Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Lerner.
Hi Mike, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
During Covid, Donna and I were camping. She brought a small version of cornhole and I asked her why she brought it as we don’t play yard games, she said “We have nothing better to do!” so I laughed and put it together thinking so many people love it…Well, we played a few games and thought it was boring…We tried again the next day thinking maybe it would get better…it didn’t!
So, at 5 am the next morning, I was sitting alone at the camper table…bored…I said to myself…”I’m inventing a new game”, so I started writing the design, rules, and layout and by the next morning, we were working on a prototype to bring camping the next week. We were having fun playing the game even though we were still working through all the rules, game sack sizes and weights, and overall dimensions of the game. Well, we brought the proto to the campground and were getting so much interest because no one had ever seen it before.
Long story short…the people that were playing were saying…”OMG!! This is so much better than CH, where do we get it” and so it began, I was trying to be retired but here we are 3 years, 34 states, and 14 versions later!…LOL! It’s been a blast watching people have so much fun with friendly competition and playing with their families! There’s more but that’s a start.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been mostly a very smooth road but we get resistance from the cornholers as they think LAWNCH is trying to take over… we’re not, there is no reason why people can’t love both games. Lawnch can be played by more ppl and safely indoors as well. It involves more strategy and maybe people find change a bad thing…IDK.
The man who helps us with manufacturing is the greatest, even though we have some translation issues, we never move forward until we are both satisfied. My love Donna has been the very best partner I can have… great ideas and she’s a workhorse. It’s been fun! We also are older 53/57 and we don’t fully understand how the social media thing works…lol. So we have some struggles there.
We are self-financed so finding the extra money to promote is a challenge. Lawnch is a game that ppl need to play to understand how fun and easy to play it is and since we are just two people, it’s very difficult to be on the road at shows, etc.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I was in investment properties before I sold them all. I love to create and design things as a hobby so when the thought of a new game popped into my head it was more just to pass the time designing something, I had NO intention of selling anything! I’ve invented other things and one was a bow-hunting product called a “Release Catcher”.
So when the plan to move forward was decided, I had to listen to many people’s suggestions and ideas to make sure I had the best game for most of the people. I’ve worked every day since. Donna helps with ideas, promotion, and design changes as well as the social media videos.
What’s next?
We are planning to attend the biggest game trade show on the planet at the end of Sept. in NY and we hope to gain contacts to bring LAWNCH to the next level. Also, we have plans to make a version that is less costly and appealing to our base.
I’d like to get a solid sales force together to help grow Lawnch. We have been called twice from Shark Tank but have never made it on the show but we will continue to try to get on! We are fluid and will adjust as things come along daily.
Pricing:
- $119.00 for 1 set of Lawnch boards and 3 game sacks
- $21.99 for a double clip carry bag
Contact Info:
- Website: letsgolawnch.com
- Instagram: @letsgolawnch
- Facebook: letsgolawnch
- Twitter: letsgolawnch
- Youtube: letsgolawnch
