How do you lead a team that kills thousands of ideas - and still keep everyone excited to create again the next day? 

That’s business as usual for Elan Lee, co-creator and now CEO of Exploding Kittens. You might not know his name, but there’s a good chance you’ve played one of his games. 

Exploding Kittens became one of the most backed Kickstarter campaigns in history - raising nearly $9 million from over 200,000 backers in just 30 days - and has since sold more than 60 million games worldwide. 

In this episode, Elan and I dive into how he’s built a creative culture that thrives on iteration and honesty. He shares the psychology behind turning casual players into superfans, why creative constraints beat blue-sky brainstorming every time, and how his team’s “no, kill it” rule turned chaos into innovation. 

Elan and I discuss: 
How Exploding Kittens became one of Kickstarter’s biggest success stories 
The psychology behind turning casual players into superfans 
Why creative constraints spark better ideas than “blue-sky” brainstorming 
How Elan runs design retreats that generate thousands of ideas in days 
The “no, kill it” rule that keeps creativity high and egos low 
Balancing creativity with commercial success - knowing when to walk away 
How a single question - “Do you want to play again?” - determines when a game is done 

KEY QUOTES 

“Games shouldn’t be entertaining - they should make the people playing them entertaining.” 

“Every great idea starts out terrible. You just have to give it room to evolve.” 

“We don’t use ‘yes, and…’. We use ‘no, kill it,’ because we know we can generate a thousand more ideas.” 

Explore Elan’s games at explodingkittens.com and connect with him on Instagram,X (Twitter), and LinkedIn.  

If you haven't already, listen to the bonus episode where Elan talks about how he uses AI to unlock creative ideas here

 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/  

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)  

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)  

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe  

Visithttps://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.  

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au  

   

Credits:  

Host: Amantha Imber  

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler 

How do you lead a team that kills thousands of ideas - and still keep everyone excited to create again the next day?&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s business as usual for Elan Lee, co-creator and now CEO of Exploding Kittens. You might not know his name, but there&rsquo;s a good chance you&rsquo;ve played one of his games.&nbsp;
Exploding Kittens became one of the most backed Kickstarter campaigns in history - raising nearly $9 million from over 200,000 backers in just 30 days - and has since sold more than 60 million games worldwide.&nbsp;
In this episode, Elan and I dive into how he&rsquo;s built a creative culture that thrives on iteration and honesty. He shares the psychology behind turning casual players into superfans, why creative constraints beat blue-sky brainstorming every time, and how his team&rsquo;s &ldquo;no, kill it&rdquo; rule turned chaos into innovation.&nbsp;
Elan and I discuss:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">How Exploding Kittens became one of Kickstarter&rsquo;s biggest success stories&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">The psychology behind turning casual players into superfans&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Why creative constraints spark better ideas than &ldquo;blue-sky&rdquo; brainstorming&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">How Elan runs design retreats that generate thousands of ideas in days&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1">The &ldquo;no, kill it&rdquo; rule that keeps creativity high and egos low&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1">Balancing creativity with commercial success - knowing when to walk away&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1">How a single question - &ldquo;Do you want to play again?&rdquo; - determines when a game is done&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
KEY QUOTES&nbsp;
&ldquo;Games shouldn&rsquo;t be entertaining - they should make the people playing them entertaining.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Every great idea starts out terrible. You just have to give it room to evolve.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t use &lsquo;yes, and&hellip;&rsquo;. We use &lsquo;no, kill it,&rsquo; because we know we can generate a thousand more ideas.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Explore Elan&rsquo;s games at <a href="https://www.explodingkittens.com/">explodingkittens.com</a> and connect with him on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mrelanlee/">Instagram,</a> <a href="https://x.com/elanlee">X (Twitter)</a>, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/elanlee/">LinkedIn</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
If you haven't already, listen to the bonus episode where Elan talks about how he uses AI to unlock creative ideas <a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcasts/bonus-exploding-kittens-ceos-walking-with-ai-ritual-to-unlock-ideas">here</a>
&nbsp;
My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: <a href="https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/">https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber">https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber</a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;
Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/amanthai">https://www.instagram.com/amanthai</a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at <a href="https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe">https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
Visit<a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcast"> </a><a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcast">https://www.amantha.com/podcast</a> for full show notes from all episodes.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Get in touch at <a href="mailto:amantha@inventium.com.au">amantha@inventium.com.au</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Credits:&nbsp;&nbsp;
Host: Amantha Imber&nbsp;&nbsp;
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler&nbsp;

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets - the daily strategies behind their success through to life hacks and productivity hacks they’d rather keep to themselves. We’re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that’ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who’ve cracked the code.

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets&nbsp;- the daily strategies behind their success through to&nbsp;life hacks and productivity hacks they&rsquo;d rather keep to themselves. We&rsquo;re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that&rsquo;ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who&rsquo;ve cracked the code.

Have you ever wondered if the worlds leading entrepreneurs, writers, musicians and business people construct their day differently to you?

How I Work

The counterintuitive brainstorming rule that made Exploding Kittens a global hit.

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/fa326977-3de5-4283-9b8b-af3500c58607/clips/1d9abde4-71cd-4053-b42b-b38e00fe6850/transcript

Advertisement