Gwen Yuffa was one of 8 finalists who competed with more than 6,000 people and appeared on Oprah’s Next Big Idea show.
As the inventor of the Color Bug, Gwen devotes the majority of her time to her hubby and their two daughters. Let’s take a look at how she got the ball rolling for her company.
Q: Was it difficult to get financing for your toy company?
A: I was creative in the way I pulled the money together and learned where I could save as opposed to what was really necessary to spend the money on. It’s a risk but I tried to get some industry feedback early on so I knew if it was worth moving forward.Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to embrace their dream but doesn’t have the confidence or feels they don’t have what it takes to succeed?
A: The bottom line is that at the end of the day, do you want to look back at your life with regret for the things you wished you had done? Wouldn’t it be better to say that you at least tried and lived?I encourage everyone to write down his or her dreams - whether it’s for career, personal, family, health, etc. It really helps because it focuses you on those things that you’d like to do. Then make a commitment to mark off just 3 things a year. You will find that you will do more than 3.
Q: What is unique or special about your business that gives it an edge over your competitors?
A: RC Art Toys is launching a new toy category to the market, radio-controlled art. This is the first time that these two play patterns have been merged. I personally hold a utility patent on the concept of radio-controlled art products.Q: What did it take to get your business up and running?
A: The first year was all design and engineering work. I exhibited at the Toy Fair in NYC in February 2007. The show was extremely successful. The first product, the Color Bug will be on the shelf this September at retailers worldwide including a strong interest from specialty toy stores, chains such as HobbyTown, and online retailers Target.com and eToys.com.Photo by name.
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