The Empowerful Podcast was created to share the profound stories of movers and shakers who are positively impacting the world. Together, we believe we can amplify that change. We live by the motto of an old African Proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
In today’s episode of the Empowerful Podcast, MiiR Co-Founders Bryan and Rebecca Papé are joined by serial entrepreneur, endless optimist, and good friend — Richard Tait. Richard’s story is a classic entrepreneur’s tale. From selling fish door-to-door in Scotland as a young boy to growing one of the fastest-selling board games in history, Richard has learned a lot along the way. A storyteller by nature, Richard was more than excited to share his journey and life lessons in an interview that felt like an audiobook reading. If you have ever been interested in starting your own business or seizing the next opportunity, this is a story you won't want to miss.
“The Relentless Pursuit of Relevance.” For a man whose LinkedIn tagline reads like a book title, his life story plays out like the chapters of a novel. Richard’s tale begins in Scotland when he understood from a young age how the free market worked and how to take advantage of it. Once he outgrew selling fish at the local market, he moved on to a technical engineering college to learn the relatively new art of computer programming. His next chapter found him as an early employee at Microsoft helping pioneer new client server computing while recruiting and mentoring now-CEO, Satya Nadella. Never one to grow stagnant, Richard was struck by a spark of inspiration during one rainy afternoon board game session with friends — quickly translated into one of the most successful game brands in history, Cranium. Richard’s story had some lows as well with a bankrupt energy drink start-up, which only seemed to fuel his pursuit back to relevance. His next few chapters found him as the first-ever “entrepreneur in residence” at Starbucks, sought-after board member and advisor, and CEO of BoomBoom Brands. The best part is, the end to Richard’s book is yet to be written.
For a man who has accomplished so much along his journey, Richard still has so much to give. A self-described extrovert, Richard thrives off of human connection and interaction. He loves to play the role of mentor and has been there to support Bryan through his journey since the start. Back in 2011, when 26-year-old Bryan had the idea to film a live interview session, Richard was the first guest to jump at the opportunity and join Bryan in this throwback gem of a MiiR Live episode. Richard now has the official title of mentor at the University of Washington where he has mentored over 150 students and given five commencement speeches.
Richard is an optimist. He is someone who is always finding the good in situations and learning how to make the most with what he has. In light of the current state of the world, Richard is still finding the silver linings and was so excited about how blue the sky looked and how beautifully the birds were chirping during the day of our interview. Richard is the kind of guy you want in your corner when things go pear-shaped, and we are so glad to have him as a part of our journey.
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Header Image Credit: Valor Sirens Ventures
Second Photo (Right) Credit: Heather Snavely
