Today we’d like to introduce you to Lilian Chen.
Hi Lilian, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began my career in finance but had always wanted to be an entrepreneur. After a few years working across finance in various positions, I finally had my shot at creating a start-up with a business school classmate. During the pandemic, we began hosting virtual trivia sessions just for fun as a side hustle, and the company took off. Before long, there were enough game requests for us to quit our jobs and do it full-time. The rest is history. In the last three years, we’ve worked with 1,500 companies to host events for their teams.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It certainly has not always been a smooth ride. In particular, in 2022, when many offices began making a push for return-to-office, our team had to re-evaluate our product and go to market. We ended up testing new strategies, refining our use case to hone in on more specific Ideal Customer Profiles, and adjusting our product to work in a hybrid environment.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Bar None Games is a premier virtual team-building platform. We offer a series of different event formats, all centered around collaboration and forming connections, including trivia, bingo, icebreakers, and more. Many of our games are team-based competitions, so players spend time both as a larger group and in a smaller setting. We also love working with DEI leaders to help them with celebrating and honoring diverse communities. We’re a 100% minority-owned business, and diversity and inclusion are part of our core values. We have themed events focused on diverse communities that are uniquely both educational and engaging.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Growing up, my dad’s company would host a huge company-wide every summer with the families would be invited two. I have two distinct memories – one where they rented out a waterpark for the day and another where they hosted a huge barbeque in a local park. Growing up as the child of immigrants, I didn’t frequent in these classic American past times, except for when my dad’s company sponsored it. I had so much fun at all of these events. I remember laughing and being so joyful when my dad would take me to these.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://barnonegames.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barnonegames/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barnonegames
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bar-none-games/
