Started by two puzzlers that wanted to give back
Hi, we're Alania and Brian, founders of Completing the Puzzle Astro helps too
During the quarantine of 2020, while puzzling, we started talking about how puzzling is so wasteful. We typically only did a puzzle once, and then it was banished to the closet, where it took up space until a later date when it was donated. We brainstormed how we could provide puzzles as a rental service. We spent all day going through the different challenges and went to sleep, dreaming of what could become of this idea. We both woke up the next day, realizing we could make this puzzle rental service a reality.
We decided to reinvent our favorite late-night hobby, puzzling, by turning it into a sustainable service to do with our fellow puzzle lovers around the nation. We aimed to provide one place to find quality puzzles, while providing a convenient service and a sustainable solution to puzzling.
Together we worked all day and launched the first version to friends and family the following day. It was a hit! A few friends signed up and then a few more. Once someone we didn't know purchased a subscription, we knew we were on to something... BIG.
We started by repurposing our own puzzles, friends' puzzles and puzzles purchased off Facebook marketplace. We were doing puzzles everyday to ensure these secondhand puzzles had every piece before we sent them to our members. We even recruited our family members to help solve puzzles. Deep down, we knew secondhand puzzles wouldn't scale, and we had to find a solution.
Not every puzzle manufacturer liked our idea of reusing puzzles (sharing isn't for everyone!). After some initial rejections, we found hope with two large, top brands that believed in our mission and us. We placed a large order that arrived at our home and it was chaos! We underestimated the amount of work needed to organize these puzzles.
We turned our spare bedroom into a puzzle warehouse. Working endless nights, we relaunched our service and the response was amazing. We never expected to hear feedback like this...
“This is such a great idea!”
“This is AMAZING, thank you for providing this wonderful service”
“This is a great idea to make puzzles available. We're rooting for you, best wishes!”
Even the brands who rejected us in the beginning couldn’t believe the wonderful response and customer appreciation we received.
Fast forward to today, and we have shipped our puzzles to thousands of amazing customers across the country.
Puzzling is for everyone and we believe quality puzzles should be available, sustainable and affordable. It’s time to unplug from the tv, computer, and our phones, spend time with our loved ones, and puzzle together :)
-Alania, Brian & Astro |
