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How I Built This with Guy Raz

Melissa & Doug: Melissa And Doug Bernstein

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery

Business

4.831.1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2016

⏱️ 38 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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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.

0:30.0

Basically, what happened is when we called the stores, you know, hey, can I send you some more?

0:36.0

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

0:42.0

We'd say, no, it's not selling. And this happened time and time again.

0:47.0

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

0:54.0

Brom and PR is how I built this.

1:01.0

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

1:08.0

I'm Guy Ross.

1:12.0

And on today's show, the story of how Melissa and Doug Bernstein built a multi-million dollar toy company

1:18.0

without ever selling a single screen, video game, or app.

1:26.0

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

1:33.0

at some point in the next few days, this time of year, 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,

1:46.0

something with a battery probably. And while you're doing that, you might stumble on toys made by Melissa and Doug Bernstein.

1:53.0

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

1:59.0

They're just simple old-fashioned toys. In fact, things like wooden blocks, and T-sets, and puzzles, and easels.

2:06.0

And the company, which is actually called Melissa and Doug, was created when Melissa and Doug Bernstein were still dating back in 1988.

2:15.0

And the way they met, they were actually introduced by their parents.

...

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