As a relatively young COO of a fast-growing, multi-million dollar company, people are often curious to learn how I've managed to accomplish so much at such a young age. While my response – hard work, dedication, perseverance, and good fortune – may seem underwhelming, it's the truth.
To be fair, there's a bit more to it than that. There's a spark within me that has always propelled me forward, a relentless drive to create, innovate, and make a difference in the world. In short, I've always been drawn to the excitement of turning ideas into reality.
It's this same passion that led me to co-found Think Fast Games, LLC with Alan Wessel, even though I'm consistently working 60-70 hours a week as COO at Knack. It's been just over a year since we started working on our first game, Dot Duel. As we start to develop our second game, which will be released later this year, I felt compelled to reflect on the journey that has brought me here.
I believe that everyone has the potential to achieve great things, no matter their age or background. It's all about having the courage to follow your dreams, take risks, and bet on yourself.
Getting Started
My entrepreneurial journey began in the fifth grade, thanks to a workshop organized by Junior Achievement USA and facilitated by my father, Roy Kelly. It was there that I first learned about the concept of entrepreneurship and the power of turning ideas into reality.
Little did I know that this would ignite a flame within me — fueled by imagination, innovation, and the sheer joy of bringing ideas to life. At just ten years old, I was convinced I had something to offer the world. After throwing around a few different ideas, I decided to launch TWL, Inc. with two of my classmates, developing and releasing our very first product – a board game assembled using classroom supplies.
Even though we quickly saturated the market (our classmates and their parents), and I don't remember the name of the game, how it was played, or how many copies we sold before we called it quits, I will never forget how empowering it felt to turn our idea into reality.
One year later, Shark Tank ABC hit the airwaves, and I was immediately hooked. Through watching the show, I became increasingly aware of the intricacies that go into launching and scaling a successful business venture. As I began to understand business valuations, equity investments, debt vehicles, and unit economics, I started to realize how becoming a successful entrepreneur was much more challenging than creating a cool new product.
To be a great entrepreneur, you can't just be an inventor; you have to be a savvy business person, an effective leader, a powerful public speaker, and so much more. What I found most interesting, though, was the diversity of the entrepreneurs who came on the show and the businesses they created. Seeing this taught me that anyone from any walk of life can make a business out of just about any interest they may have. The message of motivation was clear: you, too, can be an entrepreneur.
By the time I made it to high school, the financial aspect of entrepreneurship became much more appealing. I needed money to pay for food, clothes, gas, etc. and I valued my time at more than $7 per hour (minimum wage at the time). In the midst of taking as many AP classes as possible, participating in and leading a variety of clubs, conducting hundreds of hours of community service, and playing a varsity sport, there wasn't much time left in the week for me to work. As such, I needed to find an efficient way for me to earn some cash.
That's when I launched my first real business: William Kelly Tutoring Services.
Tutoring has always been part of my life. As early as the second grade, I have distinct memories of helping other classmates learn challenging curriculum. By middle school, I starting tutoring formally as a form of community service. So, when I made the decision to launch my tutoring business, the biggest change was starting to charge for something I had been doing for free for years. What started as a way to help classmates learn quickly turned into a thriving business, allowing me to earn more than $30 per hour before I had even graduated from high school.
Joining Knack
When I started college at North Carolina State University in August of 2016, I planned on continuing my work as a tutor. While I considered rebuilding my book of business entirely on my own, I figured I might benefit from joining an Uber-like marketplace to find clientele. In the midst of applying for and getting denied from a number of online tutoring platforms, I got an email from Knack about "course-specific peer tutoring at NC State" with a link at the bottom to become a tutor.
I signed up right away and ended up having the first Knack tutoring session outside of the state of Florida. That's when Samyr Qureshi (co-founder & CEO) reached out to me, and I discovered that Knack was an early-stage start-up. Having officially launched the platform earlier that same year, Samyr Qureshi offered me the opportunity to become involved with the company's Campus Ambassador Program to spread the word about Knack. I leapt at the opportunity, quickly enlisting a number of my friends at NC State and UNC to help along the way (Alan Wessel, Jacob Oehler, Callie Kirchstein, & Parker Yount to name a few).
Within a few weeks, I had gone from "Tutor" to "Campus Ambassador" to "Campus Manager" and I had plans for so much more. I shared these plans with Samyr Qureshi, who quickly became an incredible mentor and friend. Over the next 18 months, I proved myself enough for the Knack founders (Samyr Qureshi , Dennis Hansen, Shawn Doyle, & David Stoker) to extend an offer for me to join the team full-time after I graduated from college.
While the pay was low, there were no benefits, and the company had yet to raise any significant funding, I didn't think twice. The only thing that mattered to me was having the opportunity to help Knack realize it's true potential: improving the college learning experience for generations to come.
So, after graduating as valedictorian of the NC State Poole College of Management with a degree in Business Administration (Finance) in May of 2018, I moved to Tampa, FL to focus on Knack full-time. I loved every minute of those early months as we dove full force into a team-wide effort to redefine the company.
Within six months, we secured seed funding and shifted from a direct-to-consumer model to partnering with universities to make tutoring entirely free for their students. Throughout 2019, we refined our product and market positioning. By early 2020, we were showing early signs of strong product-market fit. When COVID hit, everything changed.
We offered our platform for free, enabling campuses to virtualize tutoring. This expanded our reach, and several free trials converted to paid partnerships as schools received federal funding. The pandemic fueled growth, but also led us to explore non-core offerings. By the end of 2021, we had refocused on our core competencies, leading to significant growth, Series A funding in 2022, and our best year ever in 2023. Now, in 2024, we're serving more students than ever before and the future looks incredibly bright for Knack.
Returning to My Roots
If everything at Knack is going so well, why did I start another company?
To answer that question, we'll have to look back to April of 2023 when my wife Julianna and I took a trip to visit Alan and his wife Christina at their new home in Tennessee. During this visit, we played a few different card games. One night, we started to alter the rules of one of the games to make it more enjoyable for us. Later on, riding the high of a Miami HEAT playoff win, I uttered an unknowingly life-altering phrase: "We should create our own game."
Alan and I have been friends for more than a decade, and we've thrown around a number of different business ideas over the years. Alan works full-time as a Chemical Engineer at a Fortune 500 company, but he minored in Entrepreneurship at NC State, so he's always been interested in the idea of creating something new. Before Dot Duel, we had never landed on an idea that was compelling enough for us to spend the time needed to bring it to life. This one was different.
We began meeting weekly during evenings, weekends, and late nights. The first month was dedicated to creating a first draft of the rules and the deck, so we could test the game. The next few months were filled with focus groups, testing, and refinement. When we finally had a game that we were proud of, we had to figure out what it would cost to produce and how we might be able to sell it. That's when we decided to launch our Kickstarter.
We launched the campaign in October of 2023, and we were absolutely blown away by the response. We quickly managed to reach and exceed our goal with the support of nearly 100 backers from all over the US. While we are so incredibly grateful for the support of our friends and family, it was especially rewarding to see backers with whom we had no prior connection. By the end of the year, we had collected the cash, fulfilled initial orders, and solidified plans to turn our partnership into Think Fast Games, LLC in early 2024.
Looking to the Future
The first five months of 2024 have passed by in a blur. I formed a new company in January, I oversaw a significant restructuring at Knack in February, I got married in March, I helped lead a company retreat for Knack in April, and I kicked off our first true sales campaign for Dot Duel in May. I have no doubt that the second half of the year will be equally involved, informative, invigorating, and impactful.
My journey from creating board games in elementary school to co-founding a successful table top gaming company while also leading a multi-million dollar tech company is proof that anyone can achieve their dreams with passion, perseverance, and a willingness to take risks. My story is not just about business success; it's about embracing opportunities, pushing boundaries, and constantly seeking new challenges. I hope it inspires you to discover your own path, ignite your entrepreneurial spirit, and create a life that is both fulfilling and impactful.
Remember, it's never too early or too late to pursue your passions and make your mark on the world. I hope that we can all continue to roll the dice, take risks, and bet boldly on ourselves, knowing that the greatest journeys begin with a single step.