From theater stages to Shark Tank to building a board game empire, Brittany Rowe turned a pandemic Google Doc into a multimillion-dollar business now sold at Target and Walmart.What happens when 3 family members trapped in quarantine start documenting their deepest conversations? They create Hella Awkward, the card game that ignites genuine connections through hilariously uncomfortable questions. But getting from a Brooklyn apartment to national retail shelves took more than good questions.In this episode, you'll discover:The entire Shark Tank journey from online application to Robert Herjavec's offerHow Brittany hand-delivered games with balloons in NYC for social media contentThe nightmare of shipping 5,000 units to Macy's from a studio apartmentWhy 30% of their first production run went straight to trashHow theater school taught her to embrace failure as a learning toolThe cold reality of that first Target buyer meetingBrittany opens up about growing up religious, finding freedom in theater at Michigan State, and how vulnerability became her superpower in business. Her approach to retail reads like a masterclass in momentum building - from convincing friends to quality control products over wine to turning every store visit into content gold.This conversation gets into the real challenges of games and toys retail: competing against Hasbro and Monopoly, navigating buyer meetings that feel transactional, and why she chose 600 Walmart doors over 1,000 with an exclusivity deal.Key insights for entrepreneurs:Launch before perfect - iterate as you goYour friends and family are your best first focus groupTake every buyer meeting even if the timing feels wrongMarketing through radio worked better than Meta ads for a conversation gameBeing Type A and perfectionist will kill your business before it startsThe episode also dives deep into Gen Z consumer behavior, why in-person experiences are winning right now, and how to design products that double as home decor so people remember to use them.

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