By Lindsey Murray | ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship
CYstarters Spotlight: A 14-part series highlighting student entrepreneurs pursuing their business ventures as part of the CYstarters 2024 summer cohort. Through this program, students have the unique opportunity to prioritize the development of their own startup or business idea. Each individual receives $6,500 and access to resources such as mentorship, networking opportunities, and educational sessions on entrepreneurship and business startup.
Andrew Walton: The CYstarter Bringing Dark Humor to Game Night
Andrew Walton is not your average sophomore at Iowa State University. He is a thoughtful entrepreneur studying marketing, entrepreneurship, and finance. This summer, Andrew is diving deeper into his passion project and business venture through the CYstarters accelerator program: Morbid Living, a dark humor card game designed to bring a PG13 twist to family game night.
The Making of an Entrepreneur
Andrew’s entrepreneurial journey began early. As a child, he started several businesses, from selling rocks from his garden to launching a neighborhood newspaper covering local events that he sold to his neighbors, friends, and the community. While neither of these things have made him a millionaire, his pursuit of entrepreneurship didn’t stop there. His unique knack for identifying problems, spotting opportunities, and turning them into businesses continued through high school, where a course similar to CYstarters cemented his passion for entrepreneurship.
Andrew’s decision to attend Iowa State University was driven by its robust entrepreneurship program. Since becoming a Cyclone, he has not only developed Morbid Living but also started Walton Printing Services. Andrew currently prints t-shirts for the university, ISU clubs, fraternities, and more. The idea for Walton Printing Services came when Andrew was shocked by the high prices of ordering t-shirts for a club and decided he could offer a more affordable solution. Operating out of a space at the Iowa State University Research Park, he prints everything locally.
Morbid Living was born two years ago after playing a casual round of The Game of Life with his dad. “My dad joked about how funny it would be if one of the squares said something outrageous like ‘Get hit by a bus.’ That sparked the idea for a game with hilarious, and dark consequences,” Andrew explains. Initially created to be a board game, Andrew pivoted to a card game due to manufacturing costs.
The game, described as a blend of Cards Against Humanity, The Game of Life, and Monopoly, with a dark humor twist, currently has one PG-13 version available, complete with an optional expansion pack. This summer, Andrew is working on a rated-R version, which can now be pre-ordered on his website, www.morbidliving.com.
Andrew’s target market includes teenagers who enjoy playing the game and the parents who buy it for them. “My main target market is really just parents of teenagers that want to be cool and spend time with their children!” he laughs. Andrew hopes to expand his market and reach anyone who loves to play a good card game.
The 180 transition from a board game to a card game was a significant challenge for Andrew. He had already finalized the design of the game and was ready to print until he realized how high the cost of manufacturing this game would be. And once he moved to the card game style, he continued to encounter issues with his manufacturer. “There’s always something that goes wrong, and communication with manufacturers in different countries can be difficult,” Andrew notes. However, CYstarters, which starts with the business basics, has provided valuable insights and support, helping him identify holes in his business and areas for improvement such as website updates, marketing strategies, and game development.
One surprising discovery during the program was the interest of grandparents in playing the game with their grandchildren. This insight has broadened Andrew’s perspective on his customer base.
Looking Ahead
As CYstarters winds down, Andrew has set ambitious SMART goals: achieving $10,000 in sales through paid advertising, releasing the rated-R version of the game, and getting Morbid Living into 10 retail stores. “I’ve never done any paid advertising before, so I’ve been learning a lot from my mentors who have had great success with Facebook ads. I think these goals are achievable with their guidance,” he says.
Andrew sharing his story and the Morbid Living game at 1 Million Cups in Ames, Iowa.
Andrew emphasizes the importance of storytelling in marketing, a lesson he found particularly impactful during the program. “Incorporating my personal story into my marketing materials can really resonate with my audience,” he says.
As Andrew continues to dive deeper into the realm of entrepreneurship, he offers words of advice to his fellow peers who may be considering starting a business of their own. “It feels pretty big to jump into something and get it going. But if you can just make a bare-bones website from a basic business idea, then go out and get a customer to prove that your idea or product is good, you’ll have the confidence to keep pursuing that idea.”
Support Andrew and Morbid Living
You can support Andrew and his venture by purchasing Morbid Living at www.morbidliving.com, providing feedback on the game, or connecting him with retail stores that might be a good fit for his game. He’s particularly interested in board game stores, cafes or bars where people play games, and bookstores. Reach out to him at Andrew.walton03@gmail.com with any leads.
Join the Ames community in supporting CYstarters cohort 9 on Demo Day, where Andrew and other venture teams will pitch their businesses and share their progress. The event is on Tuesday, July 30, and is open to the public. Register at www.isupjcenter.org/event/2023-cystarters-demo-day/. Let’s celebrate and support our local entrepreneurs!
