Okemos Jeweler Plans $25,000 Text Message-Based Scavenger Hunt

Okemos jeweler Becky Beauchine Kulka is launching a text message-based scavenger hunt that could draw hundreds of people. A thousand people attended a similar game in Sacramento, Calif.

Kulka has hired Michael Hagan, 29, of Boston, who heads a mobile gaming company that has been crossing the country designing real world games for businesses.

A brief talk with Hagan is as good as a Frappaccino. He talks fast and his enthusiasm is contagious. Capital Gains caught up with him as he was planning an event for Detroit.

His company’s name is SCVNGR, as in “scavenger” without the vowels.

“We’re too poor to afford vowels,” he jokes.

So what is his goal with these community-wide games?

“We want to give people a reason to get up from the couch, have fun and learn about their city.”

Kulka will pay him about $15,000 to produce the BBKDiamond Dash on Sunday, Oct. 4. Her goal is not only to launch her holiday season advertising campaign, but also to give the community a gift of a lighthearted day, and support a local charity.

“All I have to do is produce the grand prize, a $10,000 Hearts on Fire diamond, set in a ring,” Kulka laughs.

Here’s how it will work:

Hagan will set up a website. People will be invited to go there and tell why they should get to play.

They will get e-mail confirmation and directions to the kick-off site on the Michigan State University (MSU) campus. Clues will be sprinkled thoughout the website. As teams solve clues tied to locations, they will text the answers to Hagan’s team, get points, and be sent on to the next clue.

The team with the highest score will be sent to a secret location to retrieve the diamond ring. Everyone will receive a gift bag.

Entrance to the game will be free, but participants will be invited to donate $25 to the Sparrow Foundation’s Coaches for Kids program.

Hagan says he uses gaming software developed at Princeton University. His one-year-old company already employs 14.

“Our business is driven through our technology—and our fast thumbs,” he says.

Source: Becky Kulka, Becky Beauchine Kulka Diamonds & Fine Jewelry

Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.