Running your own business is no easy feat. It takes a healthy dose of passion, discipline, and commitment. Ever wonder what a day in the life of a small business owner and founder is like? We’re here to give you a glimpse!
Meet Maayan Segal, the teenaged entrepreneur from Israel who founded and created Queeng, and winner of the Young Inventor of the Year award at the 2020 Toy & Game International Excellence Awards.
A few years ago, while playing cards with her father one day, Maayan had a question for him:
“Why was the queen card worth less than the king in a traditional deck of cards? It didn’t seem fair.”
Her dad couldn’t give her a good answer. So together with her dad, she decided to redesign the traditional deck of playing cards, where the queens and kings are equal, yet still works with all the original principles and can be used in any card game. Thus, Queeng was born! To bring the game to production and to market, she launched a crowdfunding campaign, which became a huge success, raising over $500k.
But Maayan realized that the first edition of the playing cards deck needed more work. While the original Queeng deck didn’t give a hierarchy to gender, it also didn’t represent different cultures and ethnicities. The whole idea behind Queeng is to give kids playing cards that captures an accurate depiction of the world they live in, which is why Maayan is now running a campaign for a more diverse second edition.
Read on to learn about a typical day for Maayan, as she runs Queeng’s crowdfunding campaign, a fan favorite in the Indiegogo community. Then scroll down for a brief Q&A to get to know her better, and get inspired!
7 A.M. Wake up time! I like to get started with cereal or pancakes, if my dad made some! I take a quick look at my Indiegogo campaign performance yesterday. If something urgent happened overnight, I’ll make some updates to the campaign, consult with my dad, and plan what next steps need to be done.
8 A.M. First Zoom class of the day! I’m in 12th grade now, and in the middle of finals. Sometimes, I attend class from bed. 🤭 Don’t tell my teachers.
9 A.M. Second Zoom class of the day.
10 A.M. I take a break for second breakfast. I try to keep it healthy with eggs or a smoothie, so I can have the energy I need to focus in class, which can be hard when class takes place virtually on the computer.
1:30 P.M. Lunch with my family! One positive thing to come out of COVID-19 is that everybody is at home every day to eat lunch together!
2:00 P.M. More Zoom classes and studying for my exams.
4 P.M. Time to work on Queeng! We have a daily call with our project manager, where we prioritize which tasks need to get done first. We go over email support, read comments on our campaign and social media pages, speak with our designer about putting the final touches on the second edition deck, share an update with our backers on social media, respond to more emails, and brainstorm creative new ways to keep Queeng evolving.
7 P.M. Time to get outside! I like to go out for a run, either by myself or with friends.
8:30 P.M. Dinner time with the fam!
10 P.M. Hang out with my friends, or watch some shows on Netflix. I am still a teen after all!
11:30 P.M. One last email check, and a quick check on the campaign before I call it a day.
12:30 A.M. Bed time! Sometimes I’ll have a late night call with a friend. Usually, I’ll fall sleep right away because it’s been a busy day!
Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of what her day is like, get more inspiration in our exclusive Q&A with Maayan!
INDIEGOGO: How did you become an entrepreneur and game designer at such a young age?
MAAYAN: I never thought I would be an entrepreneur AND game designer. After bringing up the question about the hierarchy in the deck of cards to my dad, he really pushed me to do something about it. It took some convincing and encouragement before I started to look into it seriously, and I am so happy I did.
INDIEGOGO: What makes your Indiegogo project unique?
MAAYAN: I think more than anything, it’s a campaign with a message. The cards are a vehicle for a bigger idea. Sharing the message with other kids that all people are equal through a means of play is something that will stick with them forever.
INDIEGOGO: What’s your biggest piece of advice for kids your age who want to start their own business?
MAAYAN: Good ideas can come from anyone. If you believe in your idea, get support from your loved ones, and just get started! Also, don’t give up on school. Education is important.
INDIEGOGO: What tools (gadgets, apps, books, podcasts) would you recommend to anyone starting their own business or crowdfunding project?
MAAYAN: To execute a project quickly, you need to work with someone who has experience with both failure and success. Don’t be shy to share with people and ask around. I’m a big fan of Google Drive, and try to keep all my work within one ecosystem. It’s easier to stay organized in that way. I also use Whatsapp for communication, which is popular here in Israel because you can easily get in touch with people all around the world. To streamline things, I like to create Whatsapp groups of the relevant people working together, so they can all talk to each other in one place. They all know what is needed and they stay on the same page.
INDIEGOGO: What’s your favorite Indiegogo campaign, or a campaign you’ve recently supported?
MAAYAN: I love the Be You Transforming Chair! It looks super comfortable, and maybe if I had it, I would actually take my Zoom classes out of bed. 🙃 Their advertising is also pretty good, because once I checked it out, it’s been appearing everywhere I look online!
Want to support Queeng? Check out the crowdfunding campaign and follow Queeng on Instagram and Facebook.
