Why We Created
Thrive Together
We're Kyle and Leyla -- two coaches, married, raising kiddos who, despite our best efforts, seemed to bicker and complain constantly. Maybe a lot of parents know this feeling: you’re all together physically, but it's not quality time. The kids are distracted or cranky, wanting to be glued to screens, the grown-ups are exhausted, and dinner feels like another arena for squabbling.
Well, we felt it too. And we also experienced it in the larger context of what was starting to feel like a negative, heavy world. We wanted our home to be a place where we felt connected, positive, and where our individual family members could feel seen and celebrated.
Kyle has a PhD in organizational psychology, a U.S. Navy Special Operations background, and a certification in Mindfulness Based Strengths Practice (what makes people thrive) from the VIA Institute. So, he did what any obsessive researcher would do: he built an intervention for his own family.
Our homemade version was a spinner wheel with key prompts based on positive psychology research: name two strengths you saw in someone today, share three things you're grateful for, identify your own strength you used. We tested it daily at dinner. Within weeks, something shifted - for the positive. There was less bickering, more kindness, even compliments were flowing. Our six-year-old started saying things like "I noticed you used bravery today, Daddy!" and "Mama used creativity to make dinner!" We tested the game with other families of all shapes and sizes - different ages, different dynamics. The results held: when we consistently notice the good in each other, we grow closer.
That's how Thrive Together was born: not as just another game, but as something simple and magical that happens when families stop rushing past each other and start actually seeing each other. As with our own family, we believe that more kindness, more gratitude, and seeing the best in one another can shift everything. It allows us to let go of notions of grand gestures or perfect parenting, and invites us to practice acts of noticing what's good.
That's the movement we are building. One spin at a time. One family at a time. Because the world needs more families who Thrive Together.
Why Thrive Together?
Thrive Together is built on one of the most researched ideas in modern psychology: people flourish when they know their strengths and see them reflected back by the people who matter most.
The game is rooted in the VIA Classification of Character Strengths—a framework developed by Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. Neal Mayerson identifying 24 universal strengths, from curiosity and kindness to bravery and gratitude. Decades of research show that when people recognize and use these strengths, they experience greater happiness, resilience, and connection.
We took that science and made it simple enough for a six-year-old to play.
Every spin invites your family to do what the research says works: notice strengths in action, express gratitude out loud, and practice seeing the good in each other. No lectures. No worksheets. Just a game that feels like play and works like an intervention.
When families share stories, listen with care, and name what's best in each other, those small moments become the foundation for something bigger—kids who feel seen, parents who feel connected, and a home that feels different.
Thrive Together helps your family come back to what matters most: being present, being kind, and growing closer one spin at a time.
