Founder Mike Alfaro played his cards well. He started a side project called Millennium Lotterydesigning modernized versions of a traditional card game played in Latin America.
At the time, Mike was still working full time in advertising, but he invested $20,000 of his savings into the first production run of 1,000 sets of the game. It sold out in four days. “I thought, ‘Whoa, OK, there’s a lot of demand for this there,'” he says.
That’s when Mike decided to pursue Millennial Lotería full-time. His journey as a business owner opened the door to other opportunities as an influencer, advertising creative director, and children’s book author.
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Learn on the job
Mike didn’t really intend to become an entrepreneur, but he was learning all the skills he needed in his career in advertising. He learned how to build a brand and shoot commercials, things he does regularly for Millennial Lotería. Even the designers and first manufacturer he worked with came from his advertising connections.
![A set of Millennial Loteria cards and coins unfolded on a pink background](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/Millennial_Loteria_Product_Shot_2.jpg?v=1710218258)
As Millennial Lotería grew and began partnering with McDonald’s, Disney and other brands, Mike’s previous professional experience came in handy. “Because I spoke the language of advertising and marketing, knowing how to deal with clients and meet deadlines, I think it was an easy transition for me to work with studios and different agencies,” he says.
Focus on your strengths
Mike has always been more interested in the creative aspects of the business, so when a publisher contacted him about licensing Millennial Lotería, he jumped at the chance to delegate. “I don’t have to worry about when shipments are coming from Colombia to the United States and all that kind of stuff,” he says. The publisher also helps facilitate partnerships with retailers.
Mike saw the licensing deal as a way to generate passive income through gaming. It also allowed him to focus on the aspects of the business he enjoyed, like creating new versions of Millennial Lotería.
![A Millenial Loteria card called The Student Debt](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/Millennial_Loteria_Product_Shot_5.jpg?v=1710218380)
Representation matters
Mike created an exclusive family version of Millennial Lotería to sell at Target. He says working with the retail chain comes full circle.
Mike remembers feeling like an outsider when he first arrived at Target, after arriving in the United States for college from Guatemala. He hopes other Latino immigrants will see Millennial Lotería on the shelves and feel differently. “Maybe they’ll be more like, ‘Hey, this is a place I belong,'” he says.
Mike was so proud of the partnership with Target that he posted a TikTok about his journey to get there, which went viral. Soon, the game began selling in Target stores across the country.
Mike believes that social media engagement comes down to being authentic. “Brands pay millions of dollars to ad agencies to make their brands feel more human online,” he says. “I think for small business owners, it’s just easy to be human.”
Using Business to Fuel a Career
The success of Millennial Lotería also led Mike to more independent advertising work. “People started following me as a designer as well, not just as a brand,” he says.
His collaborations with different Millennial Lotería companies were such positive experiences that these brands invited him to work again on other projects, including concepts for advertising trailers.
Mike also now writes bilingual children’s books, which he sees as the next step in helping Latino children, like his own daughter, feel represented. “I hope this love translates to other people and their children and the enthusiasm these books bring to Spanish-English bilingual education,” he says.
To learn more about Millennial Lotería and Mike’s multi-faceted career, listen to full interview on Shopify Masters.