How I Built This: Exploding Kittens - Elan Lee

Episode Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Guy Raz
Guest: Elan Lee, Co-founder of Exploding Kittens

Episode Overview

This episode of "How I Built This" features Elan Lee, co-founder of Exploding Kittens, a wildly successful cat-themed card game that redefined modern game nights. Host Guy Raz dives deep into Elan’s backstory—from a rebellious tinker, to a designer at Xbox, to pioneering interactive entertainment, and finally to co-founding one of the most viral tabletop games ever. The conversation unpacks the art of storytelling, the challenges of scaling a creative business, and how luck, tenacity, and community fueled the rise of Exploding Kittens.

Main Themes and Purpose

• The evolution of creativity and storytelling in games
• How Exploding Kittens went from a “weekend project” to a multimillion-dollar company
• The role of community in launching and sustaining a product
• Adapting to setbacks, failures, and changing markets
• Bridging the digital and analog worlds through play

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Elan Lee's Early Curiosity and Divergent Path

• Childhood marked by curiosity, “breaking everything” to understand how it works.
• Fails at conventional academia except for physics, thanks to a supportive teacher who recognized his learning style.
  • “He looked at me and he said, ‘You’re going to fail this thing… But I’m going to make you a deal…I think you’re smart. I think we’re just trying to figure out where the smart lives.’” — Elan Lee (09:05)

2. The Leap to Game Design: From ILM to Microsoft

[11:10] Lands an internship at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM):

• Works on high-profile visual effects, including the Titanic breath animation.

• Moves to Microsoft, joins the original Xbox team as a project manager, but excels more at creative problem-solving than management.

  • “You’re one of the worst program managers I’ve ever seen, but I think you might be a good designer.”
    — Elan’s boss, Jordan Weisman (13:43)

• Plays a supporting design role in launching iconic games like Halo.

3. Inventing Alternate Reality Games (ARGs)

[15:57] Pioneers ARGs with “The Beast” for Spielberg’s A.I.:

• Scatters narrative clues across the internet for fans to discover.

• Learns about interactive, communal storytelling at massive scale.

  • “This was like interactive theater done on a scale of millions…” (21:24)

• Leaves Microsoft, co-founds 42 Entertainment to create more ARG-focused marketing for major brands and games (e.g., Halo 2).

4. From Burnout Back to Creativity

[27:11] Returns briefly to Microsoft (Xbox One launch), but an existential crisis strikes:

• Sees his young nieces/nephews playing games he designed and recognizes his role in promoting screen addiction.
  • “I am so clearly part of the problem here…something about it feels broken.” (27:27)
• Quits again, committing to find a way to foster in-person, communal experiences.

5. The Birth of Exploding Kittens: A Game, a Comic, a Story

[33:28] Meets Matt Inman (The Oatmeal) and Shane Small in Hawaii:

• Originates as a Russian roulette-style card game scribbled on a regular deck.

• Matt suggests: “What if instead, the thing you were scared of in the deck were cute, adorable, fuzzy little kittens and we'll call the game Exploding Kittens?” (36:36)

• Initial expectations are low—just a fun side project.

  • “…I really thought this was gonna be a fun weekend project… Matt thought it was going to be bigger than I thought it was gonna be…” (37:57/38:16)

6. Kickstarting a Movement

[43:52] The original Kickstarter has a modest $10,000 goal:

• Hits $10,000 in 7 minutes; $1 million in 24 hours; $9 million by campaign's end.
• Breaks Kickstarter records for number of backers (219,000).
  • “We hit that 10 grand in the first 20 minutes…within the first 24 hours, we pass the $1 million mark.” (44:39/45:21)
• Kickstarter campaign features “achievements” that turn backers into active co-creators (e.g., send photos of “taco cats” or “10 Batmans in a hot tub”).
• Stresses community over just funding:
  • “What if we ignore funding entirely? Let's worry about the crowd part of that.” (49:48)

7. Scaling, Manufacturing, and the Power of Community

• Facing scale challenges; original printer can’t produce 700,000 decks.
• Gets advice and assistance from Cards Against Humanity team.
• Fulfills all orders on schedule, proving capability and reliability.

8. Sustaining Success (and Surviving Flops)

• Exploding Kittens becomes a best-seller in retail, staying at ~$20 million per year for a decade.
• Next games (“Bears vs Babies,” “You’ve Got Crabs”) fail to stick.
  • “When I go to game nights with my friends, I'm bringing Exploding Kittens, and I'm not bringing Bears vs Babies… It's a little too complicated.” (64:54)
• The fear of being a “one-hit wonder” drives the company to keep innovating.

9. Reinvention with “Throw Throw Burrito”

[69:45] Discovers a new game concept (Flaming Mangoes → Throw Throw Burrito):

• Half card game, half dodgeball, features throwable foam burritos.
• Packaging drives curiosity and social play—leads to another bestseller (500,000 copies in year one).
  • “A normal game in its first year will sell 30,000 copies. This was just off the charts…” (72:19)

10. Accepting Investment and Expanding IP

• Chernin Group invests $40 million, offering help to expand into media (TV, movies, merchandise).
  • “At this point, the next stage for you is the TV show and the movie and the theme park…and we are the best in the world at building those things.” (74:10)

11. The COVID-19 Boom

[77:37] Pandemic creates huge demand for in-home games:

• 90% revenue increase in 2020; supply-chain struggles met head-on.

12. International Growth, New Demographics, and Pre-K Pivot

• Asmodée’s acquisition (55% stake) helps expand globally, especially in language localization.
• Elan, inspired by fatherhood, develops games with his 4-year-old daughter for the pre-K market:
  • “Let’s fix it.” — Elan’s daughter’s encouragement (83:08)

13. Scale and Strategy

• Company now exceeds $100 million annual revenue, with over 100 games.
• 60% of sales are through brick-and-mortar retailers.
• The marketing team has “final veto” on any new games, ensuring the ability to sell is as critical as gameplay.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the real “magic” of Exploding Kittens:
  “Everything we do has to have two components: one, we need to have a really good game…and two, none of that matters unless we know how to sell those games.” — Elan Lee (59:46)
• On company philosophy:
  “We don’t make entertaining games. We make games that make the people you’re playing with entertaining.” — Elan Lee (87:55)
• On luck vs. perseverance:
  “Every time I'm confronted with a problem and it has the opportunity to go really, really wrong, giving up is always the wrong answer...good luck comes from not giving up.” — Elan Lee (90:14)
• On the accidental viral sensation:
  “Now you shut it down, right? Then we shut it down. Because who needs more money than that?” — Guy Raz (45:50, joking about $3M in a few days on Kickstarter)
• On parenting, creativity, and game design:
  “Let’s fix it.” — Elan’s four-year-old daughter, inspiring their pre-K game line (83:08)

Essential Timestamps

04:20 – The fur-covered cat vending machine: creativity at conventions
08:55 – Supportive high school teacher changes Elan’s trajectory
11:10 – First steps in Hollywood, then on to Microsoft/Xbox
13:43 – Recognition that Elan is a designer, not a project manager
15:57 – “The Beast” alternate reality game for Spielberg’s AI
21:24 – Creation of “interactive theater” for millions
33:28 – Meeting Matt Inman, sparking Exploding Kittens
36:36 – Birth of the name “Exploding Kittens”
43:52 – Launch and rocket-like success of the Kickstarter
49:48 – Refocusing the campaign on “the crowd” rather than funding
59:46 – The dual core of success: great games and great marketing
69:45 – Reinventing success with “Throw Throw Burrito”
77:37 – COVID-19’s massive boost to board game sales
83:08 – Elan’s daughter inspires pre-K game line
87:55 – Company’s ethos: making the people you play with entertaining
90:14 – Elan’s “luck” story and the power of not giving up

Episode Flow and Tone

• Conversational, frequently self-deprecating and humorous (both Elan and Guy), sprinkled with insightful asides.
• Full of practical entrepreneur wisdom—failures, pivots, humility, and “bootstrapped” problem solving.
• Candid reflections on personal struggles, existential doubts, and the tension between digital and analog experiences.
• Celebratory of creative risk and the joy of making people laugh and connect.
• Ends on the resounding message that “luck” is not the absence of hardship, but the refusal to give up in the face of it.

Summary

This episode is a rich tapestry of stories spanning tech, gaming, art, and business. It captures how Exploding Kittens became so much more than a game: it is a masterclass in storytelling, community-building, and the business of fun. Elan Lee’s journey—from digital pioneer to analog game kingpin—shows that curiosity, resilience, and improvisational joy can lead to enduring success, provided you never stop asking, “What if we did it differently?” Above all, Exploding Kittens stands as a testament to the human need for connection and play.

Listen to this episode for a deep dive into creativity, grit, and the playful side of entrepreneurship.