Our History
About the creators & founders
At the the heart of our home, games have always been one of our favorite ways to connect as a family and with our kids. So after spending 20+ years building multiple businesses and coaching small business owners in 40+ countries… instead of writing a business book, we made a strategy game about surviving black swan challenges. This was the spark that created Black Swan Game Co. and the inspiration we needed to focus on making table top games that spark joy and connection … in an increasingly disconnected world!
Timothy, Rachel, and our feathery flock
Creators: Don’t Anger the Swan and Retina
Founders: Black Swan Game Co.
What the feathers are Black Swans?
In business Black Swans represent all the
known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns
entrepreneurs navigate every day.
Learning to see and dodge black swans is one of the
secrets to succeeding as an entrepreneur.
A history lesson for the ages:
Summary - tl:dr
You can’t dodge what you don’t see coming.
When you don’t see a Black Swan flying your way it will probably leave a mark.
Sometimes they put you out of business, nobody is immune.
Some thrive, some dodge, others get eaten alive.
All the feathery details:
Black Swans earned their reputation because, for centuries, they were thought to be a mythical creature, a symbol of the impossible. Then, in the 1800s, real black swans with distinctly curly feathered plumage (not long smooth white feathers) were discovered in Australia, turning that myth on its head.
In entrepreneurship, Black Swan challenges came to represent those unpredictable, high-impact surprises you thought were unlikely and only understand in hindsight. If you’re curious about the academic roots of this idea, check out business book ‘The Black Swan’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Its a fabulous bedtime read if you are an Economics and business nerd like (Timothy) … it will make for a bad pillow if you are like (Rachel). But what is undeniable, Black Swans are a very real phenomenon that cannot be ignored.
Real-World Examples of [de]feathering events from business owners around the globe:
The 2008 Financial Crisis a known-unknown.
The 2020 COVID Lockdowns an unknown-unknown.
HR Chaos: You fire one bad employee… the next day, your best one quits unexpectedly. (A what the feathers-unknown)
Regulatory Shock: You buy your first short term rental property, then your town council suddenly bans short-term rentals (An annoying and time consuming unknown)
Geopolitical Conflict: A war breaks out in your region (just ask business owners in Ukraine or the Middle East).
Board Room Battles: Out of the blue a business partner says you can’t be trusted and dredges up years of unspoken resentment insisting you are the problem.
Health Crisis: Your health takes a swan dive, and you realize how hard it is to run a business from a hospital bed.
The list goes on, if you ask any entrepreneur they will have stories that probably ruffle all your feathers.
The Takeaway
You can’t dodge what you don’t see coming. For most small business owners, it doesn’t take a massive Black Swan to defeather your momentum and the cavalry isn’t coming to save you. If you don’t keep an eye on them you’ll learn some important life lessons the hard way.
Black Swans are also not all bad news, Entrepreneurs take flight regardless because surviving them forges resilience and creates opportunities you never had before. The true success of an entrepreneur isn’t measured by revenue alone it’s measured by the ability to recognize, respond, and recover from Black Swans before they become the melody of your swan song.
After coaching small business owners in 40+ countries and navigating our own legacy of black swans we have learned one important truth: These life lessons are the victory points no one can take away from you. So fluff your tail feathers, you were meant to fly.
Timothy & Rachel
Founders of Black Swan Game Co.
Guardians of the rulebook for all the games we play as a family.