A Little Back StoryJanuary 21, 2013 · Tyler Deeb
Hello. My name is Tyler Deeb, and I started MGCO. Let me briefly tell you how it began. In the spring of 2012, I left my nine to five desk job to pursue the illustrious world of free-lance graphic design. The initial transition to self-supporting freelance work was enormously encouraging as I developed relationships with a number of new clients and began to see my skills as a designer flourish unrestricted. I was working with an enthusiasm I hadn't experienced designing from a desk, But ... as it's known to go at times, my work began to dry up pretty fast. As I worked and waited for new clients, I knew I shouldn't be complacent. An idle hand becomes a fat, lazy, unproductive hand, so I began to create daily design disciplines to stay sharp.
One of my daily design disciplines was built on a lofty idea - What if I designed an entire deck of cards, exactly the way that I wanted. The idea was nothing but an exercise at first as I worked out a new design for every symbol, number, face card and back. As some sort of providential frustration, my paying work never came in, and my mind would return to the cards. After I was done with illustrating a quarter of the deck, I began to believe that I had something that was valuable and worth producing. So, I put my head down and began working ... and working ... and ... working. 7 months into my new freelance endeavor, our savings were gone and the source of incoming cash was unclear. This is when I launched my Kickstarter campaign and had my mind completely blown out. With in one month's time the project earned 2,345% of its startup price. This launched me into whole new realms of responsibilities and tasks. Within 48 hours, I went from humbly hoping to get a project funded, to owning a successful start-up company. My friends watched as my expectations were shattered with success. Within a month, I went from wondering who my next client would be to working for over 4,000 backers enthusiastically support the new deck. To illustrate the chaos of the work load that was all of a sudden laid on me, I created this time lapse video with the help of my friend Justin Gustavison.
And now, because of the overwhelming response to this project, I have been able to use that initial support to invest in new, updated decks and related products. I hope to create a growing, self-sustaining company that will provide custom, curated goods for cardists and connoisseurs alike. These projects will be directly related to my playing card deck at first, but my hope is that my online line store will be a platform for new various product ideas in the future.
TGD of MGCO.