Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Finn.
Hi Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Let’s flash back to 2018 – that’s when I started hosting trivia. I was looking for a “fun” side job, accidentally stumbled into a trivia night at a bar, and though to myself, “hmm, this seems like a fun job!” I then found a local trivia company, applied, interviewed, and the story began.
I spent the first 2.5 years of my trivia journey with a lovely local company called Tasty Trivia. I was one of their MANY hosts at that time. The time I spent with Tasty helped me grow & develop as both a trivia host and a trivia writer.
Once the pandemic hit in 2020, obviously all in-person trivia events were shut down for quite some time. By the time the company was bringing hosts back for events, I chose not to return to hosting. I was a little burned out at the time from hosting at too many different venues and not feeling settled.
Fast forward to mid-2022 and I was working as a bartender at local brewery. They, too, had gotten rid of their weekly trivia night due to the pandemic. When I heard them talking about bringing it back, I *jumped* at the opportunity and said, “ooh! I’ll do it! Don’t hire a company – just have me do it!” A few months later, that’s precisely how I started hosting again.
I hosted for about 2.5 years with only two weekly recurring venues, calling myself a “freelance trivia host.” I had no brand, nor was I trying to grow any further than that. Well, that all changed in late 2024 when I decided that I DID want to launch a brand, a social media platform, and expand my reach as a host. I spent months & months planning for the launch of this brand. With the exception of the competitiveness trait, I am extremely Type A, so you can imagine how much forethought, planning, organization, brainstorming & design went into this prep work!
I launched my brand’s social media presence in December of 2024, and “officially” launched the brand in January of this year. The growth and opportunities that have come my way just this year have FAR exceeded my expectations. I think there’s a quote to the effect of, “Do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed.” Well I truly do put my heart and soul into every piece of this business and every event that I host.
Becoming my own boss as a freelance trivia host is what allowed me to rediscover the joy in it again. There are a lot of things that I enjoy about this job, but truly the thing that I love the most is the ability to build community and to get to know all of the guests. Community has always been one of the most important things in life to me. It’s the reason I went to a community college instead of a big university, it’s the reason I’ve worked at almost exclusively small businesses throughout my working life, and it’s the reason that I’m lucky enough to say that at 34 years old, I have more 10-, 15-, and 20-year long friendships than I can count. I want to *know* the people around me. I want to have meaningful and deep relationships and connections. I’ve worked really hard for it and it’s the thing I’m most proud of.
I now have 4 recurring trivia venues (3 weekly and 1 biweekly) and I could not be more grateful. I also have a regularly recurring spot on The Jim Colbert Show on Real Radio 104.1 where I host a trivia segment for callers-in, and soon I will be on the show twice a month instead instead of once a month. It has been a wild a ride, especially since I launched the brand. I’ve been working my little booty off as a solo entrepreneur, and I’m just so glad that people have been enjoying what I bring to the table. The more fun the guests have, the more fun I have! 🙂
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Before I launched the brand and I was just “freelance” hosting, it was pretty smooth. I had a lot less on my plate for those first 2.5 years. Since I launched the brand, it’s been a lot more demanding. Not only have I doubled my venues this year (increased from 2 to 4), but let me tell you – being your own social media manager is MASSIVELY time-consuming. I absolutely understand why people get paid to do that full-time. As a literal one-woman show, I do EVERYTHING. I write and organize my own trivia questions, I host all my own events (including setup & breakdown), I design all of the playing sheets & paper materials, I print & cut all of those to size (a lot more time-consuming than it sounds, lol), I run both social media pages by myself, I try to reach out & put time into marketing efforts when I can, I help coordinate food trucks for some of my venues, I host my recurring trivia segment on the radio… it’s a LOT. Honestly it’s even more demanding than I thought it would be. I hold myself to an extremely high standard, and that’s one of the reasons everything takes so much time. I put TONS of thought & effort into every social media post. I take trivia writing extremely seriously – I always check multiple sources and try to get the wording juuuust right on every single question. I’m an immensely driven person, and I’m proud of what I’ve done and what I’m doing… but it’s very exhausting!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m the owner and sole employee of Orlando’s only female-owned trivia company: Feisty Trivia!
I’d say I specialize in hosting “general knowledge” trivia nights covering an ever-changing plethora of topics, but I do host theme nights on occasion as well. I think at most of my venues, what sets me apart and what I’m known for is the “disco ball and spinning wheel” moments, but you’d have to attend one of my trivia nights to really see that in action 😉 Oh, and our cell phone jails! I’ve never seen any other host anywhere utilize a “cell phone jail.” That’s something I created on my own. People LOVE IT.
Within the realm of my business, I think I’m most proud of the quality of my questions. I do tons of research and I’m always trying to think outside of the box for new questions and new categories. One of my favorite types of questions to write is one in which the players will likely not necessarily “know” the answer, but it is written in such a way that it creates a discussion and brainstorming session between the players. I mean, at the end of the day, I think most people come to trivia for two reasons: to challenge themselves, and to have fun with their friends/family. Conversation breeds connection, and I like to think that asking people to put their cell phones into “jail” during the trivia rounds really just helps deepen connections. We’re so attached to our phones these days, and it’s nice to have some time without that technology distracting us from in-person human connection.
What matters most to you?
Relationships and community – period, full stop. Why? Because life is short, and what do you really think you’re going to be grateful for on your death bed? The vast majority of us will never be famous or create something world-changing or build a massive business empire. Plus, those are external achievements. I think that the more important achievements are the internal ones: your acceptance of yourself, the healing of your inner child, the relationships you build and nurture, and the way that you make others feel.
There’s a book called “The Top Five Regrets of The Dying” which was written by a woman who worked for years in palliative care – working day in and day out with people who know they were dying soon. And 3 of the top 5 most commonly echoed regrets were: “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard,” “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings,” and “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”
I have always believed that the relationships you hold are the single most important thing in life. Say what you feel, tell people you love them, reach out to that friend you haven’t talked to in a while, invest in your relationships. There’s nothing more fulfilling and there’s nothing more important ♥️
Pricing:
- All of my trivia nights are free to attend
- I have QR codes for folks who would like to tip, but it’s optional
- I do host private events and team buildings, and that cost varies depending on how many rounds and how many guests
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feistytrivia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568209825082
- Other: https://vote.orlandoweekly.com/drinking-and-nightlife/best-trivia-host
