This episode features Dave Jenkins, the founder of Cryptic DJ. Discover how Dave transitioned from his e-commerce ventures to pursue a passion project that's now captivating a growing audience. Learn the strategic decisions behind Cryptic DJ's design, including how it draws inspiration from the viral success of games like Wordle to create a simple, universally engaging daily challenge accessible right in your browser.

Dave shares the fascinating journey of bringing Cryptic DJ to life, from initial airport napkin sketches to navigating the complexities of securing legal music licenses. Explore the ongoing dedication required to curate fresh, high-quality content daily and ensure seamless play across all devices. Jenkins also reveals his unique approach to promotion, blending community engagement through social media and live events with strategic media mentions that have led to significant user surges. Finally, get a glimpse into his "build it and they will come" philosophy for monetisation, focusing on audience growth as the foundation for future opportunities.

TIME CODES

00:00 Greeting

00:18 Introduction to Dave Jenkins

00:52 Dave’s approach to business

02:17 What is Cryptic DJ?

03:21 The ingredients for creating a popular game like Wordle

04:54 How Dave created his game and the technical side

08:25 The platform used to develop his game

09:28 The research done to create the game

11:46 Challenges in developing the game

13:54 Promoting the game

16:40 Monetising games

21:01 Final thoughts