game I created just so my Sister wouldn’t be mad at me has become a part of so many peoples’ fun and enjoyment which is the exact reason I decided to create LyriKel Genius in the first place!!

Looking back the journey thus far increases my commitment to continue creating and developing The LyriKel Genius Universe. My level of dedication to this project increases as the game grows in size and exposure. My desire to have everyone have as much fun as my Sister and I did on our road trip spurs me on to think bigger and imagine more exciting ways to grow the LyriKel Genius Universe. Stay tuned, we’re just getting started!!

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?

I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and currently live and practice in Los Angeles, California. I am also licensed in Nevada and have held licenses in New York and Illinois. I received my initial license in Illinois in 2014 and have provided mental health services in a myriad of settings including private practice, jails and prisons, drug-treatment facilities and community mental health clinics. My profession does not immediately connect to the product I created, LyriKel Genius. However, from a psychological perspective, LyriKel Genius taps into the human psyche of memories created by music and the universal bond that we all share with music.

I am proud to have a command of human behavior and am able to use that knowledge to inform choices for the brand. Specifically, music’s universality allows for consumers of all ages, ethnicities, genders, religious affiliations, etc., to come together and bond over shared experiences and memories from songs of all eras and genres. Music heals, connections heal, and shared experiences heal. LyriKel Genius allows for the opportunity to create new connections and memories from old experiences and will take your next game night to a whole new level.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The initial capital for LyriKel Genius was provided by me and my Mother, Linda Thomas, who believed in my dream and saw the potential for success. Following our initial investments, capital was sustained by my income generated from my full-time job as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Additionally, all monies made from the sale of card decks and app subscribers was reinvested into the brand to continue and support it’s growth.

I am happy to report that LyriKel Genius has garnered the attention of several Venture Capitalists and Investors who see the long-term potential of the product and are interested in meeting to discuss funding. Securing funding will allow for increased marketing/advertising campaigns, a more robust social media presence, adding employment positions and increasing product production. Meetings with investors are scheduled for the near future aimed at securing additional funds.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy LyriKel Genius uses to grow clientele is “Word of Mouth”. So many people learn about or experience LyriKel Genius because someone has introduced them to it. Be it through a game night party and someone adds LyriKel Genius to the fun, someone encounters LyriKel Genius at a pop-up shop where we vend the game and bring attention to the mobile app. “Tell a friend to tell a friend” has been most effective and once consumers play a round of LyriKel Genius, they are hungry for more. We are able to provide multiple ways to have fun through a variety of mediums and consumers seem to respond positively to the different options for fun.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lyrikelgenius.com
• Instagram: @lyrikelgenius
• Facebook: LyriKelGenius CardGame
• Twitter: @lyrikelgenius
• Other: Available for download and subscription on the App Store and Play Store as LyriKel Genius