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How I Built This with Guy Raz

Melissa & Doug: Melissa And Doug Bernstein (2016)

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery

Business

4.831.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2018

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melissa and Doug Bernstein's first success was a wooden 'fuzzy puzzle' of farm animals. Today, Melissa & Doug makes over 2,000 kinds of toys and serves as an antidote to the rise of digital toys. PLUS for our postscript "How You Built That," an update on The Cut Buddy, a stencil device that helps you cut your own hair. (Original broadcast date: December 19, 2016) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to how I built this early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

0:07.0

Download the app today.

0:09.0

New Year's is here, and with it brings the possibility of change.

0:13.0

As one behavioral scientist put it, first starts are really powerful.

0:17.0

So as you head into 2023, LifeKit is a great resource to help you plan your life and tackle changes, both big and small.

0:24.0

Listen to the LifeKit podcast from NPR.

0:28.0

Hey, it's Guy here.

0:30.0

So Melissa and Doug Bernstein originally planned to make educational videos for kids, but when that plan didn't quite work out, they decided to shift to toys, and the rest, as they say, is...

0:43.0

Well, you'll have to hear the episode to find out.

0:45.0

And Melissa and Doug's story first aired in December 2016.

0:50.0

Basically, what happened is when we called the stores, you know, hey, can I send you some more? Nope, can't.

1:01.0

It's not selling, and we would always say, but you're not selling it.

1:06.0

We'd say, no, it's not selling.

1:08.0

And this happened time and time again.

1:11.0

And then after about two months, it was like, this stuff is taking up too much space. I wanted out of my store.

1:23.0

Brahmin PR is how I built this.

1:25.0

A show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.

1:34.0

I'm Guy Ross, and on today's show, the story of how Melissa and Doug Bernstein built a multi-million dollar toy company without ever selling a single screen, video game, or app.

1:49.0

Okay, so if you have a small child in your life, maybe a niece or nephew or a grandchild, or maybe your own child,

1:56.0

at some point you will find yourself in a toy store, and you will be frantic looking for a new transformer or shopkins or Angry Birds video game, something with a battery probably.

2:09.0

And while you're doing that, you might stumble on toys made by Melissa and Doug Bernstein.

2:14.0

These are toys that do not have to be plugged in or charged or upgraded with the latest software.

...

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