The Futur with Chris Do 134 - Dungeons & Dragons & Dice — with Karen Wang (Part 1)
May 19, 2021
Karen Wang, founder of Dispel Dice—a luxury dice-making company that raised over $2 million in a groundbreaking Kickstarter—shares her inspiring journey from feeling lost to finding fulfillment through Dungeons & Dragons. She recounts her transition from art school dropout to entrepreneur, revealing the emotional challenges of balancing passion with family expectations. Karen also reflects on her early experiences at anime conventions and the tension of pursuing a creative career amidst personal insecurities and societal pressures.
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Unexpected Success
- Karen Wang, a former illustrator and ArtCenter student, unexpectedly found success in dice-making.
- Her Kickstarter campaign for Dispel Dice raised over $2 million, with $1 million on the first day.
Choosing Illustration
- Karen chose illustration as her major due to her lifelong passion for drawing and creating.
- Her family, concerned about stability, initially preferred her to pursue a more traditional career path like medicine or law.
A Winding Educational Path
- Karen's educational path was marked by frequent changes, including dropping out of two art schools and switching majors.
- She left L.A.'s Loxa art high school, later attended SVA in New York, and then returned to California for ArtCenter.