How do you go from a dreamer with comic book aspirations to a toy industry legend and award-winning toy designer? Today’s guest, David Vonner, shares his incredible journey as an artist, parent, and toy designer from the 1990s until now. His original dream was to be an illustrator for Marvel Comics. However, his family and those surrounding him encouraged him to go down a path that would ensure a career. David worked at Marvel as a toy designer for 5-6 years, before moving on to Hasbro to work on their Marvel-licensed products. Finally, David started his own design studio, Vonner Studios. In today’s episode, you will learn how connections helped David to advance in the toy industry, how he went from traditional employment to starting his own company, and his best piece of advice for people in the toy industry today. His story is captivating, informative, and inspirational!

Have you ever had an idea for a character that you could envision becoming a globally recognized brand? Today, one of the important ingredients to building a licensable brand is authenticity. Building an authentic toy and entertainment brand means that you’ve got to be crystal clear about the reason WHY you created that brand in the first place. You’ve got to dedicate your time and energy to growing AND supporting your community, and meanwhile you’ve got to make sure the whole world knows it’s happening. That’s the topic that we dive into during today’s podcast episode. Our guest today is April Showers, the founder and CEO of Afro Unicorn. This uplifting brand includes unicorn themed clothing, accessories, toys, and more, that feature a diverse array of unicorns with afros and different skin tones. Afro Unicorn products are available at Walmart and Target, this brand has been shared and supported by Gayle King, Viola Davis, and Tiffany Haddish. April supports fellow entrepreneurs to “live the dream!” providing free promotional and educational opportunities through her social platforms, called Small Business Saturday.

It is a myth that toys are shallow or don’t make an impact on kids. Today’s guest was inspired to leave a tenured position as the top professor in her field to create a meaningful line of dolls. Dr. Lisa Williams started off her career as the first black person to receive a doctorate in logistics from The Ohio State University. While working as a professor, she saw a little girl interviewed in a study about dolls and race that changed her life forever. After seeing the interview, Dr. Lisa Williams was inspired to create a line of racially diverse dolls with custom-blended skin tones. Today, her brands The Fresh Dolls, The Fresh Squad, Positively Perfect, and the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dolls, are featured in Wal-Mart, Target, Macy’s and more. In today’s episode, you will learn which role models inspired Dr. Lisa Williams, the unique way she created the custom skin tones for her dolls, how she found her way in the toy industry with a background in academia, and more.

You have to be an adult to start your own business and make your toy ideas real, right? Today’s guest, Zoe Oli, proves that completely wrong. At just 7 years old she created a line of toys to empower young black and brown girls. Now 10, she offers toy industry experts and newbies some sage advice. At 6 years old, Zoe Oli’s mom bought her a black doll but the doll had straight hair. Zoe wanted to see dolls that had hair just like hers: curly, and sometimes braided. So, her mom helped her to create the brand Beautiful Curly Me. Under the brand, Zoe has written two children’s books and created a line of dolls with different skin tones and natural hair styles including braids and afros. Beautiful Curly Me also sells hair care products. The dolls have been featured on Oprah’s favorite thing, and Zoe has even made an appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show. In this episode, you’ll learn the process of creating a business as a 7-year-old. You’ll also find out some wise advice that applies to anyone in the toy industry, young or old.

What happens after you go viral? How do you go viral in the first place? There is no perfect formula to make something go viral on social media, but there are things you can do to make it more likely. Today’s guest, Danielle Murrell Cox, self-published a coloring book called Black Queens & Kings, and then went viral, which led to a publishing deal with Harper Collins. Now she has created her own line of plush toys, Zuri and Dre, based on the characters she created. In today’s episode, you will learn what factors led to Danielle going viral, and what happened afterward. You’ll also hear about the personal experiences that led Danielle to create her characters with wide noses and natural hairstyles. Finally, you will find out some amazing tips for how to progress in your business when you’re not sure what to do next.

Becoming an entrepreneur looks different for each person who chooses this path. However, one thing that can help any entrepreneurial project is putting yourself, including your background and your history, into the story and finding a meaningful motivation for your ideas. Keewa Nurulla, today’s podcast guest, is the founder of Kido Chicago, a brick-and-mortar kids’ store that also has an online shop. It started as a store for kids clothing that Keewa designed herself, and then branched out into books and toys. Keewa talks about how her family’s entrepreneurial background going back to Black Wall Street and her history as a Black performance artist shaped her vision. Learn about how she designed her store, the frustrations she has encountered with the photos on product packaging, and the number one piece of advice she received when starting her business.

How can you weave your own personal story into your product and make a powerful connection? Today’s guest, Cher Hale, founder of Gingko PR, shares her experience in helping diverse clients do exactly this. She also shares how she started working with the types of clients that she wanted to help to get their stories out there. Cher shares her moving story about why she wanted to help people facing systematic barriers tell their own stories. She also shares how adding diverse voices to the mix through PR helps to create social change and why many people from a minority background feel uneasy about telling their stories.

With the Great Resignation of 2021, some companies recognized their inability to retain diverse talent. Since diversity is a major factor in innovation, many companies are in search of a way to attract and retain diverse talent on their teams. The guest on today’s podcast, Minda Harts, shares how her personal experiences with racial microaggressions in the workplace led her to become a thought leader in diversity and become a workplace and equity consultant. Minda explains the important difference between equity and equality, how mentorship adds value for both the mentor and the mentee, and how companies can create a more supportive environment for people of color. If you are ready to increase your awareness and understanding of issues that prevent equitable work environments, listen to this episode.

For today’s episode The Toy Coach engages in a hard and honest conversation with Jacqueline Vong a 20 year toy expert and founder of Playology where she works as a consultant in concept development, distribution and franchise management. Jacqueline comes on the show today to share her personal experiences being a Can-Asian woman and walks alongside me as we uncover and unpack the differences between positive and offensive representation in media and toys.

In celebration of Black History Month, The Toy Coach presents a mini-series: Getting To Know Black Women In Toys and Entertainment. In this mini-series, The Toy Coach asks four interviewees the same 10 questions, in an effort to celebrate their career achievements in toys and entertainment, connect on a personal level, reminisce about toys from their childhood, and share their valuable life lessons.

In the past few months, the were changes and movement around diversity and inclusion within the toy industry. Organizations started creating safe spaces for black people in toys, webinars focused on diversity were planned, and major mass retailers made a push for more inclusive packaging. So in today’s episode, I pose a few thought provoking questions to help you analyze, how diverse is your toy company?

In today's episode, we're going to tackle the very important conversation of racial bias in the toy industry. I'm going to tell you some of my personal stories, and then I'm going to tell you how you can affect change. It'll seem small at first, but once you listen to this episode you'll understand how those small actions compound into huge, positive effects.