#287: Looking Back at a TCA Alum’s Journey as a Game Designer with Chrissy Fagerholt
You know I love celebrating a toypreneur's full-circle moment and today’s episode is just that.
We're revisiting the incredible journey of TCA alum Chrissy Fagerholt of EAP Toys and Games, from her very first appearance on this podcast to her latest game launch and ongoing success in self-publishing.
This episode is a special highlight reel of Chrissy’s growth: from pitching her very first ideas at our Toy Creators Academy Virtual Pitch Event, to getting a game into Barnes & Noble, and even deciding to manufacture her own products. You’ll hear snippets from episodes 88, 131, and 239, packed with real-world insights to help you grow from creator to confident toypreneur.
Chrissy’s journey is a reminder that growth in this industry doesn’t happen overnight but every pitch, every prototype, and every connection adds up. These highlights will leave you feeling inspired, energized, and ready to take your next step.
If this episode sparked something in you, it might be time to explore your own path in the toy industry. Join us inside Toy Creators Academy and start building the skills, confidence, and connections you need to bring your toy ideas to life. Learn more at www.toycreatorsacademy.com
Listen For These Important Moments
[01:49] - Get a behind-the-scenes peek at what real toy pitches look like and how you can gain the confidence to pitch before everything is perfect.
[02:34] - Learn what it takes to move from concept to store shelf, and how to prepare your game for big retail opportunities.
[11:34] - Discover how to spot weaknesses in your game design before showing it to others, saving time and costly mistakes.
[16:03] - Understand the pros and cons of licensing vs. self-publishing so you can make the best decision for your toy business.
[17:26] - Learn how to manage burnout and reignite your passion when business tasks start to dim your creative spark.
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Check out Chrissy’s latest games at EAP Toys and Games and support a fellow indie creator bringing heart and humor to family game night!
Feeling inspired to create your own toy or game? Learn how to turn your ideas into shelf-ready products inside Toy Creators Academy. Visit ToyCreatorsAcademy.com to learn more!
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[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to Making It in The Toy Industry, episode number 287.
[00:00:11] Voiceover: Welcome to Making It in The Toy Industry, a podcast for inventors, entrepreneurs, and makers like you. And now your host. Azhelle Wade.
[00:00:23] Azhelle Wade: Hey there, toy people. Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of Making It In The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. In today's episode, we're gonna do something special.
[00:00:36] Azhelle Wade: We are gonna do a flashback of three different episodes. Yes, that's right. We're gonna flash back to the highlights, the juiciest moments, the best parts of three different episodes. Episodes that feature. One specific TCA alumni. We're gonna be highlighting her journey and that is Chrissy Fagerholt. So Chrissy's top of mind because I recently connected another TCA alumni to her, um, and they had a great conversation.
[00:01:02] Azhelle Wade: I'm sure they motivated each other 'cause I got a message from the. Other TCA alumni just thanking me for introducing her to Chrissy. Um, and they're both game designers. I'm sure they had a lot to, uh, talk about heavily and commiserate about. Now, since the last episode we did with Chrissy, which was episode 2 39, she has had a new game come out that I just wanna bring to the forefront of.
[00:01:28] Azhelle Wade: Of this talk and that is feeling it, not feeling it. You can find that game at eap toys and games.com. If you are driving, can't write that down. Just head over to the toy coach.com/ 2 8 7. We will have the link there. So quick recap of what we're gonna highlight in today's episode. So the first time Chrissy ever appeared on this podcast.
[00:01:49] Azhelle Wade: In the early days of episode 88, and she came to talk about the virtual pitch event that we host for students of Toy Creators Academy. As they pitched to toy companies like Hasbro, Mattel, jazz wears Goliath, all virtually from their couches. Chrissy pitched a. Bunch of great toy and game ideas. I even acted as her agent for a little while helping her pitch those ideas.
[00:02:15] Azhelle Wade: And she came on the podcast to talk a little bit about what the TCA virtual pitch event was like. So we'll share a few clips from that episode. Then we're gonna dive into episode 1 31, getting Your Game into Barnes and Noble. Chrissy gave some great insights of how she first got her game into Barnes and Noble, how that all happened.
[00:02:34] Azhelle Wade: So we're going to share key highlights and moments from that episode as well. Finally, we'll be pulling some moments from the latest episode with Chrissy. That's episode 2 39, leaving a career in Flowers for Career in Toys. We're gonna hear more about her journey. This is going to be an incredible overview of Chrissy's entire Toy Journey.
[00:02:53] Azhelle Wade: We'll talk about her journey. Pre TCA 'cause she did license a game before joining TCA. We'll talk about what she's achieved since joining the program and what she's been doing even after she left the program. And as the doll she is, she still stays in touch with her TCA toy people. So I sat down with Chrisy September 1st, 2021 to discuss her experience going through the TCA Virtual pitch event.
[00:03:18] Azhelle Wade: The TCA Virtual Pitch event is a virtual opportunity for graduates of Toy Creators Academy to pitch their ideas to toy companies and retailers virtually. Let's hear what Chrissy had to say about her experience at that event. So to start off, I first would love to go around and just find out. Why you guys were interested in joining something like Toy Creators Academy to begin with?
[00:03:43] Azhelle Wade: Christy, can we start with you?
[00:03:45] Chrissy Fagerholt: Sure. I did not go to school to be in this industry, so I had the luck of creating a game that was licensed and I really, really enjoyed the process and I knew I was full of creative ideas and wanted to continue down this game. Toy Journey. But I didn't have the time or resources to go to like a traditional school, so I was doing everything I could like, you know, Google and search.
[00:04:13] Chrissy Fagerholt: And then I discovered the Twin Creators Academy and I thought, this is perfect price time for my lifestyle. So I was like, let's do it.
[00:04:22] Azhelle Wade: I would love to share, because I don't think Scott and Jordy even know that you've had a game licensed before. Can you share anything about how that happened for you before?
[00:04:30] Azhelle Wade: This is before Toy Creators Academy.
[00:04:32] Chrissy Fagerholt: Yeah, it happened. Sure. So. This was about, this was going on four years ago, but I had went on a trip with some of my friends and we went out to dinner and a friend of ours goes, Hey, let's play this game. I just made it up. We grew up together. We are childhood friends, and we're sitting there and we sat there for four hours playing this game, and the next morning I woke up and I'm like, you know what?
[00:04:53] Chrissy Fagerholt: That's a good idea. We should turn this into a game. And ignorance is bliss because. It took us two years to create this simple party game.
[00:04:59] Azhelle Wade: Oh, wow.
[00:05:00] Chrissy Fagerholt: And, but we really wanted to respect the process. We didn't just wanna assume because, oh, we thought it was great that everyone else is gonna think it was great.
[00:05:07] Chrissy Fagerholt: So we changed and played and changed and played, and then eventually created funder foe, which we did a Kickstarter for. And then by luck of the draw and just connections and hard, hard work, we got connected with a couple toy companies and then ended up getting licensed by Goliath.
[00:05:23] Azhelle Wade: How long was the process from when you developed it and you were ready until you finally got a deal?
[00:05:28] Azhelle Wade: Okay, so
[00:05:30] Chrissy Fagerholt: from conception to finished product on Kickstarter was probably two years. Wow. Once the game was done with Kickstarter, I would say between the end of that campaign until we signed was maybe four to six months. Oh, that's fast. You did pretty quick. Yeah, it was pretty quick, but I think because we had gone through so much of the process, the game was fully developed.
[00:05:53] Chrissy Fagerholt: The company really didn't have to do much. So I think that really was to our advantage and to our advantage that they were also starting a new line of adult party games that
[00:06:01] Azhelle Wade: we, it was just stars aligned. Well, for somebody listening that maybe is wondering what this pitch event is like, you know, maybe they're feeling, I don't know if I can handle this.
[00:06:10] Azhelle Wade: I don't know if I can do this. What is that process like? How much was I there helping you, and how much did you feel you were kind of on your own? I felt
[00:06:18] Chrissy Fagerholt: pretty prepared that I knew that if I had to have something answered or a question or I had to send you my sizzles just for pre-approval, or if I needed information regarding the pitch, that you were gonna be responsive and supportive in that.
[00:06:31] Chrissy Fagerholt: Some of that stuff I already had ready, so I felt prepared and you had already seen and I felt like I had your trust and you weren't just going to throw me to the wolves if I didn't know what I was doing. So. For me, it was, I felt prepared that, you know, just 'cause I had already taken the course and you and I had already worked together before that I, I had an expectation of what you expected from me.
[00:06:53] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm. Going into this pitch, right? Yeah. And you, you held up to that expectation. So what were some of the major takeaways that you got out of the virtual pitch event out of meeting with all these companies, if you can remember one, two. I'd love to share something you've learned. With the listeners
[00:07:12] Chrissy Fagerholt: that one company can say no, and then the next company can say yes, and you just have to keep going.
[00:07:18] Chrissy Fagerholt: And then eventually someone, hopefully we will. Like, if you hear no from absolutely everybody, then maybe that's when you step back and go, all right, maybe this isn't so good. Right? But don't assume that maybe smaller companies aren't the right fit for you. Maybe the bigger companies, you know, you got that opportunity to pitch, which I mean, that's just an experience in itself.
[00:07:37] Chrissy Fagerholt: So. Yeah, I would just say kind of keep on going until you have too many nos to. Have to maybe reevaluate. Yeah.
[00:07:46] Azhelle Wade: After September, 2021, Krissy and I connected again the following year in June, 2022, where I invited her on the podcast to talk about her recent successes. Krissy had made some connections at our TCA virtual pitch event that allowed her to produce and manufacture her game herself, and.
[00:08:06] Azhelle Wade: Get it into stores. So in this conversation that you're gonna hear clips of, I believe a lot of the products hadn't come out yet. Things were still under wraps. So Chrissy couldn't share everything that she will in the following episode. But this episode is a great insight in a Chrissy's development process and pitch process to take her ideas and how Toy Creators Academy helped her take that idea into.
[00:08:33] Azhelle Wade: And highlights how Toy Creators Academy and my coaching helps her take her ideas and turn them into what is now a thriving toy business. Let's talk a little bit about your current success, and then we'll get into how you got there. So what is your biggest win of the moment? Can you share that?
[00:08:51] Chrissy Fagerholt: My biggest win is I have two games coming out in June, and even before they actually hit the market, I found out that one of 'em is going to be on the shelves in Barnes and Noble, which is huge to me.
[00:09:06] Chrissy Fagerholt: Yeah, so I'm super excited about that.
[00:09:08] Azhelle Wade: Can you share the two games, what they are?
[00:09:10] Chrissy Fagerholt: Yes, I have the lunchroom game and also a game called Yuhu, which is the family version of my original game friend or foe.
[00:09:18] Azhelle Wade: So when you say they're coming out, if they're not both placed in stores, what do you mean? Will they be sold online?
[00:09:24] Chrissy Fagerholt: They'll be sold online. Amazon, of course, Barnes and noble.com. And I'm attending the Astro Show here in June and hoping to end up on the shelves of some specialty toy retailers. Who knows, the sky's the limit. We'll see where it takes us.
[00:09:37] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. I love your lunchroom game. I remember you sent me a sample and I was playing it.
[00:09:42] Azhelle Wade: It's such a great theme. I think it fits so well with this nostalgic energy everyone has going on. And also because when you first came up with the idea the pandemic was happening, kids weren't going to school, and I thought it was such a great fit for kids that missed that to have that. So now I'm curious to see how people react to the gameplay and the components and everything.
[00:10:01] Azhelle Wade: I just love what you did
[00:10:02] Chrissy Fagerholt: and to your credit. For the lunchroom game. Michelle, when I was originally came up with the idea, it was almost what it is now, except you're like, it's missing one thing. It's missing, it's got, there's something missing. And I was like, okay, let me think about this. Like what is it that's not fully there?
[00:10:17] Chrissy Fagerholt: Mm-hmm. And ultimately it was the best part of the game now, which is the tater tots. Yeah, the tater
[00:10:24] Azhelle Wade: tots. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I
[00:10:25] Chrissy Fagerholt: can't, so kind of. Taking that advice from you went back and said, all right, let's grab that attention to the buyer, but also the player. Make it even more Toyota than it is, you know, on shelf.
[00:10:35] Chrissy Fagerholt: And it's awesome. It's my favorite part of the, the whole game. It's so great.
[00:10:39] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. So thank you for that. Oh, you're welcome. I don't know when we had that conversation. I'm not sure if it was like a private call during the course or after, probably after the program. 'cause this was a while down the road.
[00:10:51] Chrissy Fagerholt: I would say it was close to the end or right after the program.
[00:10:55] Chrissy Fagerholt: Yeah. I had pitched the idea and I had pitched it at a pitching event, maybe through chi tag when it was all virtual.
[00:11:03] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. And I did
[00:11:03] Chrissy Fagerholt: not have the tater tot element at that point when I pitched it. And then you and I kind of started working together privately and just figured out, like taking an idea that I had and I thought was great.
[00:11:13] Azhelle Wade: Yeah.
[00:11:14] Chrissy Fagerholt: Allowing an opinion to say it's good, but it's missing something and then going, okay, I'm gonna listen to that. What is it? And it made a world of difference in the game.
[00:11:24] Azhelle Wade: So when you are doing your play testing, do you have internal checkpoints and what are they when you're play testing by yourself to begin, do you have internal checkpoints where you're like, yes, this is working?
[00:11:34] Azhelle Wade: What is it you're looking for when you're doing your own play testing?
[00:11:37] Chrissy Fagerholt: Well, it's funny because it's like I start to. Almost play like different characters where I'll be like, I'm gonna beat her over there, but it's really me. So I'm like, I really am trying to like play each person's role. And then if I get caught up, if I'm like, and I pay attention to it, like if I'm like, oh wait, but now I can't do, this person can't do this.
[00:11:56] Chrissy Fagerholt: I try to go back and re. Do the play, but find the element that went wrong. Do I have too many of one card? Do I have not enough of this card? If I keep playing enough, you know, is this never gonna end? I have to get it to where it's gonna end. Or does it end too soon? So there's, you know, all these things, but that it's like, play it by yourself.
[00:12:16] Chrissy Fagerholt: Really play it, and then have people play because then they're gonna pick up on the stuff that you're obviously missing.
[00:12:22] Azhelle Wade: How many times would you say you did that where you pretended to be other people and played your game? 50 plus. I mean, wow. Yeah, I did it with your game too. I sat there and I was like, okay, I'm gonna be player one and two, and you be player four and five.
[00:12:35] Azhelle Wade: And I was like, okay, I'm not gonna have any strategy. And then the player two is gonna play it as if they want the meet cards. Like I was just trying to like. Right. Pretend like I was different people.
[00:12:45] Chrissy Fagerholt: You know? I mean, there's a lot that you miss, but it's almost just that basic play pattern that you're just trying to nail.
[00:12:51] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm.
[00:12:51] Chrissy Fagerholt: And then when you actually bring people in, they'll pick up on the things that you're like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I missed that. But that's why play testing is so, so important. Okay. And do it over and over and over again until you feel like you are not having to explain. You're not having to justify something.
[00:13:07] Chrissy Fagerholt: Yeah. Yeah. That's a big one. And that's really hard because when you're play testing, it's hard not to take what people are saying personally, but you have to just check your ego out the door. Play it and take the good and the bad, and then go back, refine it,
[00:13:19] Azhelle Wade: and then do it again. Fast forward to October 2nd, 2024.
[00:13:24] Azhelle Wade: Chrissy has made so much progress, leaps and bounds since first joining TCA and taking part in our virtual pitch event, and in order to get an unbiased interview of what she'd accomplished so far, I had a fellow TCA or Virginia let. Interview her on this podcast. So let's listen into some of the top moments in that interview with Virginia and hear about Chrissy's Toy Journey and what she would say about her process in Toy Creators Academy and outside of it when I'm not in the room.
[00:13:57] Virginia: We are delighted to have on the podcast today, Chrissy Fagg Geralt of EAP Toys and Games, one of the original or first ever Toy Creators Academy graduates. Is that right, Chrissy? Yes, I'll own that. I spoke to Azhelle briefly the other day and asked, is there anything that you can tell me about Chrissy that I should know before our interview?
[00:14:18] Virginia: And she said, yeah, she's been with me from the beginning. How long ago was that?
[00:14:22] Chrissy Fagerholt: This was 2021, I believe. Yeah. So that was her first course, her first class, and there were like 10, 12,
[00:14:33] Virginia: you know? Well, how did you come across the course then Chrissy, given that it hadn't existed to that point?
[00:14:39] Chrissy Fagerholt: Yeah, so I had already had a licensed game and I knew that I wanted to do more, so I was like, oh, I'm gonna pitch games and great, I'll license more games.
[00:14:47] Chrissy Fagerholt: Well quickly learn that that is not as easy as it sounds. And I thought, well, let me just do a little bit more research in the industry. 'cause I had zero, I was a floral designer for 17 years and I was like, well, if I start to educate myself and really immerse myself in the industry, maybe I will. Pick up something, learn something, um, that'll help me get better at pitching or anything.
[00:15:09] Chrissy Fagerholt: And I found her podcast also very early on in her podcast, and I think I caught her at the tail end of her first season. And then I just listened to all of them and she then was like, I'm doing this course, join this course. And I was like, why not? Financially it made sense. I wasn't in the mindset to go back to school.
[00:15:31] Chrissy Fagerholt: School. I mean, I had kids and just, it was not an option for me. So I thought this was like the perfect fit. It was a little bit more on my timeline. Um, it was feasible, affordable, and then that's it.
[00:15:43] Virginia: Signed up and here we are. So second time around. Then you're doing TCA to bring your second game to market.
[00:15:51] Virginia: What key differences did you find as you were going along through the course to how you'd done it the first time before you joined the course?
[00:16:00] Chrissy Fagerholt: Well, at this stage, I really was wanting to understand the industry. What does that look like? You know, will I have to manufacture these games myself? At the very beginning, I thought it was more about designing the games and giving me the opportunity to pitch.
[00:16:20] Chrissy Fagerholt: So when I first started the course. Self-publishing wasn't really on the table. I was like, Nope. This is more about creating the games and getting 'em to a really good place that they were, the mechanics were good, the theme was good, and then I was gonna have these opportunities to pitch to companies. And so.
[00:16:43] Chrissy Fagerholt: I would say by the time I finished the course I was like, actually, maybe I'm going to do self-publishing. So it's a good thing I did this course because now I have a little bit more background in like, you know, the manufacturing aspect and I got to pitch to distributors, which really is the catalyst to why I like dove in and fell into self-publishing.
[00:17:03] Chrissy Fagerholt: But I was really thankful for the course because if I didn't have all that background and just going in blind is. It's doable. Of course it's doable, but it's just a little bit harder. 'cause then you have to kind of backtrack and try to figure out.
[00:17:15] Virginia: Chrissy, I'm just wondering, we do a little bit about this in the Toy Creator Academy course, but I'm wondering, do you consider yourself to be ananta or an entrepreneur?
[00:17:26] Virginia: This, as you and I were talking about this in my end of module one-on-one meeting a few weeks ago, because I still cannot decide if I'm an inventor or an entrepreneur. What do you consider yourself to be?
[00:17:39] Chrissy Fagerholt: A hundred percent both. That's what Michelle would say. I think Michelle would say the same because that's what she say.
[00:17:47] Chrissy Fagerholt: You know, there's people that who just invent, they're like, I absolutely do not wanna deal with the business side. And now that I've done both, I a hundred percent see why there is really, there's a lot of control there when you do your own stuff, but you all of a sudden you are wearing all the hats. All of a sudden you have to understand how to keep your books in order and how to do all those things.
[00:18:10] Chrissy Fagerholt: And when I feel like I'm getting a little like, oh my gosh. And you know when people start a business and if it's usually based off a passion, whether that's like baking or t-shirts or whatever it is. That is such a small part of your business. 10% of me coming up with games is so small. It's why I do it, because I love it.
[00:18:30] Chrissy Fagerholt: And when I find myself getting frustrated with the business side of it, I'll be like, let's just think about ideas. Let's go back to the board. Let's have fun with this again. Let's come up with some new game ideas and then let's do this. And that kind of reinvigorates me a little bit. Yeah. And it takes me out of the frustration of having to own a business.
[00:18:48] Chrissy Fagerholt: Run all the parts.
[00:18:49] Azhelle Wade: Well, there you have a toy people. That was our overview of Chrissy's Toy Journey so far. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did and you wanna hear more overview episodes that kind of string together various episodes that one person has been on, please let me know If you love this podcast and you haven't.
[00:19:08] Azhelle Wade: Yet left us a review. What are you waiting for? Your reviews mean a ton to me. I get a notification on my phone when a new review comes in and it puts a huge smile on my face. So wherever you're listening, please leave us a high rating and a review. As always, thank you so much for spending your time with me here today.
[00:19:27] Azhelle Wade: I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there, so it truly means the world to me that you tuned into this one. Until next week, I'll see you later toy people.
[00:19:39] Voiceover: Thanks for listening to the Making It In The Toy Industry Podcast with Azhelle Way. Wade Head over to the to coach com for more information, tips, and advice.
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