Cat and Aaron Fluss Of DAT GAME: From Avocation To Vocation; How I Turned My Hobby Into A Career

Authority Magazine: Cat and Aaron Fluss Of DAT GAME: From Avocation To Vocation; How I Turned My Hobby Into A Career -- Listen Share Test your idea in real life, share it with people, try it with friends, and pay attention to how people genuinely react. Test your idea in real life, share it with people, try it with friends, and pay attention to how people genuinely react. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure to interview Cat and Aaron Fluss. San Francisco couple Cat and Aaron are the Co-Founders of DAT GAME, (short for Do, Ask, Tell) a conversation and connection game designed to spark laughter, storytelling, and genuine moments between friends, family,

and new acquaintances. With 150 unique prompts that range from hilarious to heartfelt, players take turns completing a Do, answering an Ask, or sharing a Tell. There’s no keeping score and no winners or losers, just real connection and good fun. Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”? Cat was born in Florida and raised in the Bay Area before the rise of Silicon Valley. With a deep-rooted passion for the arts, she went on to build a 20-year career in hospitality, centered around creating memorable, people-first experiences. Aaron was born in Illinois and also raised in the Bay Area.

A former college athlete, he later earned his law degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, bringing a strong foundation in discipline, strategy, and business. What was the catalyst from transforming your hobby or something you love into a business? Can you share the story of your “ah ha” moment with us? Before we decided to turn this into a business, we would play the game with our friends and share so many beautiful, funny, and long-lasting moments and memories with them. We realized we had something special.

Our friends and family kept telling us, “You have to make this a game!” One story that really stands out is that “ah-ha” moment when we learned something new about our friends’ love story, specifically, that the wife had never known the exact moment her husband realized she was “the one.” That is just one of many amazing moments we’ve witnessed.

From there, we realized we’d always had ideas we wanted to turn into businesses, and we finally decided to take action rather than sit on the couch and let another opportunity pass us by. There are no shortages of good ideas out there, but people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How did you overcome this challenge? I think for us the challenge was deciding to take that first step and figuring out how to do so. Once we trademarked the name and created an LLC, we officially started and were all in.

From there it has honestly been a lot of trial, not being afraid to pivot when something isn’t working and being able to adapt when a problem arises. What advice would you give someone who has a hobby or pastime that they absolutely love but is reluctant to do it for a living? Test your idea in real life, share it with people, try it with friends, and pay attention to how people genuinely react. That’s exactly what we did with DAT GAME, and those real moments, the laughter, the stories, the connections, showed us we had something special. At the same time, be realistic with yourself.

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The article provides insights on turning a hobby into a business, which is moderately significant for the brand/design industry, offers some new perspectives on brand strategy, and is relevant for professionals looking to engage with their audience.