51ÁÔÆæ

Success Story: Terrance Thomas and Forbidden Plates

Terrance Thomas, creator of the innovative game, , and Startup Challenge participant, has a unique journey that began during the 2020 pandemic lockdown.

The Inspiration

“What inspired me to start Forbidden Plates was license plate letters and missing my friends during the pandemic lockdown. I would always look at license plate letters of cars around me and come up with random words. One day, I thought, ‘If I base it off a topic, this could be a game.’ So, I based it around how my friends would enjoy that type of game.�

Prototyping and Testing

“It was mainly based on the input device. Probably about four times, I had to come up with a new version. My first Minimum Viable Product was sticky notes, which was popular, but instead of a deck of cards, I used sticky notes for my game. I had a point card with three-letter acronyms and a topic card. From there, the sticky notes turned into basic blank cards, then dry erase index cards and markers, and eventually LCD writing tablets.�

The Breakthrough

“I believe my nieces, or someone had an LCD writing tablet, but it was for kids and too big. I thought it would be cool if they had this in a smaller size. I did a bunch of searching and found one that’s like the perfect size for the game. This is my second one; the first one had a bunch of issues, but I learned to talk with the supplier, and the second iteration of the tablet hasn’t had any issues.�

Lubar Entrepreneurship Center Support

“I was just in the student union for lunch, and I came across one of the LEC [Lubar Entrepreneurship Center] staff members who had a setup advertising the Startup Challenge. I was really excited and then that’s how I kind of joined. It was the beginning, actually. So, it really kind of shaped everything. It was like the foundation. I was part of the Expo [Annual 51ÁÔÆæ Innovators Expo], and my idea was still a good one, but it was too big and broad.â€�

Overcoming Challenges

“Kyle Jansson [51ÁÔÆæ Prototyping Center Director] connected me with Jane, who creates kid products for a living. She looked over both my game and other similar ones and said it’s different enough and targets a different audience. She helped me understand the card game market and the different routes I could take – either doing it myself, which is a longer and harder process, or creating a prototype and pitching it to game-making companies.â€�

Current Success

“The game does have drinking game rules too, which are optional. It’s been a journey, but I’m happy with where it is now. The LEC was really good for me. Before I came back to school, I was working a job and just kind of jotting down ideas in a notebook. But when I started school at 51ÁÔÆæ and joined the Startup Challenge, I learned all the basics, especially that first year.â€�