Today we’d like to introduce you to James Stinson.
Hi James, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I used to go to a weekly Trivia Show as a trivia player with my friends. One night the host mentioned they were leaving and moving to Washington state and asked if one of us regulars would like to take over being the host. So I tried out and got the job. About after a year, I realize that people we coming to see me as the host, not just drink and play trivia. So I started my company back in Feb 2014, Puzzles Entertainment, LLC. I’ve grown from one show to 10 shows a week with four hosts plus me. All over the Orlando area.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it has not been a smooth road but no start-up business really has a smooth road. I’ve had some great hosts and some terrible hosts. I’ve had venues discuss with me how we run our shows, then go off and to it themselves. I learned from one bar off HWY 27 in which the owner shook my hand and said we could start in two weeks, only to never return my calls and then I see on their Facebook page that he is running his own trivia show.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve very proud of Puzzles Entertainment and the following, I and my fellow host have grown. Puzzles Entertainment specializes in a family fun bar/restaurant shows. We offer general knowledge trivia shows, theme night trivia shows, Jukebox Bingo, and Bar Feud. We are different because we like our players to feel like there is part of the Puzzles Entertainment family. Plus, Puzzles Entertainment hosts two annual Trivia Championships in which trivia teams earn the right to play with our season-long trivia leagues.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Our Puzzles Entertainment players might be surprised to know that I was shy in grade school and high school and never would get up in front of people to talk, let alone host a 2-hour show. But working at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon during a summer college program, I came out of my shell. This is actually where my love of asking trivia questions started. Every day when it rained at 3 o’clock, the cast members were encouraged to interact with the guest to keep them in the water park, so my bright idea was to ask Disney trivia questions. It became so popular my manager got me Disney Trivia books to memorize and have new questions to ask every day.
Contact Info:
- Email: JamesStinson@puzzlesentertainment.net
- Website: PuzzlesEntertainment.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puzzleslegend
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PuzzlesLegend
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PuzzlesLegend
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PuzzlesEntertainment
Image Credits:
James Stinson
