Welcome to the Manaverse Podcast
The Manaverse Podcast is where we explore what it takes to build a successful friendly local game store! Since 2015, I’ve been interviewing a wide variety of game store owners and industry professionals doing some really interesting things in the world of trading cards, minis, games, and more.
If you want to learn how some of the best game retailers in North America have built their businesses and local communities up from the ground floor, you’ve come to the right place!
MVP135: The Mind Behind Mindtaker Miniatures
Robyn Lowy, the owner of Mindtaker Miniatures in Vancouver, Washington, talks about how she built a truly unique take on the friendly local game store. Find out how Robyn started by buying and selling miniatures online and expanded the business into a fully fledged...
MVP134: Brendan Carrion on Athoria Games and Marketing in the Modern Age
Brendan Carrion, email marketer/game designer/podcaster with Athoria Games in Arizona, is on the podcast to talk about the nuts and bolts of marketing a game store and getting new customers, what makes Athoria Games tick, and discuss the state of the gaming industry...
MVP133: Jamison Sacks On 10 Years At Common Ground Games
We've got Jamison Sacks on the podcast today. Jamison is the owner of Common Ground Games in Dallas. Founded in 2013 by Jamison Sacks & DR Hanson, Common Ground Games brings a premiere retail and gaming space for all of D/FW to enjoy and has well over a thousand...
MVP132: 95 Game Center and Growing The Business Into An MTG Singles Online Powerhouse
We've got Michael McKinney on the podcast today. Michael is the logistics manager of 95 MTG and 95 Game Center in Wilmington and we dig into some really interesting aspects of the way 95 Game Center runs and how it built up the singles side of the business. We talk...
MVP131: Is Wizards of the Coast Killing The Golden Goose?
Daniel Vander Kooy comes onto the Manaverse Podcast and talks about the OGL, whether Wizards of the Coast is killing the golden goose, what's happening in the hobby industry, and how game store owners can prepare. Links Mentioned https://corporate.hasbro.com/en-us Get...
MVP130: The Return of Erik Bigglestone, Website Accessibility and ADA Lawsuits, and What Game Store Owners Need to Do To Protect Their Businesses in 2023
***Skip to 7:58 if you don't want to listen to the intro or disclaimer.*** Erik Bigglestone makes his return debut on the Manaverse Podcast to share his experience dealing with an ADA lawsuit last year and talk about ways for game stores to protect their businesses...
MVP129: The First 100 Days
Hypothesis: Customer Lifetime Value highly correlates to a high number of positive interactions within the first 100 days, and the likelihood of those interactions is highly correlated to to the quality of the experience in the first 100 seconds. Your game store may...
MVP128: Cosmic Games and the Art of Selling Singles and Retro Video Games
We've got Adam Scholtz on the podcast. Adam is the owner of Cosmic Games in Bellingham. Cosmic Games is Bellingham's premier source for Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon Trading Card Game, Video Games and more. Links Mentioned for Cosmic Games https://www.cosmicbham.com/...
MVP127: The Game Chest Is Raising The Bar On The Tabletop Industry
We've got Maryam Al-Hammami on the podcast. Maryam is the co-owner of The Game Chest, a four location local game store business in California. Maryam and I discuss what it takes for a game store to grow into a multi-location business, how making the in-store...
MVP126: How David Finn Is Building A Giga Empire – Giga-Bites Tabletop and Bridge Distribution
We've got David Finn on the podcast. David is the owner of Giga-Bites Café in Marietta, near Atlanta. Giga-Bites Café was founded by David Finn 14 years ago and is the host for a gaming community of thousands, and is Atlanta's best stocked tabletop retail space. David...