#279: TCA Accelerator Coaching Call with Kieche O’Connell
The most innovative toy ideas I’ve ever seen come from people outside the toy industry. When I met Dr. Kieche O’Connell, the creator of Catoms, I was completely blown away. She found a way to merge her love of science and the periodic table into a collectible plush toy line. Kieche’s deep understanding of chemistry and the unique traits of each element gave her the ability to create an expansive world of characters with complex personalities and traits that drive her brand’s storytelling forward.
In this episode of Making It in the Toy Industry, I’m sitting down with Kieche, a PhD chemist turned toy creator, who reimagined the periodic table as a world of personality-packed cat characters called Catoms, each inspired by the traits of real chemical elements.
During our coaching session, we talk through the highs and lows of product development, how her experience in Toy Creators Academy and in TCA Accelerator Program helped her move from concept to physical toy prototypes, and why Catoms has so much potential in today’s toy market.
You’ll also hear about her Licensing Expo win, the mindset shift that helped her get over her fear of social media, and how authentic storytelling can transform the way you market educational toys to both kids and adults.
Listen For These Important Moments
[00:00:30] – Learn how to turn a science or education background into a unique toy concept that stands out in the industry.
[00:09:25] – Discover how early pitching (and winning at Licensing Expo) can give your toy idea real industry traction.
[00:20:10] – Get a simple strategy for overcoming fear of social media and sharing your toy brand with confidence.
[00:31:03] – Understand the full plush toy development process from pivoting your product to communicating with factories.
[00:41:00] – Learn how to refine your brand, develop packaging, and shift your target audience for long-term growth.
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Explore the world of Catoms at thecatoms.com and follow along on Instagram @thecatoms to see how chemistry turns into cute cat plushies!
Have a creative toy idea rooted in your unique expertise but no clue how to bring it to life?
Just like Kieche, who transformed her chemistry background into a character-driven plush line, you can take your idea from concept to prototype with Toy Creators Academy.Enroll today at thetoycoach.com/tca
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[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to Making It in The Toy Industry, episode number 279.
[00:00:10] Welcome to Making It in The Toy Industry, a podcast for inventors, entrepreneurs, and makers. Like you and now your host, Azhelle Wade.
[00:00:22] Azhelle Wade: Hey there, toy people. Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of Making It In The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. Now if you work in an industry that is very different from the toy industry, perhaps you have a background in science or education, and you're thinking, can I use that background to create a toy or game that will help kids learn in a fun and engaging way?
[00:00:45] Azhelle Wade: Well, yes you can. My friend, and this episode is gonna talk about how you can do that. Today we are diving into the story of a Toy creator's Academy student who is blending art and chemistry into one seriously imaginative idea. This episode is part of our special series where I coach students through real-time challenges they're having right now as they build their toy businesses.
[00:01:04] Azhelle Wade: You're gonna hear what they're struggling with and what kind of breakthroughs they're starting to see, and at the end, we're gonna talk about their product idea so you can get a sense of how far they've come and where they're headed, and see if there's some similarities in what you creating. My guest today is Kieche O'Connell, the founder of the award-winning ip, Catoms.
[00:01:22] Azhelle Wade: Now, it's impressive that Kieche is a Toy Creator's Academy alumni, but it's more impressive that she's a PhD in chemistry. She's worked for the Navy and in biotech and has spent years teaching science. But more than anything, she is a creative, her IP and toy concept is all about bringing the beauty of chemistry to life.
[00:01:39] Azhelle Wade: Through fun and sweet storytelling through cats. Now, whether you're a science nerd, a creative type, or just someone who loves cats and wants to see more educational toys in the world, you're gonna love hearing how Kieche is making it happen with Catoms. Let's dive in. Keiche, welcome to the show. Thank you.
[00:01:56] Azhelle Wade: Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. It's so fun to meet with my students in this setting. 'cause it's so chill. It feels like we're just doing our regular calls. It's nice. I agree. Thank you. Thank you. All right, let's kick this off. So first we're gonna do three parts. We're gonna start with our coaching session, then we're gonna get into celebrating your wins, and then finally we'll do more of a spotlight on your product.
[00:02:18] Azhelle Wade: Although we're gonna be talking about your IP and your product throughout the entire thing. But first, let's start out what was going on in your life or in your career when you first decided to join Toy Creators Academy? Tell me what made you think it was the right move for you at the time?
[00:02:31] Kieche O'Connell: Well, actually I was working on my MBA, um, I was in the middle of the program and I was starting the capstone project, and basically we had to come up with our own business idea.
[00:02:42] Kieche O'Connell: And I had this idea back when I was in grad school doing my PhD, but I was like, well, I'm gonna make it come to life. I'm going to take the periodic table, make 'em into characters, and then make those characters into collectible toys. But the thing is like. I am a scientist. I have no background in the toy industry, so you know, this was new territory for me.
[00:03:02] Kieche O'Connell: So I started Google searching, like podcasts and just websites that had this kind of background. And lo and behold, I found you first. I found your podcast, started listening to you. I'm like, oh, this is really good information. So then I joined your Toy Creators Academy and that's been, uh, very fruitful ever since.
[00:03:21] Azhelle Wade: What made you wanna come back for the Accelerator and do more one-on-one?
[00:03:24] Kieche O'Connell: Well, it's been a few years since I started the, the academy and things have evolved over the time. Like, first I was pitching as, um, character and animation, like for production. Mm-hmm. Like a cartoon series. But as you know, like just the industry has changed so much.
[00:03:40] Kieche O'Connell: Right. With all these streaming platforms, it's very competitive. And you know, there's less funding in Hollywood essentially. Yeah. So I went back to my original idea, which is the collectible toys, and started moving towards the plush. And I felt like I had like more of a grasp on that. It had more control and I thought that was a good time to work.
[00:03:59] Kieche O'Connell: Like that's your arena that you're really good at. Yeah. So I felt like that was something that would be really helpful for me just to have that one, you know, like that constant. Monthly cadence with you.
[00:04:10] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, and even though like my focus is definitely toy product and getting it into stores or selling it online, but when you developed your product, it was pretty clear that for multiple reasons, like the concept for funding reasons, for factory reasons, we thought at the time the IP show pitch was the best direction to go.
[00:04:29] Azhelle Wade: And you, because of you, a lot of TCA kind of evolved because that's not my specialty at all. So I went and found the resources that needed to be there to lead people to the next step if that's what they wanted to do, which is what we added to the program for you. And then I made friends with a few showrunners and producers that we could have come to the pitch event.
[00:04:48] Azhelle Wade: So that you could pitch it, pitch your ip. You know, I always wanna say like, toy Courage Academy is defined. I do have a plan I want you to follow, but at the same time, if you're in the program, you're doing the work, you have a great idea. I'm not just gonna sit there and be like, well, sorry, I don't know how to help you.
[00:05:01] Azhelle Wade: Like I'm gonna, I'm gonna find someone who knows how to help you so that we can make sure that this goes forward. 'cause eventually the goal is for me, in my mind, is for you to make a toy. Even if you start with a TV first.
[00:05:12] Kieche O'Connell: Right. And to go back to what you were saying, yeah. Yes, absolutely. Like I actually did pitch to production companies.
[00:05:20] Kieche O'Connell: Right, because of you. Yeah. Like that was not in my wheelhouse either. So all of all of it was because of you, but it was like understanding factories, all those things. Yeah. That was an area where I just did not feel, even with the toy creators at CA Academy, I felt like I needed more. Like, Hey, can I. Email you, like, we had a meeting with the, the manufacturer.
[00:05:42] Kieche O'Connell: Oh, yeah. You know? Yeah. So like, just stuff like that and like, I've had to pivot a lot this past year and
[00:05:48] Azhelle Wade: Yeah.
[00:05:48] Kieche O'Connell: Having you there each step of the way was, I don't know. I think I, I don't know what I would've done, honestly. Thank you. Yeah.
[00:05:55] Azhelle Wade: The accelerator for anyone listening is a lot more. Hands-on and just kind of handholding like, so if one of my accelerator students is emailing their factory, I say, just CC me.
[00:06:05] Azhelle Wade: Whereas with Toy Creators Academy, everyone can't CC me. That would be crazy. There's only eight people in the accelerator, so Yeah, I'm like, CC me and if you need me to respond to something for you, just. Tell me, Agel, I sent this email yesterday. Can you respond for me? Or if I read the email and I think there's something that you're not asking that you should ask, I'll message you privately.
[00:06:25] Azhelle Wade: 'cause again, I want you guys to still look like the people in charge and the leader. But I'll message you privately and say, Hey, you didn't ask about this. So next time ask this or say this or, or I think they're lying, or We need to see more proof, or something like that. And then all the pivots. The other great part of the accelerator is you might.
[00:06:40] Azhelle Wade: Start one route and with one product or just with one goal of pitching for licensing, or if something changes in your circumstances, we can definitely pivot and get more one-on-one help to pivot quickly. Whereas with TCA, you would pivot. You might ask a question in the group or in a call, and I'd say, okay, yeah, here's the next plan for you to do.
[00:07:01] Azhelle Wade: But there's not that. Monthly meeting or chats in WhatsApp to like help you execute that. It's more like, uh, this is a lot more hands-on. So before you joined, did you ever doubt that your idea was good enough? Because it's a really good idea.
[00:07:13] Kieche O'Connell: Well, thank you. Um, well, yeah, I had some doubts because it's just not my area of expertise as far as like toy.
[00:07:21] Kieche O'Connell: Like I just didn't have a background in toys or, you know, character making things like that. Right. But pretty quickly I had proof of concept as far as I was in my MBA program and just. Talking to people. I mean, I did interviews like with kids and parents and just scientists and all kinds of people, and I just got a lot of positive feedback from strangers, professionals, friends, everyone.
[00:07:45] Kieche O'Connell: And even like in the pitches that I did through Toy Creators Academy, I mean, that was one thing that was a parent was I got a lot of positive feedback from the production companies. So, and,
[00:07:55] Azhelle Wade: and I mean, what about the award?
[00:07:57] Kieche O'Connell: Yes. I pitched to the licensing expo back in 2022 for character animation. I was a finalist and then I pitched at the, at the conference and won for character and animation.
[00:08:09] Kieche O'Connell: So
[00:08:09] Azhelle Wade: pretty crazy.
[00:08:10] Kieche O'Connell: Um, and through that I made connections, like through the judges and everything. So that's been great.
[00:08:15] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Oh, that's so awesome. Are you still in touch with any of those people? Like will they help you with the next stage? Yeah. Oh, that's great.
[00:08:20] Kieche O'Connell: I love it. Yeah. I just need to make sure I'm, I feel prepared for it.
[00:08:24] Azhelle Wade: I mean, my next question was what shifted your mindset of if this idea is good enough, but clearly it's just getting it out there, getting feedback from other people. I call it, in some of my master classes that I do, I say Don't get stuck in the top secret trap where you wanna keep your idea top secret for so long.
[00:08:40] Azhelle Wade: You never even find out if it's a good idea. 'cause you never tell anybody about it. Right. Like there is a way to share it, to protect it. Are you currently following the path of inventor or entrepreneur or are you still figuring that out?
[00:08:49] Kieche O'Connell: Definitely entrepreneur. I mean, that's the path I've been doing and I think that's, it's making it slower for me because I'm having to figure out all the nitty gritty details.
[00:08:58] Kieche O'Connell: And one of the areas that I am not really a fan of is the marketing, and that's been a kind of a. Block for me. But I think in the future, I think I maybe stay in the entrepreneur, but I would like to partner with someone so I can kind of do what I'm really good at. And then have someone that is maybe bus better at the marketing part of it.
[00:09:19] Kieche O'Connell: Yes. Like have like those details and I can be the creative and the science details. You know, like I don't mind pitching, I think I can pitch and everything. It's just, it's the actual digital marketing part that I've, I just. Flub. Well, you don't have to
[00:09:33] Azhelle Wade: give away. I mean, yeah, there is a thing where you either have to give away your idea, like a portion of your idea, or you have to give away a sum of money to get that marketing help.
[00:09:41] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, that part's hard, but I would, yeah, I mean, it depends on how much money you have to invest in it, but it's. It's like, ugh, it's, it sucks to give away a part of your baby when honestly you are what's gonna sell it. Like you being who you are, the PhD, the masters, the science teacher, like that is actually what sells it.
[00:09:59] Azhelle Wade: So I, I think if you got a marketing partner, they're gonna say, okay, great. I need you to record these videos. They're gonna be like, they're gonna be like, here's a script, and you're gonna be like, but I thought you were gonna do it. They'll be like, no, I'll post it. But you're, you need to record. You're gonna be the face, probably.
[00:10:13] Azhelle Wade: Probably, yeah. Yeah. But before we keep going, so everyone in here knows, give us your elevator pitch for your ip. How would you describe it if you had just like 30 seconds on an elevator with someone?
[00:10:24] Kieche O'Connell: So cans. It's a microscopic world centered around the periodic table and all the elements are cats. And those cats have the personalities and traits of that element that they are.
[00:10:36] Kieche O'Connell: Mm-hmm. Right. So for example, hydrogen is just a kitten and she likes to use her powers to levitate. And you know, she has all kinds of other powers, but you know, like she really enjoys levitating around and she carries her single electron on her tail. Mm-hmm. But she also loses her electron. She's very forgetful and loses it everywhere.
[00:10:54] Kieche O'Connell: Right. And then you have like Florian, who's a rich, greedy cat, and he lives in Halogen Heights, and he's like a literal fat cat, right? And he's just always scheming to get more electrons. So it just gives you an idea of the characters, which through that it's about discovering your superpowers and teamwork and having fun, entertaining.
[00:11:14] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Let's talk about that hydrogen. She loses her electron. Is that a personality trait that you created based on. The element.
[00:11:21] Kieche O'Connell: Yes, absolutely. So that's the thing about it. It's taking what's scientifically factual Yeah. And putting it into the character's personality. So, so break her down hydrogen. Yeah.
[00:11:32] Kieche O'Connell: So, so for hydrogen, hydrogen is literally just a proton and an electron. Like if you think about like an acid, like hydrofluoric acid. So hydrogen easily gets, loses its electron, gives it over to. Fluorine and fluorine takes that electron. So it's like an uneven balance of just passing one electron to, so it's a lot of times you see hydrogen as just a proton.
[00:11:56] Kieche O'Connell: That's just a positive eye on hydrogen. Okay. Literally. So it's just removing the electron so it just, hydrogen is just very loose with the electron in, in real life. And so it's a good characteristic for the character. Yeah. It's gonna
[00:12:09] Azhelle Wade: like it. It makes the perfect TV show. It's like you see these characters Yeah.
[00:12:13] Azhelle Wade: And based, oh, you know my favorite story that I would love for you to tell, um, you, you know, the one who rust, the other one. 'cause they fall in
[00:12:19] Kieche O'Connell: love. Oxygen and iron. Yeah. So iron oxide is rust. And so I had. I have a story written where the heavy metals come to town into non-metal city and one of the characters, the drummer is Iron and Oxygen is a big groupie fan of the band.
[00:12:39] Kieche O'Connell: So she gets tickets and gets backstage to meet, meet the band, and she and iron basically have like a little love interest. And then, but once they get together, they kind of like, like are just always just having fun and hanging out, playing video games or whatever. And then he's not really doing his job in the band.
[00:12:57] Kieche O'Connell: Like, he's like kind of skipping practice and everything and, and then she's just not really doing her job either. So. So it's just like, basically they're rusting, they're deteriorating, and so then the, you know, carbon has to come over and like have a plan with the rest of the heavy metals to get them to like, maybe this isn't a good relationship.
[00:13:15] Azhelle Wade: So like, wait, no, no, make it now. Explain it as science, like just the same
[00:13:19] Kieche O'Connell: story. So iron in its elemental form is, you know, by itself is, you know. Metal, right? Mm-hmm. Shiny metal. But then oxygen, which oxygen does this to many things, but we just think of rust, right? So when oxygen is exposed to iron, it will start basically making chemical bonds with the iron.
[00:13:38] Kieche O'Connell: It turns into iron oxide, which is rust. Mm. And so then it's just going into a lower, when we think about, it's increasing entropy, but lowering the energy state, like it takes a lot of energy to take. 'cause you, you know, you, that's how they make. You know, elemental iron, it's just found as iron oxide in, in the earth.
[00:13:56] Kieche O'Connell: And then you have to put a lot of energy in it to remove the oxygen and have it in its elemental.
[00:14:00] Azhelle Wade: I mean, this is just the A show that has to, I mean, look at that and with your brain behind it, man, I'm. So proud to have you in the accelerator, but I know right now you're focused on the toys and even the plush that you've sampled already.
[00:14:15] Azhelle Wade: They look so cool. But also, hold on. Thank you. We have talked so much about what you could do for social media, I swear, explaining stories like you did right now and then getting an assistant to like, and I mean someone from the Philippines. It can be someone overseas too. Video edit in images of your characters to go along with what you're saying.
[00:14:37] Azhelle Wade: So you say oxygen, and oxygen appears on the the screen, and then there's an audio sound to go with it. I feel like, actually Anika, my editor who's listening, I would love for you to take that section where she just did that and make a sample. Of what this could be as the episode promo, because that, because I think that could be your, yeah, all of your, your social media.
[00:14:59] Azhelle Wade: Like just talking about the stories and saying it as like, like this. So one day the heavy metal band came to non-metal city. Right? Um, is it the non-metal band? What's the band? Heavy metal band? Uh, just
[00:15:11] Kieche O'Connell: that Heavy metals.
[00:15:11] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, heavy metal. The heavy metals band came to non-metal city. And their biggest fan, oxygen got backstage passes to their event.
[00:15:19] Azhelle Wade: Like you can literally be telling the story, like you're telling it to a friend. Yeah. And then someone edit in images and, and they could animate it a little bit with ai. You could animate the characters to blink or maybe their hands move, you know, or holding up backstage pass tickets and just edit in some visuals.
[00:15:35] Azhelle Wade: So it's interesting to watch you talk about it. Mm-hmm. And then you, at the same time could in your background on your shelves that you have, like have more Catoms and maybe less. Books or more things directly related to cas or just ha hold them closer to you so they're bigger on the screen and just talk about it.
[00:15:51] Azhelle Wade: Because some, some of my best posts right now are actually just me talking about tariffs, um, with very little or to know animations happening. Yeah. So, yeah, like these stories are so interesting. Like if you, yeah. If you literally just told the story and then. Back end of the story said like, okay, scientifically, here's what's happening.
[00:16:10] Azhelle Wade: And like said the science part after that right. There is such a great post. Huh?
[00:16:14] Kieche O'Connell: I never thought about it that way. Like actually like just telling the story and then explaining the science.
[00:16:18] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. And then having the images of your characters and obviously your logo the whole time. Yeah. And then the hashtags being science.
[00:16:25] Azhelle Wade: That is such a great idea and I wonder if you share it with an influencer, influencers in the science space. Like I think of Sean, the science kid. I don't know if you've seen him. He's so cute. No, he's this little black kid and he is adorable and he's obsessed with science and he is just like adorable.
[00:16:39] Azhelle Wade: But like if you share it with someone like that who might. Reshare it and get it to a bigger audience like that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Look at this. Well, we're Nico's gonna help us do an an edit. All this
[00:16:50] Kieche O'Connell: workshopped an idea.
[00:16:52] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, that was great. That, and look at the coaching hasn't even begun. Okay. So what, yeah, so tell me, what are you struggling with right now?
[00:17:00] Azhelle Wade: What would you like to focus on on our coaching session?
[00:17:02] Kieche O'Connell: Um, I think my mental block with. Social media. I have like a fear of it. I have a fear of posting. I have a fear of messing it up, I guess. Why messing up? Yeah. I don't know. I just. It just seems like a scary place to me. Mm. Because, you know, it's just, you got a lot of trolls and all kinds of stuff on there and, and I just, you know, even though I just wanna share my idea, it's just, I don't know, it just, just feels like everyone has an opinion and they do.
[00:17:32] Kieche O'Connell: It's not. Yeah. Oh they do. So I just have to ignore it. But at the same time, like I just wanna make sure I make a good first impression.
[00:17:41] Azhelle Wade: I don't know that, ignore it is the right word. 'cause I think I used to feel that way. Yeah. I actually feel like you have to embrace it. And this is something I messed up on.
[00:17:48] Azhelle Wade: I remember the first time I got a ton of negative comments and it was 'cause I rendered a toy in AI and then everyone hated me. Not everyone, like some people liked it. But there was, I got several diatribes written on these posts saying like, I used to respect you and you made this AI thing. I will never listen to your podcast again.
[00:18:06] Azhelle Wade: And I was really offended. It's like, yeah, but also I was like, you know, this person's not living in reality because like, the reality of it is we can't stop. The train has left the station. We didn't do it right. It had left, it had left years before we knew AI existed. It was coming. It was like the internet.
[00:18:24] Azhelle Wade: We can't stop it. It's unfortunately gonna happen. All we can do is know how to use it so we can lead the pact. But what I regret is when that happened, I pulled back on AI big time. I like did not post about it. I had a whole plan to post several images, just like what I had posted. I had. Like weeks worth of content created.
[00:18:43] Azhelle Wade: And I got scared. Yeah. I was like, oh my God. They don't like it. They don't hate me. And you know, the worst part is it didn't stop me from using AI in my business because I had to, like, I'm a one woman show, I need help and wherever I can get it. Yeah. I mean, I have a team, but very small. So like, wherever I can get support and sorting through data, creating an image or visualizing something, I need it.
[00:19:03] Azhelle Wade: So. I was still using AI learning so much and sharing none of it because of this person and to such a detriment of To my audience. Yeah. And to myself. So. It's more about like embracing it and enjoying it, and sometimes it helps to lose yourself in the world of social media. A little bit. Like maybe if you look at Sean, the science kid, and if you look at maybe some adult science influencers that maybe like the space gal and you say, you know what?
[00:19:30] Azhelle Wade: She's so funny. Or She's so sweet. Or He's so cute, and this is so fun. Like if you can get yourself to feel like this is a fun place to be on the internet, that's when you're gonna feel like. I wanna be on this place on the internet. Yeah. And what's interesting is like if you follow some of these influencers, not the, that aren't the like micro influencers and a little bit bigger and you're liking and engaging with their posts, they or someone on their team is going to recognize you and your brand for being there repeatedly, and you will become essentially a part of their little.
[00:20:01] Azhelle Wade: Science pod. So I have people that like, I like their posts and they like mine and we comment on each other's things and we're almost like weird internet friends. So it's like, yeah, yeah, that's what it can be. It's essentially a public chat room or a public email room, and you have to think of it that way to like it, to be like, yeah, I'm posting this for the Space Gal.
[00:20:21] Azhelle Wade: I'm not posting this for anyone else. You know, like just, right.
[00:20:25] Kieche O'Connell: Think of it that way. And that's a good point. Yeah. And I already kind of do that naturally. Like there's the chem thug I follow and I really, the chem thug like. Yeah. That's so funny. Should check him out. He's, he's great. He's like always giving
[00:20:39] Azhelle Wade: cool videos and like I would start as simple as like if you post something, message the chem thug, who knows if they'll respond.
[00:20:44] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. But message them and say, Hey, I just posted this. I'm so scared to start on social media. What do you think? Can you give it some love? I would appreciate, even if you just left a comment I used to do. Every time I posted, because I had, nobody was following me. So every time I posted, I would literally send my post to all of my friends and I'd be like, please like this.
[00:21:02] Azhelle Wade: Please comment. Please ask a question. What do you wanna know? Like, and yeah. Nobody knows you're doing that until one day you're actually famous and it doesn't matter anymore. So
[00:21:13] Kieche O'Connell: yeah. You actually have the notoriety.
[00:21:15] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. One day it comes. Yeah. But until then, you've gotta do what you gotta do to feel like it's worth your time and to be seen.
[00:21:22] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. And in the early days, like don't be afraid to, in the first month, like you make 30 posts and you get like two likes on a post, just repost all those things. The next month nobody is gonna notice. Yeah, that's a good point. But yeah, let's do this video. Nika, I can't wait to see what you create. This is gonna be great.
[00:21:38] Azhelle Wade: Um, oh, you might have to send, I'm gonna give her your email address. You might have to send her some images. Okay. Um, but that would be great. Sounds good. Okay. So the social media thing is what you wanna focus on. We kind of already did that, but are there any other specific questions that you would have around it?
[00:21:52] Azhelle Wade: Or roadblocks.
[00:21:53] Kieche O'Connell: I think the roadblocks is just, I think what I need to do is kind of get ahead of it a little bit and have like stuff I already curated, you know, like a little folder of things so I can feel like I'm not like chasing myself to try to get it done. Like just like give myself a couple weeks to have material already curated so I can just go, okay, this is gonna be posted.
[00:22:15] Kieche O'Connell: Like have it on like Canva or whatever. Just schedule out. Well, if
[00:22:18] Azhelle Wade: we think of this video concept, you already have the stories. So if you're comfortable with this idea, literally it's just you who already knows the stories. Making a list of like, all right, I'm gonna tell this story, this story, this story.
[00:22:30] Azhelle Wade: And literally just recording it to the camera and then finding yourself Anika like who can do this work for you? And actually, we're gonna have some extra time. So if you wanted to, like we could. I don't know. We could work something out too with between us, but like I can show you actually my entire hiring process for Nika as well.
[00:22:52] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm. Because it took a while and I almost gave up and when I found her I was like, praise Jesus. Like just, I literally, I was in a mastermind myself and I told them I'm just gonna not have a podcast anymore because I can't. Fine anyone. Everyone sucks and I went through like three or four people, but I think if you can find someone whose job it is to video, edit and post.
[00:23:16] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, and post for you via, they don't have to necessarily log into your account. There are like posting tools that they can post from and post for you. That would be all you need. And then you literally just record. They edit and they send for your approval. You say yes. And they post.
[00:23:33] Kieche O'Connell: Oh, that sounds good.
[00:23:34] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. You know,
[00:23:34] Azhelle Wade: and you can even, yeah. Another thing that I do with chat, GBT for people who hate ai, plug your ears. Um, but another thing I do is for Nika, I created a custom chat GPT for like, uh, captions. So if I don't have time to write a caption for a post, um, and I need her to do it, there's a. Chat, chat, GPT thing that is trained to sound like me, that she'll put in the transcript of the video and say, make a caption for this video that I've recorded.
[00:24:07] Azhelle Wade: And it provides hashtags so it, the, the help there is really the hashtags. It's like, how do we make sure that this video is seen by the right people? The hardest part I found in hiring someone to post for you on social media is if they're posting through a third party app. Sometimes there's limitations, one with the third party apps, and then the limitations could be tagging other accounts.
[00:24:28] Azhelle Wade: So if they don't have full access, they might not be able to tag other accounts, which can definitely reduce how much visibility you have. So you, so what I've done out of. Like what? It's like a hack. It's like a, a sloppy shortcut, but I'll go in after the fact, after it's been posted, edit tag someone, and then even add into the comments, a comment, ta like tagging them again to mm-hmm.
[00:24:50] Azhelle Wade: Make sure they see it, because I don't want to give another person access to my account. I feel like it just gives too much vulnerability and that's my whole business. But she'll post through a third party app and then I'll manually go into a few posts and just tag, comment, make sure certain people are.
[00:25:05] Azhelle Wade: Seeing it. Mm. And even add hashtag sometimes, like,
[00:25:09] Kieche O'Connell: yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's good to know. So I would do that. That's all those things. Yeah. You need to get more proficient at.
[00:25:17] Azhelle Wade: It's not even, it's just the edit. It's like you don't, you're overthinking
[00:25:21] Kieche O'Connell: it.
[00:25:21] Azhelle Wade: Don't think. I think so. Maybe. Maybe I'm overthinking it.
[00:25:23] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, you gotta take it a day at a time. Like my best things were when I took it a day at a time. Like when I, I plan my posts, they don't do well when I was doing like one reel a day, and I would always post them at 12 and I would literally plan them at 10. Those did great. Yeah. I would be like, okay, what's trending?
[00:25:40] Azhelle Wade: I'd pick a trend. I would make a thing. They weren't always perfect. But it was like they were out by 12, maybe one sometimes, and they did so well. Yeah, the tariffs one, what I literally do with the tariffs is I go, I search in Google, what are people saying about tariffs today? And then I like think about my opinion and then I literally just talk, like if I were talking to you.
[00:25:59] Azhelle Wade: Um, yeah. And then the key though is editing down all the pauses. So like, I use descrip, but you would hire somebody to edit all this out and just cut out every hesitation because people have no patience, so Right, right, right. Every hesitation, people think you're so sure of yourself, but really you're doing it 'cause they have no patience and like, and then that's it.
[00:26:21] Azhelle Wade: And you add captions and that's it. Like, don't overthink it. You just need to record the video and then you need someone like Anika to do everything else.
[00:26:28] Kieche O'Connell: Yes.
[00:26:28] Azhelle Wade: But yes, you're gonna see we have a test right now and then, okay, this
[00:26:32] Kieche O'Connell: will be interesting. Okay. Yeah.
[00:26:33] Azhelle Wade: And then you can use that test clip to hire someone.
[00:26:36] Azhelle Wade: You can say, this is the type of video I'm gonna give you. This is what you have to give me. And then you can record another video and make them do a test as part of the onboarding. I had Nika do a test. Yeah. Then I paid her for, but I did a test edit. Like, okay. So definitely do that. Okay, we covered that.
[00:26:53] Azhelle Wade: Now I wanna flip the script. You've been asking me for help, but let's, let's be honest, you've come a long way yourself, so let's shine some light on the wins you've already had. What is a win that you've had that made you think, wow, I can't believe I actually did this.
[00:27:08] Kieche O'Connell: Well, I think the biggest one was winning the character and animation award at the licensing expo.
[00:27:14] Kieche O'Connell: 'cause I know people, when they saw that I did it, they entered in sub subsequent years and didn't even get to be finalists. So Really I, yeah. So I was like, wow. 'cause you know, you think like whatever, I wouldn't be a part of a club. I would get, have membership or say, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like it's that kind of thing.
[00:27:31] Kieche O'Connell: I'm like, oh, it's just me so everyone can do it. Well, apparently not. So, wow. That was kind of interesting. So that felt really, you know, like I accomplished something and to be honest, like getting the plush made, like, mm, they're so cute. Just the prototypes. They're so cute. Can you bring one closer to the camera?
[00:27:47] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're
[00:27:47] Azhelle Wade: so cute.
[00:27:49] Kieche O'Connell: They have
[00:27:49] Azhelle Wade: a vibe. So,
[00:27:50] Kieche O'Connell: so I think this in itself is,
[00:27:53] Azhelle Wade: oh, you
[00:27:53] Kieche O'Connell: know, huge because I think the manufacturer got it right, you know, the, the materials. The, the look. And then here's what I was talking about, like hydrogen, the electron Oh. Comes off. You know,
[00:28:05] Azhelle Wade: so anyone listening to this episode, Keiche, is showing hydrogen and is that, um, who's that?
[00:28:11] Azhelle Wade: A carbon?
[00:28:11] Kieche O'Connell: This is carbon, yeah. Hydrogen and
[00:28:13] Azhelle Wade: carbon pluses. So go on our youtube.com/the toy coach if you wanna see it. Oh my gosh, they're so
[00:28:18] Kieche O'Connell: cute. Yeah. And I even made hydrogen a little smaller. Yeah. To reflect that she's smaller. Hydrogen, the element is smaller. Yeah. 'cause it's the smallest element in the periodic table.
[00:28:29] Kieche O'Connell: See, I did not know that proton
[00:28:30] Azhelle Wade: one. I did not know that. Yeah. So
[00:28:33] Kieche O'Connell: that's so great. Yeah. I love it. So I mean, yeah, so I'm really happy about how these turned out. Yeah. And I am making more in their coming slowly. But, um, that was a big win for me because to see, like actually coming to life in a toy, like it's one thing to have the concept and then to have it actual.
[00:28:53] Azhelle Wade: You know,
[00:28:53] Kieche O'Connell: tangible
[00:28:54] Azhelle Wade: thing. What I just flash back to is I remember when you first joined, you were gonna make vinyl figures. Yes. That's so funny. Yes. And I didn't want you to make vinyl
[00:29:03] Kieche O'Connell: figures. Yeah. I
[00:29:05] Azhelle Wade: was like, oh my God. So expensive.
[00:29:06] Kieche O'Connell: Expensive. Yeah. That's why I was like, okay, I guess I'm not doing that. It sounds really expensive.
[00:29:12] Azhelle Wade: So expensive. I was like, so you know the mold?
[00:29:16] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. Yeah. And then that's why
[00:29:18] Azhelle Wade: we pivoted to tv. Yes. And, but the thing
[00:29:21] Kieche O'Connell: is like. One of the reasons why I was afraid of doing plush was 'cause I didn't think the plush would make, do the artwork justice. Mm. But it did. I, I feel like that they got it. They
[00:29:32] Azhelle Wade: nailed it.
[00:29:32] Azhelle Wade: So, no, they a hundred percent did Are you doing box packaging for them or are you doing any packaging? That, that will be the plan. Yeah. That I was gonna put 'em in a box. I feel like you should have a, something on the back of the box. That says, or an insert in the box if you have space, if you have cost, room and cost, that connects the personality of the character to the scientific fact.
[00:29:56] Azhelle Wade: Right? So like, did you know Right Or much like, like much like hydrogen. I guess her name is hydrogen. Yeah. I guess her name is hydrogen, right? Her name's hydrogen. Yeah. So much like hydrogen, the element hydrogen, the ca is the smallest ca in ca land or whatever, right? Um, or did you know that hydrogen always loses its electron?
[00:30:17] Azhelle Wade: Or like things like, like I wondered if you should have a
[00:30:19] Kieche O'Connell: set number of like actual. Yeah, facts, actual facts. And then I was thinking, having like a little trading card in the box.
[00:30:26] Azhelle Wade: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I forgot about your trading card, which about
[00:30:27] Kieche O'Connell: hydrogen, the like superpowers and weaknesses and things of the character itself.
[00:30:32] Kieche O'Connell: But then on the box, I could have the science of hydrogen. Yeah.
[00:30:37] Azhelle Wade: I forgot about didn't. And we talked about having like a game that goes with your trading cards too, right? Yeah,
[00:30:42] Kieche O'Connell: yeah, yeah,
[00:30:42] Azhelle Wade: yeah. That's long term, but I don't know. I don't know that I would put it in the box. So like giving a freebie? It is. It is.
[00:30:50] Azhelle Wade: And like we don't have tariffs. We don't have any money for that. Yeah. So yeah, I don't if anything 'cause like what, what a, what's a benefit of the trading card is that can be an opening price point product for your brand. Yeah. So if people love the cas but they're like end up being 40 or even $50, they might be $50, which I think they'd be worth it.
[00:31:08] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Looking at Samantha's dolls a hundred percent. I think this is niche enough. You can command a high price point. You can probably go 55. And the detail, I would say that your detail and quality is akin to Samantha's, Joey Dolls, um, and she's at 55. Oh really? Okay. Yeah. So I mean, people did fight her at first and now look at her sitting at tariffs and like, everyone's like, this is everyone's new price now, so.
[00:31:32] Azhelle Wade: Right, right. Yeah. I feel like you can command a higher price and the trading cards can be that opening price point that people come in at. Without it having to be
[00:31:42] Kieche O'Connell: So they can have something to collect. Yeah. Without, like if they're like, I
[00:31:46] Azhelle Wade: can't do the 55, but I can do this $10 training card set. And then they get that and then they're like, oh, you know what?
[00:31:51] Azhelle Wade: I just wanna get like maybe I collect. 20 trading card characters and I learned through them that my favorite is hydrogen 'cause I'm so much like her, so now I'm gonna invest in getting the $55 hydrogen. You know? Right. Yeah, yeah,
[00:32:04] Kieche O'Connell: yeah, yeah. That makes sense.
[00:32:05] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, I love it. Okay, so what is something that you've done in TCA Toy Creators Academy that you never thought you would do before joining?
[00:32:12] Kieche O'Connell: Ooh, well, pitching for one, oh my God. Pitching various, I mean to the various, like it's not, it's toy companies, production companies, the licensing ex, it's like there's so many different avenues 'cause it's, it's slightly different niches that you have to. Tailor it to. So just that alone, like, and having that network and that exposure.
[00:32:34] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. So that was one. Oh, just getting, as far as having actual product, I don't know. I mean, it sounds crazy, but like from an idea to actual product in your hand is, yeah, that's a big deal. I, you know. Yeah. So that, that's another one that's just like, whew.
[00:32:51] Azhelle Wade: I know and I'm so proud, like whenever I see, because in the accelerator it's more hands-on, but it's not done for you.
[00:32:57] Azhelle Wade: It's still done with you. Yeah, it's just done with you. Like more, you text me and you can say, oh j, I just got this from the factory. You can, you can CC me on the emails. But it's really cool to see you guys do it on your own. And I come into a call and you're like, I just got this from the factory. And I'm like, oh my, that looks up better than what I would do.
[00:33:14] Azhelle Wade: Like it looks like your quality of what you got back from the factory. Is really great. Like
[00:33:19] Kieche O'Connell: yeah,
[00:33:19] Azhelle Wade: it's, it's top quality. Like I think that looks like it could be on a toy shelf right now.
[00:33:23] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. And then frankly also just besides like your help with like working, going on the call with me with the factory.
[00:33:30] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. And then also like you helping me with my colors. Oh yeah. You know, like brand colors, things like that. Yeah. But also the people I met through toy creator. The people in the, the program, the academy. Mm-hmm. And the accelerator, like Ruthie, she's the ones that introduced me to this particular factory.
[00:33:48] Kieche O'Connell: Oh yeah. And you know, just, it's such a nice community. Like everyone's so friendly, you know, draw like everyone, it's just nice to have people that are in the in it. We're in it together,
[00:33:59] Azhelle Wade: you know? Yeah.
[00:33:59] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I love that. And I think that's it. Yeah. Like the people, the community, and that was something I realized also was going into this when I was saying like, I was like, well, I don't have a toy industry background, but what I've learned is that I really like, I feel like those are my people, you know?
[00:34:16] Kieche O'Connell: Oh, I love you. Like everyone I've met in the. In the industry has been so nice. Mm-hmm. You know, any event I've been to it is just like, oh yeah. You know, it's like a nice group of people.
[00:34:25] Azhelle Wade: And I love, love that we have kind of a little bit of a crew too. Like there's like, yeah. When you're going to an event, it's like, oh, are there other TCAs going?
[00:34:32] Azhelle Wade: And there's such a, a s. Small roadmap that we all kind of follow through the program. That you feel like you're connected to somebody before you even meet them, because you're like, oh, did you go to Michelle's first call? I know. Wasn't she like, I know, like, or did you go, did you read module three? Oh, I hate module three.
[00:34:46] Azhelle Wade: You know, like just like, yeah, yeah. There's like something to connect with, which is nice. So you don't feel alone. Did you get your free t-shirt? Like, I didn't know we got a free T. Like, you know, just like, just so many things. So has your idea evolved since you've joined TCA? Because I actually don't know that it.
[00:35:01] Azhelle Wade: It's changed.
[00:35:02] Kieche O'Connell: It has. Well, one, just the fact that we, I mean, just going from vinyl toy idea to Oh, right. Animation to plush. Yeah. That's one thing. But also now we're going kind of going through another evolution of, with the working on the style guide pretty soon. Yeah. Making the brand more cohesive. Yes.
[00:35:25] Kieche O'Connell: And more tight tightening up the brand look. Yeah. 'cause as you know, my, my nephews my artist and he's amazing artist and he's done such a good job, but with the artistic freedom that he had, I think, which is fun. I think now we we're at a point where we might wanna tighten up, like mm-hmm. I might wanna redesign some of the characters Yeah.
[00:35:45] Kieche O'Connell: That I have. Yeah. Slightly just so that they have more of a uniform look.
[00:35:49] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Like your characters back there, like the hydrogen and carbon. Yeah. And even is that oxygen back there? They all look like they go so well together.
[00:35:55] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. The first few, like these are my first few that I had made at, um, it's nitrogen at top and oxygen on the bottom.
[00:36:01] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah, yeah,
[00:36:02] Azhelle Wade: yeah. And we need to make sure they all have. Cohesive, but differences like cohesive. Right? But we wanna make them define like your heavy metals are a little bit edgier and angier. Yes. Right? Yes. We don't wanna lose that, so
[00:36:13] Kieche O'Connell: it's so good. Right?
[00:36:15] Azhelle Wade: So good.
[00:36:15] Kieche O'Connell: Yes. So I think that's, that's definitely, I think it's just tightening it up.
[00:36:20] Kieche O'Connell: 'cause I think when you're first. Doing everything and coming up with the idea. Mm-hmm. And making everything. Making the world. Yeah. You're letting the whole, you're, it's very expansive. And now I'm just trying to clean it up and tighten it up so it's really specific.
[00:36:34] Azhelle Wade: Have you had any aha moments that change how you think about, I feel like you might have had one on this call, but have you had any aha moments that change how you think about like your audience?
[00:36:43] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. Um, that's a big one. So when I was first doing this, um, because I was pitching this, well first, I also was using this as my capstone project in my MBA. So the way I was selling it was, and then also for the original production. Company that was interested in, they were looking at smaller kids, like younger kids.
[00:37:05] Kieche O'Connell: Mm-hmm. Which wasn't my initial thought process, but that's where it was going towards is going to young kids as the target audience. But then I started to realize as I'm going through making the stories and developing the characters, that this is more science nerd, cat lover, adults and tweens and teens.
[00:37:24] Kieche O'Connell: Like, I feel like that's really the audience. 'cause that's more authentic to who I am. Right. Because I think authenticity is gonna be another important part of this, and I can relate to that audience better. So I think I can make a better product with that audience.
[00:37:39] Azhelle Wade: That's a great insight. And you yeah, will have to be in all the videos, but Yeah, but it's, it is interesting 'cause the production company that wanted to do it for young kids, I think if that's their area of expertise, that is a good way to go.
[00:37:54] Azhelle Wade: And what's so great about what you created is it's so. Rich in facts and knowledge and insight that when paired down to be a preschool. Ip, it would have so much weight even when being simplified because it will be rooted in so much reality and fact and depth. So I think as you progress and hopefully as you launch your launch your entrepreneurial side, somebody, another production company will reenter and say, Hey, we'd love to work on the preschool show, and what you have is gonna be so rich that people won't know why the show captivates them.
[00:38:30] Azhelle Wade: So much, but it will be because of the depth behind each character, even if, yeah. We're only shown a surface level of it in the episodes, you know?
[00:38:37] Kieche O'Connell: Right, right. Yeah. I think, but I think initially it needs to start with the, yeah. Kind of higher level and then go moved down. I think.
[00:38:46] Azhelle Wade: Yes. The trickle down theory, and that's what like what everyone's talking about with the adults and like who's driving the toy industry sales right now?
[00:38:53] Azhelle Wade: Adults. The adult market. Look at squish meows. Yeah. This is like squish metals for science nerds. Right. This is right, right. It's great. Essentially. It's so good. And then also I remember I loved your idea so much because I was like, so when I've done my research for, who likes like Toy Creators Academy, interestingly it's a lot of people that love cats.
[00:39:13] Azhelle Wade: Mm-hmm. That's like a very, so in Google research, uh, when and when you do a Google ad, it will show you all the people that in that love your ads and you can like filter by. What those people have in common and people loving cats is something that is similar in TCA, which I thought was so weird. So then I got into researching like more about how many people love cats.
[00:39:33] Azhelle Wade: And when you came in I was like, oh my God, like cats and stem. I'm like, that's just a gold mine. I was like, we're gonna make so much money. Like, let's go. So I think, yeah, it's just brilliant. It's so brilliantly done. Thank you. Um, okay. Thank you so, well, you've kind of already answered this. But is there any other way that being part of this community of TCA has helped shape your idea?
[00:39:56] Azhelle Wade: You mentioned Ruthie shared her factory with you, or maybe how it's helped shape how you see yourself in the toy industry.
[00:40:02] Kieche O'Connell: Uh, yeah. It makes me realize that I can be taken seriously in the new industry and that I do have some validation in my idea. And also it's, it's exciting. To share ideas with other TCAs.
[00:40:18] Kieche O'Connell: And then also, like I know Joanna just in her little, the friend, friend Forest. Yeah. Yeah. So cute. And like just seeing other, it just gives me it sparks idea, even though it's like very different ip. Mm-hmm. Like in different toy. It helps when you see other people going through it. And then you were like, oh, you had that problem.
[00:40:37] Kieche O'Connell: Oh, that's, I'm probably gonna run into that too. Yeah. You know, and yeah. So.
[00:40:42] Azhelle Wade: And even you get to see it with like, oh, you use that factory from the TCA list and this is what you experience. Oh, I might experience that too. Let me prepare for that. Like you get to like kind of get shortcuts all along the way.
[00:40:53] Azhelle Wade: That's so great. Okay, let's move on to spotlighting your product even more. I wanna talk more about what you're building, who you're building it for. So who is your toy brand for again, and what makes it so special for that audience?
[00:41:05] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. So I wanted it to be like, so I think it's for people with a science background initially, like to start, 'cause I want them to enjoy being in on the joke, you know?
[00:41:16] Kieche O'Connell: Mm-hmm. It's like, oh, I see what you did there. You know, that's kind of the fun part, right? Yeah. And I think it sparks creativity where they weren't, you know, expecting it. So, and I think, you know, I mean, because I, I notice that a lot when. Ever. I have one of my science friends, I tell 'em about the characters.
[00:41:32] Kieche O'Connell: They get so excited and then they want to come up with ideas too. Like, then they like wanna build on what I'm building. You know? Like they just like, it's a lot of Yes and and then they wanna like get in the world. Oh, that's so funny. And it kind of share their knowledge too. So it's really funny that they get really into it and they're like, oh, what idea will, you know, this science turn into, you know, this character?
[00:41:54] Kieche O'Connell: You know, they just get really into it. So that's really fun. And then for those without the science background, I want them to feel enchanted by the magical world. Mm-hmm. You know, that it's. Catoms and they, that world that they live in and how they feel like they can find themselves in these characters.
[00:42:10] Kieche O'Connell: And it's like a way of learning chemistry and science in general without realizing it, you know? Yeah. So it's just like enchant being enchanted by the world and the characters. And seeing yourself in them, you know, like these are like, like the Chas have the same personality traits that you may have.
[00:42:27] Kieche O'Connell: Like they may be feel anxious or they may be really outgoing or whatever, you know, or the superpowers that they have. There's a parallel to your superpowers, you know, or what their weaknesses are. So it's relating to them. And then also like, oh, without even realizing that I'm learning science,
[00:42:45] Azhelle Wade: this would've helped me so much in chemistry class in high school.
[00:42:47] Azhelle Wade: Really like. Big time. What inspired you to create this idea?
[00:42:52] Kieche O'Connell: It was back in grad school and I was TAing and tutoring on the side to make money, and I had to ta. As part of my stipend for, for my PhD work. Hmm. And you know, these are kids that, he is like a elite university, you know, already taking college chemistry.
[00:43:10] Kieche O'Connell: This isn't their first rodeo with this stuff. But they were struggling and I was like, why are you struggling? You know, this is, it just felt very abstract to them. And I, as I was talking to them and like. Teaching them. I realized that like this just didn't feel like it had any basis in reality. Like at least biology a little bit had you can kind of have some more tangible things or physics has a little, some, depending on the, you know, type of physics.
[00:43:35] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. But chemistry had more of an abstract field, like they couldn't see it. You know, so it just didn't seem like anything interesting that they related to. So I was like, oh, what if, what if you just made it into, so, 'cause like kids, like with dinosaurs, right? You know, dinosaurs don't exist now, but little kids always seem to gravitate towards them 'cause they see them, you know, and they know their names as.
[00:43:55] Kieche O'Connell: Kind of complex nomenclature. Yeah. They get it, right. Yeah. And then it's not scary to them. Mm-hmm. Like they, if they can do that, they can do that with chemistry.
[00:44:03] Azhelle Wade: As a kid, I was obsessed. I had this one dinosaur, VHS that I would watch over and over again obsessively. I just loved it. See? Yeah. Yeah. I would definitely watch CA's VHS.
[00:44:13] Azhelle Wade: Right. I'm aging myself, but
[00:44:15] Kieche O'Connell: yeah, no, I, I had the VHSs too, so yeah, I'm
[00:44:20] Azhelle Wade: 25,
[00:44:20] Kieche O'Connell: but
[00:44:21] Azhelle Wade: yeah. Um, what do you want adults to feel when they experience your toy or your brand?
[00:44:29] Kieche O'Connell: I think just. Joy. Like, just like, oh, I get that. Like, oh, that's so clever. Just like, oh yeah, this is really funny. I get the joke, you know, and I get what it is.
[00:44:40] Azhelle Wade: Like, is it something where you want them to have a cat in their house? And when people come over, they're like, so excited to explain to them what it is. Like, do you want that? Yeah. I, I, I
[00:44:48] Kieche O'Connell: mean, I think that's it. I think both adults and kids like that, it's like you can, like finding the Easter eggs on 'em, you know what I mean?
[00:44:54] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. It's like, like here. You know, carbon has three tow beans here, three tow beans here. Well, it's atomic number six, so six oh. You know, things like that. Like, oh, okay. That okay. Okay. Just little things, you know. Well, Easter
[00:45:08] Azhelle Wade: eggs, well wink. They call those like winks at the parent. Well, like when you do it in a kid's product, they call it like a wink at the parent.
[00:45:15] Kieche O'Connell: Oh, okay. Yeah, I like that. Yeah. Little winks at the, that's
[00:45:18] Azhelle Wade: so funny. Yours is the wink at the audience. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That's so great. So where can people go to, I hope, get on your email list to know Yes. We've been talking about this to know Yes. When either the academy's, Kickstarter launches or the product is ready to buy.
[00:45:34] Kieche O'Connell: Um, so it's thecatoms.com. Okay. Or you can go on Instagram, the ca, the Catos, make sure it's the Cato's. Not just Catos because Yeah, because
[00:45:44] Azhelle Wade: we are the Catos, right? Yes.
[00:45:46] Kieche O'Connell: The Catos on Facebook or Instagram, Uhhuh and yeah, and there's LinkedIn as well. Okay.
[00:45:51] Azhelle Wade: So if someone out there sitting on an ideal like you once were, what would you say to them about joining Toy Creators Academy?
[00:45:58] Kieche O'Connell: Oh, just do it. You have to do it. I mean, honestly, like I, me of all people, if I did it, you, everyone else has to do it because. It's just making that first step. It's like, what? I know, I, I don't wanna quote Henry Ford, but I am, it's like if you, if you succeed or fail, what is it? Like if you do it or you don't do it?
[00:46:18] Kieche O'Connell: You're right. Or you succeed or you fail. What was that? Oh, either. Never mind
[00:46:21] Azhelle Wade: either you
[00:46:22] Kieche O'Connell: succeed, either succeed, or
[00:46:23] Azhelle Wade: you fail. Fail. Oh. But either way, you learn Either way. You're right. Either way you learn either way.
[00:46:26] Kieche O'Connell: You're
[00:46:26] Azhelle Wade: right. Oh, either way you're right. No. Okay. Okay.
[00:46:28] Kieche O'Connell: Yeah. So it's more about like. You can do it.
[00:46:33] Kieche O'Connell: And having this all organized and having it broken down for you in one place is a huge unlock. And I don't know where else you can get that. If you really want to do this, take this seriously. Like it's just having it broken down in smaller pieces. 'cause it's overwhelming at first, right? Yeah. When you're like, I have this idea.
[00:46:52] Kieche O'Connell: Well, now what? Like if you just have a resource mm-hmm. Where you're having people mm-hmm. You know, like actual list of things you need to get done. Yeah. And all of it. So, and just having someone to talk to about it. And peers. I mean, yeah, just learning about the industry and just. Yeah, I mean, it's like eat the whale one bite at a time.
[00:47:12] Kieche O'Connell: Eat the whale. Right.
[00:47:14] Azhelle Wade: Oh,
[00:47:14] Kieche O'Connell: it's super great. So, and that's what it is.
[00:47:16] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh. I'm so glad that you joined TCA and I rem Oh my gosh, you gave me my best quote ever. It's never leaving my website. I don't really, you were like your quote. For TCA years ago was, I don't know if you remember, but you were, first of all, you showed up at the graduation for TCA.
[00:47:33] Azhelle Wade: 'cause we used to have a Zoom graduation. Whenever we have a live cohort. She was wearing her graduation cap and you inspired me to get a graduation cap. So now I have a Oh, that's right. I have a purple graduation cap for my TCA graduations now. But you came wearing your graduation cap and you were like.
[00:47:47] Azhelle Wade: I just graduated from my MBA and I feel like, and oh, and you said I paid a hundred thousand dollars for that, and you were like, and I feel like I got more value here or something. Oh, no, you said it's true. Yeah.
[00:47:59] Kieche O'Connell: It's worth the, the what? I paid to have Toy Creators Academy. I think I got the same, I learned a lot of the same stuff in my MBA.
[00:48:07] Kieche O'Connell: That's
[00:48:07] Azhelle Wade: crazy. For a hundred
[00:48:08] Kieche O'Connell: thousand dollars. That's
[00:48:09] Azhelle Wade: crazy. I'm, if I could only get accredited. But that's probably why. Yeah. But then once I get accredited, it's probably gonna have to cost more. That's probably how they, that's how they get you, but oh my gosh. I love that. Thank you. What are you hoping to achieve one week from now?
[00:48:25] Azhelle Wade: Posting on Instagram and
[00:48:26] Kieche O'Connell: Facebook.
[00:48:27] Azhelle Wade: I will you, I was hoping you would say get your email list up,
[00:48:30] Kieche O'Connell: but Oh, that too. Well, well, I mean this that,
[00:48:37] Azhelle Wade: but yeah, if you could get one video up on Instagram and Facebook. Yeah, yeah, that would be great. It might even be the one that we do for this episode. We can send you that. We can send you that clip so you can use it too.
[00:48:47] Kieche O'Connell: Okay.
[00:48:47] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Yeah. Just starting, yes,
[00:48:49] Kieche O'Connell: and getting the website up and running with the email.
[00:48:52] Kieche O'Connell: Yes. Email. Get those emails and phone numbers.
[00:48:55] Azhelle Wade: Yes, let's go. Yes. And my last and final favorite question, what toy or game blew your mind as a kid?
[00:49:02] Kieche O'Connell: Oh, Breyer Model Horses. What? Breyer Model Horses. The Breyer. B-R-E-Y-E-R. Uhhuh. Oh my. I was a horse. Freak really as a growing up. Oh, I collected those model horses.
[00:49:19] Kieche O'Connell: I had 60 of them. Wow. I had a whole shelf in my room, 60, just full of those Briar horses. Really? And I play with my friend down the street. She still has horses, like live horses to the state. She's real horses. We grew up together and we'd take in our like, glad trash bags, like put our horses in and walk.
[00:49:36] Kieche O'Connell: She lived three down doors down. We take our horses so we can play with our horses together. That's
[00:49:41] Azhelle Wade: adorable. Aw, that's so cute. Wow. Briar model horses
[00:49:47] Kieche O'Connell: that, do you have, do you remember
[00:49:48] Azhelle Wade: the horses that was your favorite? Like what it looked like?
[00:49:50] Kieche O'Connell: Yes. It was a, a black and white pinto. And it had a saddle, like most of them, a lot of 'em don't have like.
[00:49:57] Kieche O'Connell: Accessories, but this one had a saddle and a bridle. Have you ridden horses? Oh yeah. I grew up riding, I played polo in college.
[00:50:03] Azhelle Wade: Whoa. You are so multi-talented. Toy creator, scientist, polo player. Wow. Yeah. Very cool. Oh, see the black and white pinto's. Beautiful. Love that. Oh, that's so great. Oh, Keiche, thank you so much for an incredible conversation, and what a fun, thank you.
[00:50:21] Azhelle Wade: Fun ending. Yeah. I hope the coaching part was helpful and, and I, I appreciate you sharing your experience in TCA from your background in chemistry and education to your creativity and passion for creating toys and games. You've built something really unique with Cas and I, I encourage you to not give up to get it done because.
[00:50:40] Azhelle Wade: I mean, I think it's a million dollar idea. That's why I wanted to be a part of it. Thank you. Yes. Now thank you so much. Yeah. In this episode, we did work through some of great, some big challenges with social media, but we all know, like with social media, the biggest challenge is just the doing it. So we figured out something, a path we can take.
[00:50:58] Azhelle Wade: That's simple and direct and already the work is done. 'cause you're telling stories you've already written. Um, but we gotta get to the doing. Yes. Now, if you found yourself nodding along to this episode in this conversation where you felt inspired by Kieche's journey, that might be a sign that maybe your own toy story is ready waiting to be written.
[00:51:16] Azhelle Wade: You don't need to be a full-time inventor or entrepreneur to start. You just gotta have that spark of the, of an idea and some time to dedicate, to bring to. Bring it to life. When you're ready, check out Toy Creators Academy at toycreatorsacademy.com. Email me info@thetoycoach.com if you have any questions.
[00:51:32] Azhelle Wade: Now, before we wrap up, if you love this podcast and you haven't left us a review yet, what are you waiting for? Your reviews keep me coming back week after week. It encouraged guests like Kieche to come on this podcast and share their experiences. So please leave a review, leave a rating, making a good one, and I will tell my mom and my husband all about it.
[00:51:52] Azhelle Wade: And as always, thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of other podcasts out there, so it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next week. We'll see you later toy people.
[00:52:06] Thanks for listening to the Making It In The Toy Industry Podcast with Agel Wade.
[00:52:12] Head over to thetoycoach.com for more information, tips, and advice.
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