How Water Cooler Trivia Transformed Workplace Engagement: The Journey of Fun and Connection
Company profile
Company business details
Motivation to build the product
The founders were motivated by the need to improve employee engagement and foster connections among coworkers in a fun and low-maintenance way. They recognized that traditional team-building activities often felt forced or time-consuming, and wanted to create a solution that would seamlessly integrate into the workday.Problem that their product solves
Water Cooler Trivia addresses the problem of employee engagement and team building in the workplace. The end users are employees who often find their work routines monotonous. By providing a fun and interactive way to connect through trivia, the app helps to spark conversations and camaraderie among coworkers, which is important for creating a positive work environment.Their unfair advantage
Water Cooler Trivia's unfair advantage lies in its automated quiz process, which simplifies the trivia experience for teams, allowing them to engage without the hassle of organizing and grading quizzes themselves.Strategies
Pre-Launch (Product Development & MVP)
Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Collin and his co-founders created a minimum viable product by using Google Slides for design mock-ups and Google Sheets for grading trivia responses. This no-code approach allowed them to quickly iterate on their idea and validate the concept before investing in more complex development.
Office Trivia Engagement
Collin Waldoch, during his internship, initiated a trivia quiz to engage coworkers and break the ice. He created a Google Form with 10 trivia questions and sent it out via an office-wide email distribution list, receiving dozens of responses almost immediately. This simple yet effective strategy not only fostered camaraderie among colleagues but also highlighted the universal appeal of trivia as a conversation starter, leading to the idea of Water Cooler Trivia.
Launch Stage
Email Progress Updates
Collin Waldoch, the founder of Water Cooler Trivia, consistently updated his audience via email about the growth of his startup. Starting from $10K ARR in 2019, he shared milestones as they progressed to $50K, then $100K, and finally reaching $250K. This transparency not only built a narrative around his journey but also engaged potential customers and investors, showcasing the product's traction and reliability.
Sponsorship of Relevant Podcasts
Collin sponsored the last five episodes of a podcast series about HQ Trivia for $2,500, which resulted in a 5X ROI. This sponsorship was particularly effective because it aligned with the interests of the podcast's audience, who were likely to be interested in trivia games. He also experimented with other podcast sponsorships, learning that alignment with the audience was crucial for success.
Weekly Trivia Quizzes
Once Water Cooler Trivia was established, the company implemented a system where they would email a weekly trivia quiz to participants. This strategy was designed to enhance employee engagement and make Mondays more enjoyable. The quizzes were tailored to include personalized categories that resonated with each company, ensuring high engagement and fostering conversations among coworkers.
Learn more about Water Cooler Trivia
The Simplest $250K ARR Startup You've Ever Heard Of with Collin Waldoch of Water Cooler Trivia
