As of today you might not be in the toy business. You might be in advertising, you might be a school teacher, or you might be a waiter, and the idea of being a toy inventor or a game inventor may have never crossed your mind until this very moment. Today's guest on Making It in The Toy Industry is Rob Angel, the creator of the highly popular family board game of quick draw, Pictionary. At age 21, Rob worked waiting tables in Seattle when he dreamed up the word guessing game now known as Pictionary. With focus and passion Rob raised capital, built a team and figured out how to market and sell his game all over Seattle, and eventually the world.

Are you feeling isolated on your journey of creating your own toy or game product? If you find it hard to connect with other passionate toy people from varying specializations, then this is the episode for you. In this episode, Azhelle Wade shares a valuable new virtual networking initiative just launched by Women in Toys Licensing and Entertainment. These 3 new virtual networking opportunities will improve your communication with toy industry colleagues, provide access to organized discussion boards, highlight toy career opportunities, offer even more educational webinars, and most importantly provide the virtual means to building relationships online.

Having a mentor can drastically change the course of your career, help ease times of professional confusion, and provide a vision for the future. Women In Toys, Licensing, and Entertainment, partnered with The Mattel Foundation to launch The Ruth Handler Mentorship Program for WIT. This virtual mentorship program is the first of it's kind for our industry. For today's episode, I sit down with the President of Women In Toys, Janice Ross, and the Executive Director, Mary Kay Russel to learn all about the offerings of this much-needed program.

Starting off in the toy industry can be difficult, and doing so while observing #stayathome orders may make it seem impossible. Well for today's episode, The Toy Coach introduces you to a non-profit organization that works in favor of the advancement of women in the toy industry. This community has continued to keep its members connected via weekly webinars, email updates, and the launch of a virtual mentorship program. If you are looking for a network of strong, supportive women in this niche industry, then look no further than Women In Toys, Licensing, and Entertainment, also known as, WIT.