A messy moment during a 2024 family road trip to Myrtle Beach led Elise and Tony Rich to create a company and be named finalists in a Shark Tank-like competition for veteran-owned businesses.
The Pevely-area couple, who have been married since 2012, said they were driving through Tennessee when one of their five children got sick in their Suburban and damaged the family’s iPad. It didn’t take long for the children to start complaining of boredom.
After a while, Elise said, she remembered how much the oldest kids loved Brain Quest trivia questions about math, history and science, so she decided to use that interest to keep them entertained. But, she needed a topic.
Tony and Elise, members of St. Joseph Church in Imperial, said they enjoy talking to each other about theology and philosophy but realized they hadn’t been engaging their children in “the stuff that matters.”
“So, right there, mid-road trip, my husband and I started asking them trivia-style questions about our Catholic faith and the Gospels,” Elise said. “And you know what? It was a hit. The bickering stopped. The energy shifted.”
Elise said while everyone else slept that night, she looked online for faith-based trivia but couldn’t find anything suitable for children.
“So right then and there, somewhere between Tennessee and the Carolinas, we started working on our first game,” she said. “And that’s how (our card game company) Trivioso was born – out of a messy, real-life moment, a desire to do better as a parent and a hope to help families everywhere pass on what matters most.”
She said they took out a no-interest credit card to buy the inventory to start Trivioso in August, making three card games: Gospel Trivia, Catholic Trivia and Artful Fishing, a Go Fish-style game featuring the artwork of famous artists like Rembrandt. They sell the games on Amazon and Etsy.
Warrior Rising
Elise said it was Warrior Rising, a free mini online business school for veterans, that helped them get their business off the ground.
Both Elise, a 2007 graduate of Herculaneum High School, and Tony, a 2003 graduate of Lloyd Memorial High School in Kentucky, were eligible veterans. They joined the Air Force in 2007 and were deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 where they began dating after meeting during pre-deployment training. They now serve in the Missouri Air National Guard, Tony as a captain and Elise as a senior master sergeant who serves as an air battle manager.
According to its website, Warrior Rising provides veterans with education, training, coaching, mentorship and potential access to clients and investors, as well as funding opportunities to become “vetrepreneurs.” The program has helped create and fund more than 100 veteran-owned businesses.
“You start with Warrior Academy,” said Tony, who is also an independent financial adviser in St. Louis County. “And that’s all self-based learning, online videos and basically tells you how to start a business, take it from idea to market.
“Then you go on to a guided class (an eight-week virtual program called Warrior University) where it’s like an actual cohort of over 100 people,” he said. “They’re basically helping you build your pitch. And if you build a pitch, you have to kind of work on building your business plan.”
Elise said the program helps business owners see what problems they are trying to solve for customers.
“And what they helped me see is well, we thought we were making a game to help people get off screens,” she said. “But really, it’s more. It’s deeper than that. It’s to help people connect on things that matter the most to them.”
Time to compete
After completing Warrior Academy and Warrior University, the next step was to take part in a pitch competition against more than 100 graduates as part of a “Veteran Business Shower” where they could earn up to $20,000. To be considered, the business had to be beyond the concept stage and the owners had to submit a three-minute-long pitch video.
“We were one of eight that got selected from that original cohort of about 100,” Tony said. “We got invited to Iowa for (three days for) a Business Shower.”
Elise attended alone because of an illness in the family.
“The first thing Elise does, she shows up and pitches one-on-one-with the former president of Duke Cannon – they do those big bars of soap. Then she pitches again, and they give her feedback,” Tony said. “And then she goes and she pitches her final presentation (on May 2) in front of a group of like 20 different (investors and business leaders) from all around the country.”
He said during Elise’s pitch, a businesswoman told Elise that she had just purchased her games for Parish School of Religion (PSR), Catholic catechism instruction for youth who attend public school.
Elise was both shocked and excited.
“I haven’t sold that many when you think of the whole scheme of the United States,” Elise added. “I think I’ve sold like 3,000 on Amazon, which is good. But to be like at a secular military thing and somebody say, ‘I bought your games for PSR …’”
“It was really cool,” Tony added.
Elise said a hot sauce company won the competition, but Trivioso received a $3,000 grant as a finalist.
Elise Rich, center, poses with other finalists in the Warrior Rising Pitch Competition on May 2.
Trivioso
Catholic Trivia is the top-selling game for the couple, followed by Gospel Trivia and Artful Fishing. Most games are purchased during the Christmas and Easter seasons, Tony said.
Gospel Trivia and Artful Fishing are available on Amazon for $14.95. Catholic Trivia is $15.95.
Tony said the business is a family affair and the kids help put labels on the packages to mail out. Their children are Debbie, 12; Dorothy, 9; Robert, 7; David, 4; and Georgette, 2.
Elise and Tony keep a set of the trivia cards on their dining room table.
“We keep these both on the dinner table and we’ll bring them out at dinner,” Tony said. “Instead of looking at a device or a phone or talking about something that isn’t important, we ask one of the kids a question from either the Gospel or the Catholic Trivia. And then there’s a bit of competition, so they’re interested in listening.”
Tony said the Gospel Trivia and Catholic Trivia are good jumping off points for deeper discussions with kids about their faith.
Elise said the family will soon come out with a Spanish version of the Catholic Trivia. The family also plans to come out with Saints Trivia and another edition of Artful Fishing with different artists.
“We want to give back, too,” she said. “If any church group would like some, they just need to reach out to us and we’ll help them with that.”
Less than a year into the business, Elise said she has learned lessons. A reviewer pointed out a minor grammatical mistake, and she now thinks the packaging for the Artful Fishing deck is too plain.
“I’m not a perfectionist,” she said. “If I was, this would never have happened. Because I would have been too afraid.”
Elise encourages anyone with an idea to just go for it.
“Just try. The criticism will come. It’ll come no matter what you do,” she said. “Everybody has different talents and you should just try. Don’t be a naysayer to yourself.”
For more information about Trivioso or to contact Elise and Tony, visit triviosogames.com.