E2: Creating Fun From Scratch: How Ivan Bosnjak Turned a Social Media Trend Into a Card Game

Ever wondered how those viral social media games make the leap from your screen to your living room? Meet Ivan Bosnjak, founder of BigHot LLC and creator of the wildly popular "Say the Same Word" card game that's captivating families and friends across the country.

Ivan's entrepreneurial journey began with a simple observation – people loved watching mind-reading games on TikTok and YouTube, but no physical version existed for at-home play. With creativity and determination, Ivan and his fiancée transformed this gap in the market into an opportunity, developing a card game where players try to guess the same word simultaneously. What makes their game stand out is its accessibility; designed for players of all ages and requiring as few as two participants, it's the perfect addition to any social gathering.

The conversation shifts to debunk common myths about product creation. "People make the idea of creating a product bigger than it actually is," Ivan reveals, explaining how many aspects of product development can be self-taught through online resources. He candidly shares a $10,000 setback when their innovative dual retractable dog leash design turned out to be already patented – and how this challenge ultimately led to an improved product and valuable business lessons about resilience and adaptation.

As a content creator himself, Ivan brings a unique perspective to product marketing, leveraging social media to connect with his target audience of sociable individuals between 18-50 years old who enjoy game nights. His business philosophy centers around inclusivity and creating enjoyable experiences for everyone, whether through physical products or entertaining YouTube content.

Looking for your next game night hit? Find "Say the Same Word" on Amazon Prime or their Shopify store, and follow Big Hot on YouTube to stay updated on their upcoming innovations, including their reimagined dog leash and new games on the horizon. What creativity-sparked product will you discover next?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Stacey Willis.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of somethingfun to do?
Because I have something thatmight be closer than you think.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast, Ivan.
Ivan, how are you doing today?

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Doing well.
Stacey, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I am doing great.
I am so excited to learn allabout the product that you're
going to share today.
You're a product creator, so Iwant you to tell us a little bit
about your company and whatwe're going to be talking about.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, of course, my name is Ivan Bojnak.
I have the company Big Hot LLCand we created the game Say the
Same Word card game.
It's a viral card game that youmay have even seen on TikTok,
instagram, youtube, any of thesocial media platforms.
That's where two people grab acard and they read three, two,
one and then try to guess thesame word.

(01:08):
So it's a very fun game that'savailable to play for all ages,
which really makes our game onestand out against other ones.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
And how did you come up with this business?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
So me and my fiance, we love having game nights, we
love playing games with all ofour friends and family, and we
were watching these videos ofpeople play a similar game and
realized that there was no cardgame behind this concept and
when we wanted to play the saythe same word game, there was a

(01:41):
gap in the market.
So we decided that a lot ofpeople like playing mind games
and playing card games withfamilies.
So we said why don't we createit our very own branding, make
our very own prompts, our veryown cards and release it to the
public and then market it topeople on TikTok, youtube and
Instagram that were playingsimilar games already that

(02:03):
really might enjoy ours YouTubeand Instagram that were playing
similar games already thatreally might enjoy ours.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
So there has to be some misconceptions or myths
associated with being a productcreator.
What are some of the myths ormisconceptions that you can
share?

Speaker 3 (02:24):
with other creative individuals like yourself, I
would say one of the biggestmyths is how hard it is to start
.
I think people make the idea ofcreating a product bigger than
it actually is.
It really just takes a littlebit of know-how and a little bit
of creativity to really come upwith the idea, as well as inner
interconnectivity between youand team members and people to

(02:46):
work with.
So for us, one of the harderthings was actually finding a
reputable supplier.
Uh, there's.
It's not easy to just findanyone off the street that can
print you thousands of cards.
Uh, so you know you have tofind someone that's reputable,
but finding somebody like thatis one of the harder things.
But outside of there, thecreativity of creating the game
is it really comes down to youand your designer.
Reputable, but finding somebodylike that is one of the harder

(03:07):
things.
But outside of there, thecreativity of creating the game
is it really comes down to youand your designer, and it can be
as simple as learning inPhotoshop or Adobe Illustrator
all things that you can learn onYouTube.
So a lot of the things you canself teach and accomplish on
your own.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Who are your target customers and how are you
marketing to them?

Speaker 3 (03:26):
So our target customers are?
We're going for people ages 18to 40 to 50.
Those are the main users thatwe're looking for, as we feel
like those target demographicsare the ones that will play our
game the most, people that arevery sociable.
We're targeting people thatlike to play games.
Specifically, on our Amazonportal, we target the words

(03:48):
family game, night, couplesgames, because our game you can
play with as little as twoplayers, so it is really
versatile in who you can play itwith as well as our point
structure.
It's easy to understand for allage groups.
So we're looking for thesociable people, people that
like to have family gatherings,hang out with their friends and

(04:10):
are looking for game nights, andthose are the type of target
keywords and demographics thatwe're looking for.
Outside of that, anybody canreally play it.
So if anyone is interested init, it's completely available.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Well, outside of creating this board game, what
do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (04:29):
So for fun, a lot of my fun interconnects with my
businesses, because I really dolike all of the things I do, but
one of the funnest things I dois I also create YouTube videos,
which kind of bled intocreating the game, because we
were social media creators.
We were on TikTok, we are onYouTube, we do a lot of these
social media things, so beingable to actually create a game

(04:53):
now to launch to our audiencewas very, very beneficial to us.
So I really like to createYouTube videos, do different
challenges.
We've done an amazing racebefore.
We've done a squid games.
We recently gave away athousand roses to nursing homes.
These are all things that aretechnically business, but I do
really enjoy doing them and havea lot of fun with it.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
And let's switch gears just a little bit.
Can you describe a lifechallenge or a hardship that you
overcame and how it made youstronger?
Does anything come to mind?

Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yes, so recently, with our current our current
leash design.
So we're actually working on abrand new dog leash.
Being that we're a productdesigner, we need to go through
an entire dog leash.
Ours is a dual retractable dogleash, so it's a very, very
innovative product.
Ours is a dual retractable dogleash, so it's a very, very
innovative product.
Really, really interesting.
Our first model that we ended upbuying actually was patented by

(05:50):
another individual, so for thatinitial model we actually had
to eat a lot of the cost uh,probably spend about 10 000 on
the initial mock-up prototypeand an initial batch and finding
out after the fact that we'renot able to sell those leashes,
you know, really puts a damperin our our entrepreneurial

(06:10):
spirit as far as figuring outwhat are we going to do next.
But the biggest thing I can saythat we have done to overcome
that is, you know, it forced usto to be creative and it forced
us to to change, to really thinkabout how can we make this
product different than thecurrent patent and then patent
it ourselves.
So that's kind of where we areat the current stage with this

(06:32):
specific leash, is that weactually have applied for a
patent on the new one and we'llbe able to sell it, and it's
going to be a much better andmore efficient product than the
prior.
So the biggest challenge wasactually overcoming and taking
that loss on the head and noteverything is going to work out

(06:53):
but figuring out how to beadaptable in those situations in
order to come out of the otherside more profitable and more
successful.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
Ivan, tell our listeners one thing they should
remember about Big Hot, aboutyour brand, about what you're
doing.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah.
So one thing that we reallywant people to remember is we
try to be all inclusive foreveryone.
So, whether or not you likeentertainment from a physical
standpoint, or you want to playour game with your friends and
families, or if you're at homeand you like to watch YouTube,
we have something for everyone.
We do nice things.
Like I said, we gave flowersaway, we've done fun challenges.

(07:36):
There's a lot to do in our areaoutside of the normal things.
You know.
It's not just about going tothe mall or going to the movies.
There's other things that youcan do around here and just if
you look for it, I know we'renot LA or New York, but we try
to make it as inclusive and asfun for everyone around us as

(07:59):
possible.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
And how can our listeners find your products
right now?
What would they do?
Would they go to a website?
Would they go to Amazon?
How would they find you?

Speaker 3 (08:14):
Yeah, so for all of our products they are available
on Amazon and you've and AmazonPrime.
So if you have Amazon Prime,you can get it in as little as
two days.
We can look up, say the sameword, card game on Amazon.
Say the same word, card game onShopify, and you'll be able to
find our store.
Either one is fine.
Outside of that, if you likeother entertainment, feel free

(08:36):
to look up Big Hot on GoogleB--I-G-H-O-T or BigHot on
YouTube, and you'll be able tofind me, I'm sure.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
All right, ivan.
Well, I really appreciate youbeing on the show.
We wish you and your businessthe very best moving forward.
And, yeah, just keep oncreating.

Speaker 3 (08:57):
Yeah, we look forward to multiple new ventures coming
soon.
As I said, our brand new leashwill be releasing soon and we're
very excited for that, as wellas some other products on the
horizon as well as new games.
So make sure to stay stay up todate on those things, because
you know we got a lot coming.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
All right, thank you so much.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
Yes, thank you.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
Thank you for much.
Yes, thank you.