Laid Off Young to Making Work Fun!
For a lot of folks, “fun at work” sounds like a contradiction—like “airport food” or “Monday morning.” Maybe your version of joy is watching a Slack notification disappear or surviving a Zoom call that could’ve been an email. Either way, the idea that work could actually be enjoyable? It’s a stretch for most of us.
But according to one Atlanta entrepreneur, we’re doing it wrong. Steve Carse, co-founder of King of Pops, believes work should be meaningful—and even fun. (Yes, really.) He’s built a business around that idea, and now he’s breaking it down in his new book Work Is Fun, which came out April 1 as the company turned 15.
Ice Pops and Office Culture
Carse was 25 when he got laid off during the 2008 recession. Instead of spiraling, he started freezing fruit.
That pivot—plus some paleta inspiration from family trips to Latin America—became King of Pops, now one of Atlanta’s most recognizable local brands. (Paletas = Latin American frozen fruit pops with way more flavor and soul than the plastic-wrapped stuff.)
These days, the company is...
- Cranking out 16,000 pops a day
- Clearing $10 million in sales
- Fresh off a logistics deal that lets them focus full-time on pops
And the vibes? Still good. Their factory crew, the “Frosty Freaks,” competes in popsicle-making Olympics. They turn everyday jobs into mini challenges! Weirdness isn’t just welcome—it’s part of the business plan.
Turns out, fun isn’t fluff. It’s strategy.
Not Just the Popsicle People
Carse isn’t alone. Georgia’s new generation of Forbes 30 Under 30 leaders is done waiting for perfect jobs—they’re building joy into the work itself.
- Nikki Seaman launched Freestyle Snacks after testing olives in Piedmont Park. Now she’s in 3,000+ stores.
- Safir Monroe built UnDelay to fix airport tech. His software now runs in four cities.
- Plus a whole crew of under-30 Georgia innovators is making moves in EVs, mental health, and more.
Work Doesn’t Have to Suck
Even when things went sideways—zero pops sold on Day 1 at Bonnaroo, coolers turning to fruit soup, or a batch of tomato pops no one asked for—Carse kept going. Not because it was easy, but because it was fun enough to be worth it. And honestly? That might be the real win: finding a way to enjoy the work, even when it melts on you.
Wanna find more fun and make it work for your business? Explore local consultants, creatives, and companies who know how to build something that lasts at gbj.com/business-consulting.
