Quick Information
- Name of Startup: Wishing Well Games
- Year Founded: 2023
- Website: Wishingwellgames.com
- Type of company: Game Publisher
- HQ Location: Anacortes, WA
Startup Founders:
Avery Hanson, age 11, game developer
Allison Hanson, age 13, game developer
Heidi Hanson, game developer, co-founder
Michael Hanson, game developer, co-founder
This is a family business.
Startup one-liner:
Wishing Well Games is a small, family business with a goal to create fun and give back.
Problem the startup solves:
We create quick-to-learn card games that anyone can play and anyone can win, and profits will be shared with non-profit organizations.
Progress and Current Status:
Our kids were the drivers behind developing our first card game called Elimino. It’s a reimagined, improved version of the classic card game, Garbage, for 2-5 players, full of card-flipping, twists, and sabotage! After plenty of playtesting by enthusiasts from 7 to 75 years old, it’s been deemed officially ready to share with the world! Elimino will launch on Kickstarter on March 28, 2023, and 100% of the Kickstarter profits will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
What is an Inspiring Story about the Startup?:
Our youngest daughter, Avery, has cystic fibrosis, and has been on medication and treatments since she was only one week old. Without the life-saving research fueled by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, she wouldn’t be on the breakthrough modulator medication she is thriving on now. We walk in and raise money for their Seattle Great Strides Walk every year, and now, at age 11, Avery is really focused on how we can raise even more money for the Foundation. She and her sister, Allison, developed the card game Elimino, and as a family, we decided to build Wishing Well Games, the game company that gives back with every game. Elimino is our very first game, and we’re extremely excited to give the proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
What is a Company the Startup Looks Up to, and Why?:
Hello Bello is a company that we look up to because they have given so much to help ease the burden of struggling families. Not only have they donated more than 3 million diapers (and other supplies) to non-profit organizations since their launch in 2019, but they donated a year’s supply of diapers directly to deserving families each week during the height of the pandemic. That’s a business ethic we can really get behind and an amazing example of how one company can make a positive impact in the community.
The Company in Four Years Will Be…
In four years, Wishing Well Games will have Elimino, along with another game title or two, selling worldwide. Along the way, we will have donated a percentage of all profits to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and other reputable non-profit organizations, as well. The bigger Wishing Well grows, the bigger impact we can make, and our mission is to make a difference, one game at a time.
