Have you ever wanted to launch a Kickstarter campaign but you’ve been overwhelmed with where to start? Well in this episode of Making It in The Toy Industry, Azhelle Wade, The Toy Coach, sits down with a fellow toy creator to dive into 8 Kickstarter Secrets to 8x your funding goal. Learn the importance of having a crystal clear brand message and target market BEFORE your Kickstarter launch, clever marketing techniques and so much more. If you’re interested in Kickstarter insights, tips, and secrets, then you cannot miss this episode!

Making in impact is one of the most important parts of the job when you're a toy person. But when you first start out in the industry, making big moves to make a difference for and in our industry can seem like a daunting task. But it's important for ourselves, and our industry that we put our best foot forward and implement those seemingly overwhelming ideas.

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.

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.

What if you launched your Kickstarter, and just a few days later the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic? Well, that's exactly what happened to my guest today Marjorie Spitalnik. Marjorie walks us through her Kickstarter experience as she learned to pivot in the most uncertain of times. Our guest today learned everything she knows about running a successful Kickstarter during her campaign and she is certain that if she could do it, you can too.

If you're considering launching a Kickstarter campaign, or if you're in the middle of prepping your KS launch, then this episode is here for you! Julie Underwood Richardson is the inventor of Shoe Bae and also the creator of the Women Inventors - Product Based Entrepreneurs on Facebook. Julie is a champion for helping women inventors succeed within her group, and her informative and honest posts about Kickstarter is why she joined us for today's episode.

This episode is part 2 of the 2 part series aimed at guiding inventors on how to nurture their creativity and develop their ideas while stuck at home. In this episode learn how to make a game of brainstorming and developing your idea with friends and family. You'll also learn how to playtest and vet your toy concepts from home. Learn the best ways to use video chats, online surveys, and snail-mail to keep your concept development moving while the rest of the world is on pause.

This episode is Part 1 of a 2 part series aimed at guiding inventors on how to nurture their creativity and develop their ideas while stuck at home. Learn by example how to analyze the current day to day struggles that parents, teachers and even kids are facing, and identify potential opportunities for new toy or game inventions. Learn what an Inventors Notebook is and HOW to keep one as a legal record. Additionally, learn how to use an Inventors Notebook to develop your small ideas into big inventions.

Let's be honest, the market is changing. We're in the midst of a serious shift in the way we live, and life and business as we know it is changing drastically each and every day. Having the ability and know-how to pivot and adjust your business to fit market needs is paramount in assuring long term success. So for in this episode, The Toy Coach dives into a detailed conversation exploring how the current coronavirus pandemic has and will continue to affect the toy industry.

There’s no avoiding the impact that social media has had on the marketing of toys and games. Before You-Tube stars and Instagram influencers, networks like Nickelodeon and Disney influenced toy buying trends. But today, toy buying trends are influenced by social media personalities, major television ad campaigns, and disruptive social ad campaigns.

There's nothing more important to the success of your product pitch than really knowing the company that you're pitching to! So for today's episode, The Toy Coach dives into a conversation about 6 top toy companies in the industry. We dive into the stories and toys of Hasbro, Mattel, MGA, Spinmaster, Goliath Games, and Funko. You'll get a mini-history lesson on each company, learn their most popular games, and most importantly learn about their history working with inventors.

Have you ever proceeded down the path of developing your toy or game idea, to only realize that you weren’t sure what step comes next? If you’ve rushed down the path of sample making or prototyping your toy concept or invention, only to find yourself stuck in the process, then this episode is for YOU!

Have you ever gone to a product pitch meeting with a less than perfect prototype? Did you ever have an excellent concept fall flat because a prototype failed to capture the hearts of your audience? You don't want to find yourself in a meeting with a poorly made prototype that does not speak to your audience.