Let’s get quizzical

Question one - who has received an innovative and forward-thinking education, established their own business in the heart of Edinburgh and has great problem-solving skills which allows them to thrive in uncertain times? Why, it’s Edinburgh Napier alumnus Andrew (Goose) Wildgoose of course!

Alumnus Andrew Wildgoose standing in front of a pink and purple patterned canvas Andrew, or as pub quiz regulars will know him better as, Goose, is the founder of quiz company, Goose’s Quizzes and before COVID-19, they put the residents of Edinburgh and Glasgow’s knowledge to the test by holding 45 quizzes a week across the two cities.

When the UK was put under lockdown, Goose and his team quickly assembled and in a mere 24 hours the first of their nightly online quizzes called Goose in Your Hoose went live. It now attracts around 700 teams each night from across the world.

Goose, interviewed by his Goose in Your Hoose co-host Scott, shares with us how the decision was made to go online and the difficulties and successes surrounding this.

Life before COVID-19

Goose studied a BA(Hons) in Product Design Engineering and MSc in Interaction Design at Edinburgh Napier University. It was during his MSc year in 2011 that he started to host a weekly quiz at a pub close to the Merchiston campus. While things were a bit shaky at first, Goose applied the skills he was learning during his Masters to improve the overall quiz experience and realised he could grow this into a viable business.

Additional staff members joined the team in 2012 and more and more venues were added to the books. Things have grown organically since then and before the lockdown Goose’s Quizzes had 5 full-time members of staff and 12 part-time quiz hosts.

Now over to Scott and Goose to tell us more!