#264: NY Toy Fair 2025 Exclusive Interview with Purryfuls
Have I ever told you that I’m allergic to cats? Well, lucky for me I recently met Katharine Burke, the creator of PurryFuls, a purring plush cat that is designed for on demand comfort that only a purring cat can provide.
Katharine left a high-stress tech job to build Purryfuls, and in today’s episode she shares exactly how she went from zero toy product experience to debuting her brand at New York Toy Fair and getting featured in Forbes!
In this episode we go into detail about the skills that Katharine had to develop to create her first prototype, and why those skills likely saved her thousands of dollars. If you’re interested in hearing a case study of a fellow startup toy entrepreneur taking a leap of faith on their toy product, give this episode a listen.
Listen For These Important Moments
[02:23] – Burned out from a high-pressure tech job, Katharine made a bold decision that completely changed her life. She walked away to follow her toy dream.
[05:21] – When she couldn’t find a plush that mimicked a cat’s purr, she realized something big: this product didn’t exist yet… and she was going to make it.
[07:02] – No sewing skills? No problem. Katharine taught herself everything from scratch (including coding) to bring her purring plush to life.
[17:15] – Just one day into Toy Fair, her brand was already featured in Forbes. This unexpected media moment changed everything.
[22:51] – Instead of diving straight into retail, Katharine took a smarter path that gave her more control, and it's one you might want to follow too.
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Want to see just how much buzz PurryFuls is getting? Check out Katharine Burke’s feature in Forbes alongside major toy companies like Mattel!
And if you’re ready to experience the soothing purr of PurryFuls for yourself, visit her PurryFuls.com to grab one today.
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[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to Making It in The Toy Industry, episode number 264.
[00:00:10] Welcome to Making It in The Toy Industry, a podcast for inventors, entrepreneurs, and makers like you. And now your host, Azhelle Wade.
[00:00:22] Azhelle Wade: Hey there, toy people. Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of Making It in the Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. Today continues our New York Toy Fair 2025 exclusive interview series where I'm bringing you interviews from the floor of the show.
[00:00:39] Azhelle Wade: But before we dive into our next interview, let's quickly recap what we talked about last week. Last week we had an interview with Lost Boys Entertainment, where they shared. That their sales on Amazon and their own site and through distributors really varies by all of the products in their line. Some of their games sell best on some platforms while other games sell best in person.
[00:01:02] Azhelle Wade: So it's important that you diversify your distribution channels to give your ideal customer the best chance to find your products. Another thing we learned is that Lost Boys Entertainment. Started small with just an order of 500 units of one game, and they sold it on Amazon, they sold out immediately and then kept repeating that until they realized they had something big on their hands that allowed them to have capital before they launched their product, so they didn't have to do massive pre-launch or take out loans to launch their product.
[00:01:33] Azhelle Wade: If you missed any episode in our New York Toy Fair, 2025 Exclusive interview series. Head over to thetoycoach.com/podcast to check them out. If you want to hear the episode I just mentioned with Lost Boy Entertainment, head over to thetoycoach.com/263. But for today, today's episode is an interview with the creator of Purryfuls Katharine Burke.
[00:01:57] Azhelle Wade: Now Katharine is someone who. May be just like you if you're one of the new entrepreneurs that listens to this podcast. Today's guest is someone who truly embodies that entrepreneurial spirit. Katharine Burke left behind a thriving tech career to follow her passion for toys, and at the time of this interview, she was about to debut her brand Purryfuls.
[00:02:18] Azhelle Wade: At New York Toy Fair, but what does it really take to go from an idea to a finished product and to actually get retailers to take notice? Well, we're gonna be going behind the scenes of her journey from the biggest challenges to the most rewarding moments. If you've ever dreamed of launching your own toy brand.
[00:02:34] Azhelle Wade: This episode is for you, especially if you're currently working a nine to five. Let's dive into this interview with Katharine Burke. Hey there, toy people. Today we are meeting with an entrepreneur who truly embodies the spirit of taking the leap on your big ideas. My guest today is Katharine Burke, the inventor of Purryfuls today at New York Toy Fair.
[00:02:59] Azhelle Wade: Katharine. Is premiering her brand to the toy industry. You just told me you launched about a month ago.
[00:03:04] Katharine Burke: I launched yesterday.
[00:03:06] Azhelle Wade: Yesterday. Oh my Yesterday. Well, welcome. How–
[00:03:09] Katharine Burke: Thank you.
[00:03:10] Azhelle Wade: How's the launch been so far?
[00:03:12] Katharine Burke: Bumpy, but yeah, pretty excellent, actually.
[00:03:14] Azhelle Wade: Bumpy in what way? The website wasn't up yesterday? Oh, that's nothing. That's nothing at all. No. What? What do you need the website for so soon anyway? Okay, so it wasn't up yesterday. How do you think that affected things in your first day of the show?
[00:03:26] Katharine Burke: Probably not too much to be honest. So my brand is actually about self-care. So I'm trying to follow my own attempts at self-care and actually like. Just let it go and know that it'll get there and it'll work out. All right.
[00:03:40] Azhelle Wade: So before I ask you more about your brand, I do wanna point out that you left a corporate career to pursue your toy dream. What was the corporate career?
[00:03:47] Katharine Burke: I worked in tech. I don't wanna mention the company name.
[00:03:50] Azhelle Wade: Sure.
[00:03:50] Katharine Burke: But it was one of the biggies in the Pacific Northwest.
[00:03:53] Azhelle Wade: Oh. What made you wanna leave?
[00:03:55] Katharine Burke: Honestly, I was burning out it's tech and it. Might have been the golden child a couple of years ago, but it's very high pressure. It's very stressful. It never stops, and it was something I'd worked for, for a long time, but it just got more and more stressful. Eventually, I really started to burn out. I started to just feel unhealthy. I wasn't in a good place and. I needed a change.
[00:04:18] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, I too, I mean, I don't know if you know this about me. I too worked corporate in the toy industry, product development, big companies. Yeah. And I also was like, Hmm, I'm kind of burned out. And also, I don't know if you felt this, but felt a little like unseen. Like you're doing so much work for somebody else's dream. Yes. And like at the end of the day, you're like, what do I even have? To show other than money. I mean, money is great. We love money, but right. Other than that, it's like, what do I have to show for my life?
[00:04:43] Katharine Burke: Yeah. You're, they want you to care so much.
[00:04:45] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm.
[00:04:46] Katharine Burke: They don't return it and care for what.
[00:04:50] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm. Right. So what do you care about now? What's Purryfuls all about?
[00:04:56] Katharine Burke: Well, Purryfuls is my answer to that stress, honestly. So I was having a rough day. I was having a string of rough days. I just wanted to cuddle with my cat on the couch. So I came home, I flopped and I was like, come here, cat. And she wasn't having it. She was not having it.
[00:05:10] Azhelle Wade: She's like, I'm not in the mood.
[00:05:11] Katharine Burke: Wasn't in the mood.
[00:05:12] Azhelle Wade: The cats are like that sometimes.
[00:05:13] Katharine Burke: She's normally cuddly. She's the cuddliest thing, but she was not having it that day.
[00:05:17] Azhelle Wade: Maybe she had a bad day, that thing.
[00:05:21] Katharine Burke: Maybe her sister got on her nerves. But yeah, you know, I just wanted that comfort of this soft, cuddly, purring little creature. And I couldn't get it that day. I went online to buy it. 'cause I'm like, surely something exists.
[00:05:35] Azhelle Wade: You did.
[00:05:36] Katharine Burke: This exists. It didn't matter what search terms I put in. I could not find what I was looking for. I could not find something to fill that space.
[00:05:42] Azhelle Wade: Uhhuh.
[00:05:43] Katharine Burke: And that's where the little, the idea just got in the back of my head.
[00:05:46] Azhelle Wade: What were you searching?
[00:05:47] Katharine Burke: I was searching every manner of purring and soft and heated and hot water bottle, and I'm like, cat, it didn't matter what I put in, it wasn't coming up.
[00:05:58] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh. Okay, so I'm looking at the camera while you were talking about how you were researching it. Because I tell my students in my Toy Creators Academy program to do this thing called a buy now search, which is exactly what you're describing. You search for it like you want to buy it, and if you can find it, then you probably need a new idea.
[00:06:14] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm. But if you can't find it. You found a white space and an opportunity. So that's like you started in a perfect way and it is really surprising that that didn't exist.
[00:06:24] Katharine Burke: Yeah.
[00:06:25] Azhelle Wade: So did you immediately think, I'm gonna make it for myself, or did you just think, that's weird? Maybe I'm not looking right.
[00:06:29] Katharine Burke: I did think it was weird. I'm like, how does this not exist?
[00:06:30] Azhelle Wade: Right. Everything exists, right?
[00:06:32] Katharine Burke: I did not immediately think, I need to go out and start a business.
[00:06:35] Azhelle Wade: Okay.
[00:06:36] Katharine Burke: Because I was not an entrepreneurial person.
[00:06:38] Azhelle Wade: Right.
[00:06:39] Katharine Burke: But it just, like it stuck in the back of my head and my mind kept coming around to it. And these were my last. Three months at work, I was unhappy. I was burned out, I was stressed out and I had this idea percolating in the back of my head and I finally called it quits, started the company the next day.
[00:06:55] Azhelle Wade: What? Okay so first steps--
[00:06:56] Katharine Burke: I was like I'm gonna do this.
[00:06:57] Azhelle Wade: First steps next day. What'd you do?
[00:06:59] Katharine Burke: I bought a bunch of pro, uh, like supplies to prototype 'cause I wanted to build it.
[00:07:03] Azhelle Wade: You. Oh, were you in like project management?
[00:07:07] Katharine Burke: Yes, actually.
[00:07:08] Azhelle Wade: Okay. Because I'm like, you're literally describing like how I teach people to develop products and I'm like the only people that know that is like product developers are project managers in tech. So that makes , totally makes sense. This makes sense. So you're like doing the same thing you used to do in tech, but like now for product.
[00:07:21] Katharine Burke: I hadn't thought about it that way. I honestly just wanted to create and build.
[00:07:27] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. And you built a wire frame essentially, right?
[00:07:27] Katharine Burke: Well, it was a puffy--
[00:07:29] Azhelle Wade: I mean, yeah, you did. You were like, okay, so in tech we would do the wire frame. Now we're gonna, right. Like you did--
[00:07:35] Katharine Burke: Proof of concept.
[00:07:36] Azhelle Wade: But, oh, is that what? Is that how it's, I don't know. I imagine.
[00:07:37] Katharine Burke: I did make the first product at home. I learned how to sew.
[00:07:40] Azhelle Wade: Wow.
[00:07:41] Katharine Burke: The only thing I can sew are stuffed cats.
[00:07:43] Azhelle Wade: Oh my God.
[00:07:44] Katharine Burke: I cannot sew in a straight line. I cannot just--
[00:07:45] Azhelle Wade: Wait, can you just Google like cat patterns?
[00:07:47] Katharine Burke: Yes, I did.
[00:07:48] Azhelle Wade: Oh my God.
[00:07:50] Katharine Burke: And I learned on those patterns. I'm like, I'm not gonna waste my time learning something else.
[00:07:54] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That is so funny. So wait, the designs that you were doing then, like how close is the final design to what you were doing the first days?
[00:08:00] Katharine Burke: Not at all. Not at all. At all.
[00:08:02] Azhelle Wade: So how did you, how did you change it?
[00:08:03] Katharine Burke: Well, first I learned how to sew. So like, I did that and then because I started to, you know, I was learning off of patterns, I'm like, oh, okay. I start to understand like if you do the line this way or that way. It changes the shape of the three dimensions. So I literally just made cat body parts over and over and over and over again.
[00:08:18] Azhelle Wade: Oh my.
[00:08:20] Katharine Burke: Like loads of little heads floating around my apartment.
[00:08:21] Azhelle Wade: I'm just like, imagine like the movie montage that like corporate girl quits her job in tech stays at home, makes cat and body parts than it really is. Okay, go.
[00:08:31] Katharine Burke: I just made the body parts, you know, I'd--
[00:08:32] Azhelle Wade: That's great.
[00:08:33] Katharine Burke: I'd, I'd get the physical item and go, okay, I don't like that line. I'm gonna change it. Remake it.
[00:08:38] Azhelle Wade: Yes. Really smart, really great way of approaching business. You go, okay, next.
[00:08:43] Katharine Burke: I had to learn some circuitry and a little bit of basic coding.
[00:08:48] Azhelle Wade: Just a little bit like, how did you do that?
[00:08:49] Katharine Burke: I found like an, PDF textbook online and read it and so.
[00:08:55] Azhelle Wade: Wow. Where did you go to school?
[00:08:56] Katharine Burke: Uh.
[00:08:58] Azhelle Wade: This is like, this is someone who likes school. I think
[00:09:01] Katharine Burke: I did enjoy this learning process. Hadn't learned anything in a while really. So it was fun.
[00:09:06] Azhelle Wade: Wow. That's so interesting.
[00:09:07] Katharine Burke: I went to UNC and UVA.
[00:09:09] Azhelle Wade: Okay. Wow. Yeah. You're, I mean, I'm a little bit like that, but you're hardcore. Like I'm a little, like I taught myself how to play the piano in some sewing things, but I have tried to teach myself coding, and I have not gotten very, by far, so.
[00:09:22] Katharine Burke: It's, it's tough. I'll give you that one. That was tough. I only did the bare bones to get it to turn on.
[00:09:26] Azhelle Wade: Wow.
[00:09:27] Katharine Burke: That was as much coding as I needed.
[00:09:28] Azhelle Wade: . So how far was that first sample when you felt comfortable to take the next step, and then what was that next step?
[00:09:32] Katharine Burke: It was actually pretty far. Like I got a good working model. I had the electronics outside of it. I wasn't gonna put 'em inside. That was gonna be too hard. The physical body actually looks very similar now to what is up on the table in the showroom. That process allowed me to do. Two things. It allowed me to work through the burnout, which I really needed, and to build up the confidence to then take the next step, which was I found a prototyping and development company that would take my proof of concept and develop it into a version that could actually be manufactured because you use different techniques when--
[00:10:07] Azhelle Wade:Yes.
[00:10:08] Katharine Burke: For manufacturing versus home sewing and if I hadn't have done those steps first and I'd talked to the prototyping company, I would've run screaming in the opposite direction. Because it was a lot. It, there's a lot of steps. There's a lot of expense.
[00:10:21] Azhelle Wade: Yeah.
[00:10:23] Katharine Burke: And it's a long process.
[00:10:25] Azhelle Wade: I love this explanation 'cause I often get people that come to me and they just have an idea and they don't wanna do the hard work and then they wanna go to a prototyping company and they waste. Tens of thousands developing it with that company 'cause they're a company, like you can't develop a product with them for like a thousand dollars, like a month or something like, no, but you did the hard work on your end. So then when you did go to them, you're like, I've already done all of the hard work. I just need you to now manufacture and take it to the next step.
[00:10:50] Katharine Burke: And I was like, they probably would've wished I hadn't done that.
[00:10:52] Azhelle Wade: But yeah, I'm sure. No, I'm sure they, yeah. 'cause they would've made a lot more money. I'm like, so don't do that. If your idea, if you can't prototype it, you have to find someone who can just. Prototype it before you go to a development company if you wanna do it that way.
[00:11:04] Katharine Burke: In all honesty, I would recommend doing those pieces first because I gained a lot of understanding that was very useful in the prototyping process, but also it's mine. I made it. Somebody else didn't make it, I made this.
[00:11:19] Azhelle Wade: Yes. And like you're controlling everything when you go to these companies also, you're paying them and you're like, they're like, okay, you have two revisions. And now you're like, but I don't like this one, and now I only have one chance to change it. And you were able to do a thousand body parts.
[00:11:31] Katharine Burke: It took a thousand body parts.
[00:11:33] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh. So what does the cat do? What does a Purryful do?
[00:11:35] Katharine Burke: So a Purryful is a purring plush cat. It's about this big.
[00:11:40] Azhelle Wade: Oh, they're huge.
[00:11:41] Katharine Burke: They are pretty big actually.
[00:11:42] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh.
[00:11:43] Katharine Burke: 'Cause this is made for teens and adults. This is, um, so I might have based it on myself. It's this big.
[00:11:48] Azhelle Wade: So your cat.
[00:11:50] Katharine Burke: About that. It's like my cat.
[00:11:52] Azhelle Wade: It's all coming together.
[00:11:55] Katharine Burke: Yeah. You'll see where I was building something for myself.
[00:11:57] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. No, that's, I'm like--
[00:11:59] Katharine Burke: Everybody else will like it. I was building something for myself. So it's about this big. It's a very huggable shape. You know, it's meant for cuddling. It's kind of that shape–
[00:12:08] Azhelle Wade: Hourglass.
[00:12:09] Katharine Burke: Okay. It actually looks quite a lot like my cat when she's loafed on my, on my chest. This is the idea was sitting there purring at me not letting me catch her, but, but she is purring at me, so it's larger because it's meant for teens and adults. It's a very huggable shape, so it's very snuggly just carried around under your arm. It has a very soft, very plush fur like fabric. Um, so you can just run your fingers through it. So it's just, you get that same sort of sensation. And then as I mentioned it purrs so it. You're going to feel it. It's a, you know, nice.
[00:12:37] Azhelle Wade: Oh, you can feel the rumble her. Oh yeah. Oh, like a real cat.
[00:12:40] Katharine Burke: A real cat. It is as close to a real cat as I could get without having, without giving you my cat. Which, she's not a cat. You can't have her with my cat.
[00:12:49] Azhelle Wade: So like, I'm actually, I haven't told you this. I want you to freak out and not come to this interview. I'm allergic to cats. I grew up with a cat.
[00:12:57] Katharine Burke: I probably have a solution for you
[00:12:48] Azhelle Wade: Wait, because the Purryful. I know. I just thought, I was like, wait, I grew up with a cat and he was the sweetest and then he died, kidney something. And when he died I was like, oh, I can breathe. So I missed him. I was so sad, but I was like, oh, breathing is nice.
[00:13:11] Katharine Burke: Sort of important.
[00:13:12] Azhelle Wade: So now I like do miss though like a cat. And now I'm like, oh. When I need a--
[00:13:15] Katharine Burke: Well, this Purryful is for when you're at the dentist or on the plane or on the phone with the IRS for an hour.
[00:13:22] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
[00:13:23] Katharine Burke: Or on the phone with the insurance company. All real life examples. And your cat, you either can't take your cat with you, or they're not gonna put up with you for an hour.
[00:13:32] Azhelle Wade: Can't take your cat with you.
[00:13:33] Katharine Burke: You can't take your cat to a dentist.
[00:13:34] Azhelle Wade: Like an emotional support. Plush. I mean, yeah, but like a cat. Yeah. I love that. That's really funny. So is it warm too?
[00:13:40] Katharine Burke: It is not warm. It's not heated. Heated was a little too scary for my first product out the door.
[00:13:46] Azhelle Wade: Fair, fair. Just gimme something for next year.
[00:13:46] Katharine Burke: Yeah. Plus it's an idea. It's an idea for the future . Because I am thinking about that. I had to let that particular design feature go 'cause it was just gonna be too much. But it purrs so you are gonna feel it as a nice, gentle rumble. This is a non irritating buzz. It's a nice gentle rumble if you close your eyes. It is. Pretty close to a real cat. Wow. You're also gonna hear it. So it's got a speaker in it, so it's playing that purr. Mm-hmm. And then you can adjust the volume. And you know, depending on your personal preferences or wherever you happen to be, you can turn the motor off if you just want white noise. And it's got a sleep timer. So it starts off at a little bit lower volume and it gently gets quieter until it's. Switches off to help you go to sleep.
[00:14:27] Azhelle Wade: How are buyers responding to this at the show? It's only been like a day and a half, but how, how are they responding to this so far?
[00:14:35] Katharine Burke: It's been a pretty good response.
[00:14:36] Azhelle Wade: Yeah.
[00:14:37] Katharine Burke: Um, I've, I've been interviewed by a couple of people. Uh, an article came out this morning and Forbes.
[00:14:43] Azhelle Wade: What? Congratulations, that's like my dream. Oh my God, that's amazing.
[00:14:48] Katharine Burke: It's kind of amazing for launch. Yeah.
[00:14:49] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh. Oh, were you like with other people in this article?
[00:14:53] Katharine Burke: Yeah. Other people you've never heard of like Mattel.
[00:14:55] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Oh my God, that's so great.
[00:14:57] Katharine Burke: Thank you.
[00:14:58] Azhelle Wade: Maybe you'll be like nominated for a tony next year.
[00:15:00] Katharine Burke: People keep telling me about them and I'm like, mm-hmm. I'd rather just sell it.
[00:15:04] Azhelle Wade: But no, true but that's like, it's like a key to like so much more sales. 'cause it's such a big award.
[00:15:09] Katharine Burke: You know? I gotta admit, I haven't really paid attention to that, so I--
[00:15:14] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Mean you've been here for three minutes, like No, like it's a whole thing. But yes, apply for every award. You should. 'cause it's different. It's different. And apparently you're already getting attention. Yes. Oh, I'll do that. The awards will get you more sales. What's the price point of Purryfuls?
[00:15:26] Katharine Burke: 59.99.
[00:15:27] Azhelle Wade: A little high.
[00:15:28] Katharine Burke: Um, little bit of a discount for anybody who orders a pre-order.
[00:15:31] Azhelle Wade: One size. It's only the big size.
[00:15:33] Katharine Burke: It is only one size.
[00:15:33] Azhelle Wade: It is big.
[00:15:34] Katharine Burke: I am the smallest to small businesses. I have one product.
[00:15:38] Azhelle Wade: Right. No, that's perfect to start. That's perfect. Okay. I wanna talk a little bit about how it was using your skills from your tech job to apply to this business. What percentage of your skills even crossed over and what were you like, oh, I have no idea what I'm doing. Why am I doing this?
[00:15:48] Katharine Burke: Ooh. Um, 10% crossing?
[00:15:55] Azhelle Wade: 10% and she's doing, I think it was more, but like now, I'm like, why do you say that?
[00:16:00] Katharine Burke: Well, to begin with, when I started the company, I didn't wanna do work that in any way resembled what I'd been doing previously. I was so burned out, I just really, I needed to do something different.
[00:16:10] Azhelle Wade: What are you feeling?
[00:16:12] Katharine Burke: Every emotion there is. That's what I was feeling. It's hard to put it into words, but it was a physical feeling in my chest. It was a physical feeling like that, that intensity of deciding to leave. 'cause it was such a big jump into literal unknown. I was just like, I'm gonna go do something different. I mean, theoretically I knew I could just go get another job if I really needed to, but making that decision to walk away. Was incredibly intense. It was. A physical feeling of high blood pressure and anxiety and, you know, that's like the best way I can describe it. So it was, it's not for the faint of heart.
[00:16:48] Katharine Burke: You're gonna go through–
[00:16:50] Azhelle Wade: Mm. The walking away part.
[00:16:51] Katharine Burke: Yeah. you're gonna go through a lot of emotions in your first, always.
[00:17:00] Azhelle Wade: Your first, always.
[00:17:01] Katharine Burke: I was gonna, I was gonna give it a time period. I'm like, no, I'm not done yet.
[00:17:02] Azhelle Wade: Oh, no. I'm like, what? I'm like four years in and it's, it's calm, but it's still emotional. But Okay. People often ask me this, I'd love to hear your answer. Like, like what did you prepare in your life that made you comfortable to walk away? For myself, it was in Covid time, so we were all home and I just ended up saving a lot of money from travel. And so when I saved that cushion and then I had realized like, oh, there are other people in this world that wanna work with me. 'cause everyone was. Online and they were discovering me more. I was like, okay, I could, you know, take a massive pay cut, take one client, and then just see what I figure out. Um, so that's what allowed me the freedom. But what was it for you that like, let you feel safe enough to try this? To to trust yourself and know that like, if this doesn't work out, I could get a job. I'll be safe, I'll be okay. How did you prepare?
[00:17:49] Katharine Burke: To be honest, I didn't prepare.
[00:17:50] Azhelle Wade: Oh wow.
[00:17:51] Katharine Burke: Um, I was already in pretty good shape. Thankfully I had paid off my student loans. Which was. The biggest one that not doing that would've made things very difficult.
[00:18:01] Azhelle Wade: Okay, pay down your loans.
[00:18:02] Katharine Burke: Um, I didn't, for I didn't have a car loan. I had been looking to buy a house. I'd been thinking about it, but I looked at that house and I said, if I buy that, it is gonna take up all my time, all my money, and make all my decisions for me. And it wasn't what I really wanted. At that moment.
[00:18:17] Azhelle Wade: Interesting.
[00:18:18] Katharine Burke: So I had no debts to begin with. I was in pretty good shape. And because I'd been planning to buy a house, I had a huge stockpile of savings because it was gonna be the down payment. So. To be honest, I didn't prepare. I was actually in pretty good shape.
[00:18:30] Azhelle Wade: You were prepared. Always be ready to leave. No, that's, no, that's really, that's really good.
[00:18:36] Katharine Burke: So I, I would recommend if you're gonna make that jump Yeah. Remove those things that make decisions for you, for your money, you know, your debts and, and kind of, it gives you the flexibility.
[00:18:46] Azhelle Wade: It does. No, it's very true.
[00:18:48] Katharine Burke: I, the only way I could walk away from my job is because my expenses were below my means.
[00:18:53] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That is exactly what I did as well. I, I, I didn't have a lot of expenses. I also didn't have a car note. I didn't have student loans anymore. Same thing. Yeah. So it just, you feel, you're like, I don't actually need that much. To live is, don't, is what you realize. Yeah. You don't. I told one person that asked me that question on a podcast. I was like, well, I used to salsa dance and like have fun. And I was like, I just cut dance classes out also. And I was like, I don't need that right now. I'm gonna launch a business instead. It was worth it.
[00:19:23] Katharine Burke: I decided I didn't need the house. I didn't need a new house.
[00:19:26] Azhelle Wade: The house, yeah. And people want those material things because it makes them feel like they achieved something but do you feel like this business is a bigger achievement to you than would've been buying that house?
[00:19:33] Katharine Burke: Yes. Yeah. I've really been looking at the house. I'm like, this is what's missing from my life. This is why I don't feel like an adult yet. I don't, you know, I'm still renting. And then I was looking at this house going, that will make all my decisions for me if I do this.
[00:19:45] Azhelle Wade: So smart that you felt that.
[00:19:47] Katharine Burke: And I walked away and it meant I could walk away from my job. And I knew I always had myself to rely on. Like I knew I could go get another job if I needed to. That wasn't my biggest concern.
[00:19:57] Azhelle Wade: Okay. I wanna wanna wrap this up. Sadly, I'm, I'm really enjoying it. Okay. Getting new retailers to pay attention to a brand new toy company is not easy. How did you get any attention? On, you're on day two, so how? You're actually getting orders already?
[00:20:14] Katharine Burke: Well. Uh, I'm not working with retailers actually. I am selling this through my website.
[00:20:20] Azhelle Wade: Direct to consumer?
[00:20:21] Katharine Burke: Direct to consumer.
[00:20:22] Azhelle Wade: And what about the show?
[00:20:23] Katharine Burke: And the show is here more for the media and the attention that I can garner and then to network and make connections and lay the foundations for what will hopefully be retail a few years down the line.
[00:20:34] Azhelle Wade: What? No, you're getting to retail this year. A hundred percent. No, a hundred percent. So like one of the things we were talking about in the podcast like recently is how right now demonstrable products are what's selling. So the Stitch Puppet, it was something that won a Tony award like last night or two nights ago. And your product is demonstrable. It's, have you seen Huggables? So Huggables is another plush brand. Go on their Instagram page. The way that they demo it with buyers is what sells it. And you have a product that can do the same exact thing. There's this like weighted plush. But yours with the vibration and you can demo it the same way. And you're going into retail this year, a hundred percent.
[00:21:10] Katharine Burke: Thank you.
[00:21:11] Azhelle Wade: No, you are, I'm not even con, I'm not even like, maybe like I would bet money. I would bet money on that. A hundred percent.
[00:21:17] Katharine Burke: Oh, I appreciate that. Thank you for–
[00:21:20] Azhelle Wade: Oh, a hundred percent. I'm not, it's happening. Okay. So congratulations on your retail placement. I. Preemptively, congratulations. Is there anything, any last piece of advice you'd like to give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there that might be wanting to start a toy business?
[00:21:35] Katharine Burke: Honestly, I think the advice that I would give is one I've heard before, which I don't like. You have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and that's crap. You're not gonna be comfortable, but you can accept that you'll be uncomfortable. Understand that difficult emotions will come your way. Fear being the number one, but keep going.
[00:21:56] Azhelle Wade: Mm.
[00:21:56] Katharine Burke: Even when you don't have faith in yourself, because it does happen. Keep going because you will come through the other side of that and there's very good things there.
[00:22:03] Azhelle Wade: Yes. Oh, thank you so much for joining us, Katharine.
[00:22:06] Katharine Burke: Thank you.
[00:22:07] Azhelle Wade: And it was such a pleasure to meet you.
[00:22:08] Katharine Burke: This was fun.
[00:22:09] Azhelle Wade: And had a great rest of your show.
[00:22:10] Katharine Burke: Thank you.
[00:22:11] Azhelle Wade: Take care.
[00:22:12] Azhelle Wade: So I got my hands on a Purryful. I'm so excited to have, it's so cute. Look at these gorgeous eyes, the body. Katharine said it looks just like her cat. So I'm gonna see if it. I can feel the purr.
[00:22:30] Azhelle Wade: Can you hear that? Oh my gosh, it's so calming. Oh, this is like what I needed after a long day of interviews. I mean, I'm not even done. This is really Oh my gosh. Wow. Wow.
[00:22:56] Azhelle Wade: It has two buttons. I'm not sure what this one does. This might be the sleep timer. So the buttons are here under the pause. Buttons are here, right here on the paw print. Just squeeze it. It starts vibrating and making an audible purr. This is so cute. Oh, love it.
[00:23:20] Azhelle Wade: Well, there you have it toy people. That was our interview with Katharine Burke to close out this interview. I just wanna say, Katharine, if you're listening to this episode, you are such an inspiration, not just because you made the leap from a nine to five job to becoming a full-time entrepreneur.
[00:23:35] Azhelle Wade: But because you did it with such precision as you could see in my conversation with Katharine, she really went about the product development process, the research process, all in the right orders, and she actually listened to her customers, listened to herself, allowed herself to develop a prototype that she liked before bringing a third party in.
[00:23:56] Azhelle Wade: In this chat, we covered everything from facing Fears to getting a toy brand in front of buyers and interested parties. So I know that, um, anyone listening to this podcast is gonna be taking away some inspiration or some value and business advice. Again, Katharine, if you're listening, thank you so much for sharing your journey with Purryfuls with us.
[00:24:18] Azhelle Wade: You, my dear listener, if you love this podcast and you haven't already left us a review. What are you waiting for? Your reviews put a huge smile on my face every time I see a new one come in. So please, if you can just leave a rating and review where you are listening to this podcast. As always, thank you so much for spending this time with me here today, and I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there, so it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next week, I'll see you later. Toy people.
[00:24:51] Thanks for listening to the Making It In The Toy Industry Podcast with Azhelle Wade. Head over to thetoycoach.com for more information, tips, and advice.
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