About Derek Sivers

Derek Sivers has worn many hats, musician, entrepreneur, author, and philosopher, but his work maintains a single throughline: a relentless pursuit of living deliberately. He first found success by founding CD Baby, an indie music platform that revolutionized digital distribution before he sold it for over $20 million and donated most of the proceeds. Since then, he’s become a bestselling author of books like Anything You Want, Hell Yeah or No, and Useful Not True, each filled with punchy, poetic wisdom earned from experience. In this episode, we explore how to treat your life like a design problem, why marketing is part of the art, and how vulnerability and weirdness aren’t liabilities—they’re the keys to resonance. Whether you’re building a company, making games, or just trying to figure out how to live a more meaningful life, this conversation will challenge your assumptions and invite you to take that first small but deliberate step.

Dominic Crapuchettes is the founder of North Star Games and the designer of massive hits like Wits & Wagers, Say Anything, and the Evolution series—games that have sold over 4.5 million copies. In this episode, Dominic opens up about the rise and fall of North Star, from building a 30-person team and landing six SKUs at Target, to watching the company go bankrupt and eventually buying it back. He shares what he’s learned from those hard-won lessons, including how to build frothing fan communities, how to design with audience constraints in mind, and why brand and hook matter as much as gameplay. We also dive into his most ambitious project yet: Nature, a new modular game system launching at Gen Con that aims to bring the magic of collectible games to families and casual players alike. Whether you're a founder, designer, or someone trying to follow your passion while staying afloat, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

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CHECK OUT SHADOWS OVER SOLIS TODAY ON GAMEFOUND

5 Quick Lessons About Crowdfinding

* Crowdfunding has changed: You need to bring your own audience and community. Success now requires months of preparation, including playtesting, reviews, and pre-launch marketing.

* De-risk your campaign: Validate your product ahead of time (e.g., with digital play), use scalable local manufacturing, and print to order to reduce financial risk.

* Offer meaningful, manageable exclusives: Make backers feel special with unique experiences or digital rewards that don’t overcomplicate fulfillment or inflate costs.

* Lead with gratitude and humility: Crowdfunding is hard and full of uncertainty. Transparency, community connection, and willingness to own mistakes are vital for long-term support.

* Build and contribute to community: Share not just your products, but your journey, learnings, and stories. That’s how you create lasting relationships and grow a global community around your games.