Elan Lee, co-founder of Exploding Kittens, explains the viral commercial success and sales velocity of their follow-up card-and-dodgeball game, Throw Throw Burrito.
0:00 / 0:13exact quote · 13.6s
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“And that thing, I think its first year, it sold 500,000 copies. A normal game, its first year, will sell 30,000 copies. Like, this was just off the charts for a game, and every year since then, it's grown, because it keeps spreading.”
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More from Elan Lee
Insight
Lee: Kickstarter's real purpose is community building, not fundraising
“Go to Kickstarter to build a community. It's not there to raise funds. It has the side effect of raising funds, but you're really raising a community, and that's the place to do it.”
Elan LeeDec 22, 2025▶ 52:31Exploding Kittens: Elan Lee. How cat-themed Russian Roulette changed game night forever
Disclosure
Brick-and-mortar stores represent 60% of Exploding Kittens' total sales
“Brick and mortar is still about 60% of our business.”
Elan LeeDec 22, 2025▶ 1:16:52Exploding Kittens: Elan Lee. How cat-themed Russian Roulette changed game night forever
Disclosure
Lee resigned from Microsoft because Xbox games isolated children
“And I just thought, like, oh, I am so clearly part of the problem here. Like, something about it feels broken. And within about two weeks, I resigned and knew I had to go do something else.”
Elan LeeDec 22, 2025▶ 25:40Exploding Kittens: Elan Lee. How cat-themed Russian Roulette changed game night forever
Insight
Lee: Card games should pit players against each other, not the game
“My whole principle behind the thing was, every card in this game should invite an interaction between you and another player. So, I really wanted this thing to feel like you are playing against players. You're not playing against the game. Everybody is playing…”
Elan LeeDec 22, 2025▶ 34:05Exploding Kittens: Elan Lee. How cat-themed Russian Roulette changed game night forever
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Lee: Exploding Kittens consistently generated $20M annually for ten years
“Every year, like, For the first few years, honestly, for the first, like, 10 years, Exploding Kittens is very consistent at hitting that.”
Elan LeeDec 22, 2025▶ 54:06Exploding Kittens: Elan Lee. How cat-themed Russian Roulette changed game night forever
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Exploding Kittens costs $1 to $2 to manufacture and retails for $20
“It's to make cards, put them in a box. This comes out to like between one and two dollars based on the product. Right. And we're selling it for 20.”
Elan LeeDec 22, 2025▶ 54:44Exploding Kittens: Elan Lee. How cat-themed Russian Roulette changed game night forever
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