Hit Point Press founder Ricardo Evangelho turned a $500 investment into a multimillion-dollar company in just five years by using, well, magic.
That’s magic, as in Magic: The Gathering. Much like Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering is a game that lets players explore and live in a world of their own creation.
While physical card sets cater to fans who play in person, the popular digital version of the card game lacked a tactile component that Evangelho wanted.
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“There was just no physical token to represent what the cards said you could do,” Evangelho explains.
At the time, the graphic designer was looking for a way to expand his e-commerce expertise. So he sold some of his collectible cards and used the proceeds to design and launch a website and market his tokens online.
Hit Point Press
Using social media and Reddit, Evangelho promoted free PDFs of the tokens and cards, drawing players to his site.
In 2017, that traffic resulted in sales of $190,000. Partnerships with popular streamers and vloggers helped accelerate the company’s growth.
Hit Point Press had its most successful year yet in 2020, boasting more than $4.5 million in global sales. The firm now has 14 full-time employees as well as a 7,000-square-foot printing warehouse, and offers six categories of products.
Despite taking a slight hit early in the pandemic, the company rebounded quickly thanks to its strong digital presence as people looked for things to do while cooped up indoors.
In addition to numerous awards and recognition in Ottawa, Evangelho’s success earned him a spot on the board of the Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation, where he helps mentor and educate young people across the region.
