#219: Why He Went From Mattel to TCA and Launched His Plush Toy

Q: Could TCA be valuable to you if you already have corporate toy industry experience? A: YES! Perhaps you think that having professional toy industry experience guarantees success in your entrepreneurial ventures. But this episode turns that notion on its head, featuring Gerardo, a former toy industry professional turned toy entrepreneur, charting his own course through the toy market with a little help from the Toy Creators Academy.

From his previous role managing commercial operations in Latin America for Mattel to launching his own line of guardian angel plush dolls, Gerardo’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. In this episode, he shares a critical lesson on the value of structured learning and mentorship in transforming his toy business concept into a reality, addressing essential aspects like packaging, marketing, and retail placement. He dives into the practical challenges he faced and how enrolling in the Toy Creators Academy reshaped his approach to business, helping him to overcome these hurdles effectively. 

Today's guest host, Virginia Lette brilliantly guides a conversation that is packed with advice for launching and selling your own toy. The lessons from today's guest can change your approach to your toy business or startup. Hit play on this episode if you want to learn from someone who’s experienced both corporate and entrepreneurial paths in the toy industry. Whether you’re a seasoned professional considering a shift to independence or a newcomer trying to get your foot in the door, this episode has something special for you. 

Listen in to this episode and find that spark or solution you’ve been searching for to finally make that toy idea you once had, into a real thing.

Episode Cliff Notes:

• Learn how Gerardo transitioned from working in sales at Mattel to launching his own toy brand, Angelitos Magicos. 
• Find out how Toy Creators Academy helped Gerardo move from concept to retail shelves, even with his extensive background in the toy industry.
• Discover Gerardo's unique toy, Angelitos Magicos, which helps children deal with nightmares through comforting messages and guardian angels. 
• Hear how Gerardo plans to expand his brand beyond Mexico and the challenges he anticipates with language and cultural adaptations.
• Learn the valuable lessons on packaging and online conversion improvements that Gerardo gained through his one-on-one sessions in Toy Creators Academy. 
• Uncover the steps Gerardo is taking to get his products certified for the U.S. market and his strategy for introducing them to a new audience. 
• Find out how the Toy Creators Academy community helped Gerardo stay motivated and navigate the lows of product development. 

Transcript

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You are listening to making it in the toy industry episode number 219. So before joining Toy Creators Academy, I used to work in the toy industry for Mattel. I was in the commercial side. So mostly sales and the top line part of the business. I wouldn't say I was an expert. I mean, I used to work in that industry, but I was part of a small section of the whole thing. And when you're on your own, you have to take care of everything. Well, hey there, toy people! If you're thinking, this doesn't sound like Aijel, you'd be right! It's Virginia, and once again I've managed to sneak into Aijel's podcasting chair to bring you another special episode of Making It In The Toy Industry. This week, I had the privilege of interviewing yet another Toy Creators Academy course graduate. Which, as an aspiring toy creator myself, was both fascinating and enthralling. I got to ask them questions like, What was their professional background before they dipped a toe into the toy industry? What was the product or brand that they developed along the way? And also, I quizzed them on what's next for them in their Toy Creators journey, now that they've finished the course. So join us as we showcase yet another Toy Creators Academy success story. I'm so excited to share this one with you, because I learnt so much from this inspiring TCA alumni member, and I've got no doubt that you will too. A very big welcome from Mexico City, Gerardo de Villa. Did I get that right? You got that right. Hello, Virginia. How are you? It's a real treat to be speaking with you from Sydney to Mexico City. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me. I'm super excited to speak with you today. Well, I'm especially excited to speak to you because I think that we joined Toy Creators Academy at the same time, mid last year. We did. Would that be right? Yes, I remember your name. Yes, we joined. I'm so It was a live session. And we joined right there. Well, what's extremely embarrassing to me is that you are now a course graduate, and I'm still only sitting at about module three or four. So, bravo to you! Thank you, Yeah, the course keeps flowing and I, I don't know. I needed to know. So that prompted me to get started and run quickly. So yeah, I completed the course. Wonderful. Bravo. You're setting the bar high and setting a very good example for the rest of us. Thank you. Tell us a little bit about your background before we start talking about your product. So before joining Toy Creators Academy, I used to work in the toy industry. for Mattel And I was in charge of the South Cone of Latin America that includes Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. I was in the commercial side. So mostly sales and the top line part of the business. And I come from a marketing background. I I've been doing marketing for 25 years now. I'm 49 years old. Yeah, I started with some industry background. However, I quickly realized that I didn't know what I wanted to know to get a successful product to market. So, yeah, so I started reading a lot, learning a lot, listening to podcasts. And that's how I ended up, uh, hearing about the Toy Creators Academy podcast. Wow. And, well, making an acquaintance of, Azhelle and following her in her, in her media and in her socials and eventually joining the TCA. Well, that's fascinating. So we're roughly the same age. Late forties, but you've had a lot of experience in the toy industry already. And yet you still sought to enroll in the toy creators Academy. Wow. That's really, really interesting. We'll go into a little bit about what you feel like you learned in the course shortly, but what really was it that prompted you to enroll with your wealth of knowledge and experience that you already had? Well, I, I recognize that I wasn't an expert in everything when you're, when you're creating something, there's a lot of things that need to happen and perhaps I was strong in some areas, but I lack knowledge in others. So when I threw out the different podcasts with a gel and cueing her in her presentations, industry coverage. I realized she, she knew everything. So she had a method that will help me to walk the path that I wanted to walk. When I joined TCA, I was already selling my toys. So I, I mean, I have gone beyond the proof of concept, but I lacked even the confidence to take it to the next level. So when I, when I enrolled, my expectation was, how can I take this to retail? I was selling on my website, on social media, but I really wanted to break into retail and that's what prompted me to commit to this learning journey. And, uh, it's been wonderful. I can tell you, it's been great. I've learned a lot. I'm very confident now because I know I'm picking all the boxes and I know. The steps that I need to follow and particularly having this industry background, a lot of people took care of different things. So I was fortunate enough to work with a great team, very creative people that take care of everything. So you have somebody that does copy, somebody that does the packaging, somebody that comes up with the stories, design, pricing, costing. So everything is taken care for. You're part of a, a network that works together, but when you're on your own, you need to do that yourself. And I, I wasn't sure about the right steps for sure. Everything. So like I said, I had that I had an idea and I knew even whom to ask. But to have that in a package in a system that week one week to week three. This is the outcome. This is how it's great. I mean, it's a it's foolproof. So that's what I love about TCA. There is so much to unpack here. First question I have out of all of that. What was your actual role in the years before you joined Toy Creators Academy when you were working in the toy industry already? What exactly were you doing? What was your job description? So the role, the role name is country manager. So it's essentially a general manager of a subsidiary that sells toys. It's a toy distributor, right? So I would think design processes. No, no, no, no, no design. No, actually it's just the end part of bringing the toys to kids. So you take care of negotiations with customers, retail customers, the pricing decisions. You allocate investments, you prioritize certain channels over others, certain retailers over others, you take care of, uh, in store displays, things like that. So, and also other executional things like import permits, you know, pricing, logistics, having the right size warehouse. Uh, having a team that takes care of all of that. So, but it's more the commercialization side of the toy industry. Sure. And so was it your exposure to all of these different product lines and concepts and things where you found a niche for something yourself? Is that how your idea came about? First of all, tell us the name of your beautiful dolls and products that you do. So they are called Angelitos Magicos. Which in English means, uh, little magic angels. And these are guardian angel plush dolls that leave messages to kids overnight. So they deliver some cards, magically, with, uh, beautiful messages based on positive psychology that encourage them to go further in life and be good and, you know, have a growth mindset, things like that. The idea was to develop something to address nightmares. And there were several iterations. So as, as usually happens with ideas, but I did want to have a toy. And that, that was like the thing that moved me. I wanted to have a toy. And then, uh, my daughter started having some nightmares. And I remember that when I was a kid, I used to have nightmares. So I called my mom and I tell her, you know, uh, Sophie's having nightmares. I remember that you gave me some medicine when I was a kid, and she said, Oh, no, no, those were Tic Tacs. And I was like, What? I thought I was cured because of medicine. No, no, no, no. It was all in your mind. Oh, so that was something that really struck me. And I said, Well, there's some magic in there. I mean, if you believe that you essentially have something that takes care of your nightmares, you have less nightmares. Well, that's wow. And then I connected that with angels. So angels are messengers. And this was, uh, I started this line before the pandemic. So there was no pandemic. But I started reading a lot about, uh, children having mental health troubles growing up, a lot of anxiety, a lot of, you know, uh, different things happening to children, which later on was exacerbated by the pandemic. So it was very timely when I eventually launched, uh, I launched during the pandemic. So people, uh, love them. It was very encouraging for their children to get these messages and help them to overcome some fears of the virus itself, very fearsome. You know, darkness or whatever. So that's how the idea got started with your wealth of experience, what you already bought before you enrolled in toy creators Academy. What were some of the takeaways that you actually got out of doing the course then? Well, like I said, it's, um, it's been amazing. Um, just the system, the whole thing, having the workbook, I love the workbook. It's like a roadmap. You have everything in there step by step. And when you're working on your own, it's great. Because I, I was missing that part being part of a team when I used to work at the company, you have a lot of people, a lot of experts. So when you're on your own having this workbook and having Azhelle TCA talking to you, having these videos, having the live sessions where you can ask your questions, having a one on one with Azhelle asking her for a particular issue. So for me, the whole thing was amazing. I wouldn't say I was an expert. I mean, I used to work in that industry, but I was part of a small section of the whole thing. And when you're on your own, you have to take care of everything. So think about, I struggled a lot with package design, for instance. And when I joined the TCA, my one on one with Agile was about the packaging. And, and now here it is, for those that are watching on YouTube or on the Toy Coaches platforms, you'll be able to see Gerardo's holding up one of his beautiful magic angels. For those that can't see, you can log onto the website and have a look. Would you like to share that with us, Gerardo? Sure. The link is angelitosmagicos. com and it's A N G E L I T O S. M A G I C O S dot com. And the packaging is beautiful. You've got a magical product there by name and by nature. So Azhelle was very helpful and I came with a ton of questions to that one on one and she was able to clearly explain what was most, most important, the trade offs between the Having a retail packaging and an e commerce packaging because I used to do e commerce mostly. So I did a brown box essentially, but now you have to have a shelf presence. You need to convey value. You need to size it for, for productivity per square meter. So a bunch of different considerations. That, uh, well, somebody took care of that in my prior life. So I had no idea. And then with, with her advice, I was able to come up with, uh, good questions and, and my own answers for, for solving that. So, yeah, that's, that's, uh, something that was very significant. Uh, another thing that I consider very helpful was she took a look at my, at my website and she made a couple of recommendations. That were amazing. And my, my conversion rate grew just by implementing those two changes. And when you're on your own, you have no idea. You see your website every day and you say, well, it works. I'm selling. It's okay. And some people may suggest something, but they don't know or I don't know, you, you don't have an expert there, but when you're talking with Azhelle and she says something, well, you know, she's right. She's seen it. She's done it. So that was it for me. Yeah. So you, you said you knew of her just from your dealings in the toy industry, you knew of Azhelle. And. Then you signed up to the course. It's just such an extraordinary story. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. You, you basically, it feels like you have all of the knowledge and experience and the contacts that the rest of us would just dream of. And yet here you are saying that you still found that by doing TCA was just. Incredibly helpful to you. Aside from the packaging and the website, from the moment that you enrolled in TCA until the time you finished and then beyond, how have things changed for you? How has your product and your brand changed? So I have my first retail placement. I achieved that. I wouldn't be able to do that without TCA. I didn't have a packaging and let me tell you something else. Even though I was selling to different accounts in my prior life, the templates, I got them from someone else. So even my, my speech, I mean, you do things, but you're part of a huge team. So you're standing in the shoulders of, on the shoulders of giants and, and everybody's contributing to your success. I mean, you have to do your part, but, but it's easy because you have all this infrastructure and now on your own. I was even amazed by Azhelle's sell sheets. By her templates for presentations, we did a, we did one round where she critiqued and, and, uh, helped me improve my, my sell sheet and my pitch for, for retailers. And she had very, very good questions about some things that I had no idea. I mean, invisible to me because somebody else. took care of that in my prior life. So those are like pretty concrete things that I think I got out of the TCA. There are others, of course, motivation. I really like the Facebook group, so there's a lot of interaction between the different students. And you get to see people when they are building and the questions they have and the choices they are making and being able to help someone else that that is where you probably were a few weeks ago, or that is facing a similar issue that you're facing now is this sense of community is very strong, and it also gives you energy to keep going forward. So that that's also an important part of the system, I would say. Most definitely. I've likened it before to being in a mother's group for new mothers, you know, brought your little baby and they might be two weeks old or two months old and you can relate with the other mothers in the group because they're at that point in their child's development as well. What's next for your beautiful magic angels then? So right now I, my plan is to get into retail. Uh, I have a bookstore chain, uh, that has They started selling the toys and next I would like to be in a department store, which are very important in Mexico. I'm currently selling only in Mexico and also a toy store chain. So actually tomorrow I have a meeting with a, with a toy store buyer. And, uh, yeah, That's awesome. I'm super excited. Yeah. And to get into retail, that's a big game for 2024. Yes. And then I would like to take the brand to other countries. So, and here I must recognize that probably if I had taken TCA before, the name would be different. The name of my brand would be different because it's, it's in Spanish. I mean, I thought it. Or the Spanish speaking countries. But now after seeing everything in TCA and seeing what is possible for an entrepreneur with the tools that are available, I can take it to other countries. So for me, the next step would be the other markets. The U. S. would be great for me. That's a huge market and, uh, I'm actually certifying my toys for the requirements that, uh, the U. S. has in terms of safety, in terms of other standards to be able to sell my toys online first and eventually to retail partners in the United States. So there's a lot of translations that need to happen. There's, uh, some localization of the messages and even the names of the characters. I thought them in Spanish. So right now each character has a name that is attributed, that is, uh, uh, in line with their superpower, which is, which are virtues. So you have hope, you have, uh, confidence. So these are the virtues and the names are a tweak of the virtue in Spanish. But That doesn't translate. So I need to come up with names for new characters. I have a story that each, each magic angel comes with a, with a booklet that explains their story. I need to translate that. And A lot of work to, to really nail down a children's book, essentially. It's very small, but I mean, it's a few pages long, but you need to come up with these ideas and the story and make it work, the illustrations and everything. So yeah, that's, that's what's coming. What's coming. I am curious that may be your next challenge in your business is having all of that translated. Because as you said, It is all in Spanish. I jumped on before we met earlier today and had a look. It's a beautiful website. The product is just gorgeous, but I did have the good luck of being able to just click the translate button. My Spanish is not very good, but in terms of taking it into those other English speaking, countries. What does that process look like for you? Are you, do you think you will have to change the name of the product or is it just as a simple translation? So I'm struggling to, I would love to keep the brand name as is. So there, there are a lot of names that, you know, if you think about, for instance, shampoo, we have head on shoulders that sells. All over the world and the name is Head and Shoulders. Does it mean something in Portuguese? No. Does it mean something in Spanish? No. So, I would love for people to be able to associate a name that somehow means magic or somehow means angel. I haven't tested that. I haven't validated that hypothesis. But I would love to keep the brand name. I do think that the characters need to change. They need new names. to be able to convey their virtues or try something else. But the current names, I don't, they, they are very hard to pronounce. They are very hard to remember. So, yeah. I really like the idea too, of keeping the names as they are. We live in such a multicultural world globally these days. There's so many different cultures and nationalities. Everywhere you go and it that makes up part of the rich tapestry of all of our lives, you know, so it would be so lovely to keep that. And if that were at all possible and teach people about your culture and the culture of these beautiful magical angels, I love the tagline or the slogan in there that they bring the magic of love. Similar to Santa Claus and so forth. Like that's very, very special. And to be able to learn about that from a different cultural perspective is also incredibly special. I do hope that you can retain some of that in some way, shape or form. Yeah, I mean, I really, I like the brand a lot, but let's see what consumers have to say about that. So in the end, this, this is for them. So if I'm going to test this and if they get it, if it comes across. The way I, I thought it would come across, that'd be awesome, but if not, I will adjust all part of the excitement of your toy creator's journey, right? Yes, it is. I'll check back in with you again in a year or two and see how far you've got with that. What tips would you have for other people wanting to start out in the toy industry then, Gerardo? Would one of them be to consider what language that they're bringing their toy to market in? Are you happy that you've started as you did? Yeah. So I, I mean, that's, that's one piece of advice I would give myself. So think, think big. And that means think not just in terms of your local language, think when you're going. I see a lot of TCA fellows that are also coming from different countries. We have, we have some people from, from Nigeria, from Australia, well, yourself, uh, English speaking countries, but also some, some Spanish speaking countries and toys are global. And they usually travel well, the concepts you have, for instance, you have Pocoyo, which come from Spain and it's in different countries. You have Cocomelon, which is a children's show that it's everywhere. You, I mean, you don't need, you don't need to translate characters. So the kids get it. But if you think from the start, Where you see your, your brand going, uh, in the end, it's probably better. And you will come up with better answers that, that you can live with for longer. So that's probably a, an advice I would give myself. Another thing would be, you know, uh, follow the TCA, follow the program. It works. Not just for me. I mean, there are other testimonials out there where people say what their journey was and, and people are really making huge strides where we're with their creations. So trust the program, follow it. Be part of the community, be active in the community we have in Facebook, help others and you will get help eventually. So yeah, also keep your motivation. There's going to be some highs, some ups, but also some lows. And, and sometimes because of these industries, probably you will end up manufacturing somewhere far away. And the product is going to take forever to reach the market, but you have to keep the focus and the stamina and your energy check a lot of discipline to keep going because sometimes nothing happens. And it's easy to lose focus during those valleys. So just keep it rolling. Keep, uh, thinking about it. Keep doing something for the future. Perhaps if you're not right hands on on something, because you're waiting for your samples to arrive, or you're waiting for, you know, your, your container to get across the sea. But really keep going and keep doing stuff and eventually you will be rewarded. I'm giggling because I feel like you're directing that right at me. No, no, no, no. It's hard. Well, I mean, it's, uh, because of the time differences in the, in the development of these projects, there's going to be some valleys. Yeah. So, so just, you know, keep engaged. I just had an idea for you. Maybe your magic angels have a family of cousins that live in other countries, so you can keep hold of them and their culture, and then they've got cousins and families in other countries, and they can all share their cultural differences and the beautiful things about it. There you go. Yeah, could be, could be, could be an angle, and then we have English speaking magic angels. It's been such a treat to talk to you today. I feel like You are incredibly inspirational. You have so much knowledge and experience in the toy industry already, but the fact that you've gone back and you've done TCA and you've got so much value out of it with all of your experience and background, you can still recommend it to people starting out like myself and others who might be listening in today. And it's been really, really valuable talking to you today. So you've given me a good kick up the backside. I need to get, it wasn't intentional. It was what I needed. One more time. Would you please, once again, share your website with us? Yes. It's Angelitos Magicos. A N G E L I T O S. M A G I C O S dot com. We'll make sure that we've got that in the show notes today as well. Okay. Perfect. You are, you're only selling in Mexico at the moment. Do you ship internationally? I do, but I, my shipping rates are very expensive. So I've only shipped to the U S. Yes. Um, there's a lot of interest. There's some interest from, from other countries in South America, but, but the shipping rates are high. I'm working on that. It's much the same going out of Australia as well. The international postage makes it really not feasible in a lot of cases to ship internationally. We'll have to work out a way to get around that. Yeah, absolutely. Ricardo, thank you so much for your time today. Thank you, Virginia. Pleasure to talk to you. And I'm sure that everybody listening. We'll also get so much from hearing you talk about your beautiful magic angels. Thank you so much for having me. Well, there you have it, Toy People. That was this week's special episode of Making It In The Toy Industry, profiling yet another wonderful success story from the many graduates of the Toy Creators Academy. If you enjoyed today's episode, you can find more at thetoycoach. com slash podcast. And if you love this podcast and you haven't already left a review, what are you waiting for? Your reviews are not only greatly appreciated, but they're a great way for other people to know if this podcast is valuable and also worth listening to. Everyone's favorite toy coach, Giselle Wade, will be back here behind the podcast mic next week with another episode of Making It In The Toy Industry. But until then, in the words of the great lady herself, see you later, toy people.