Building QuikToy with my son — and why you should do a startup with your kid as well
In early Spring 2019, my wife and I were hit by the minimalist bug — and we hauled out dozens of books, toys, utensils, magazines, kitchen appliances, 2 car tires, and dozens of clothing items. What caught us by surprise were three large garbage bags filled with brand-new (or barely used) toys of our 10- and 6-year-old sons! They could only keep 10 toys each so this was the first challenge — and lesson: opportunity cost, prioritization, and value-assessment.
So, in the interest of making it an activity, I asked my 10-year-old, Burhanuddin to either donate it — or trade it for another toy with a friend — instead of throwing out the old haul; and buying new toys.
And voila! An idea was born… what if kids could trade toys with other kids around them — via an app, through meetups, or online via a website?
In 2018 domestic toy sales reached $21.57 billion according to The Toy Association. Half of the toys end up in garbage; or get passed around to siblings, storage sheds, or developing nations. Or it sits accumulating and gobbling up basements and toy boxes. QuikToy’s goal was to help kids (and parents) sell, trade, and discover new toys. We also focused on basics of money management and value spending; and help kids connect with other kids with common interests (Star Wars, Barbies, sports, video games, etc). This made kids engage with each other in a meaningful way.
We gave it the name QuikToy primarily due to the speed at which toys are discarded — or kids get bored with — but also to signify the ease and speed at which they could be traded for another gently used toy — from a friend or a would-be-friend from the neighborhood/school/etc.
We hustled. Burhanuddin and I did school talk rounds. Spammed family members with our idea, photos, and feedback. Organized a couple of meetups — one being at the River Woods Elementary School in Naperville, IL that led to a whopping 200+ toy trades attended by giddy kids with their toy-savvy parents!
All this hustle led to getting coverage in the Daily Herald, West Suburban Living, and on the TV on Naperville Community Television NCTV17.
Kids are pretty savvy about the value of one toy versus another, but parents still tried to intervene — saying their toy was far worth more than the one their kid was getting. We had to calm a few parents as well ;-)
The QuikToy concept was super simple. Trade one toy for another toy. No upsells, no 2-for-1, and no cash ever. Toys could be donated though.
Building a startup is fun! Every aspect of the operational workflow, pricing, growth strategy, marketing, sales, finance, legal (oopsies as my 6-year says), and team dynamics are to be considered. I got surprisingly clear insights about complex issues from Burhanuddin. Part of it is because when we are young, our minds are unadulterated, unpolluted, free of whimsical junk. That probably relates to why founders are typically younger.
While the QuikToy journey lasted from early Spring 2019 to December 2019, it was an absolutely magical experience. Organizing more than 50+ toy trading parties, my kids lightning up when they traded toys, and seeing the beautiful smiles of kids (especially around Christmas) when we donated the toys was worth every second of putting it in this father-son-duo-startup.
Do you or your kids have an idea that you could turn into a mini-journey aka startup of sorts? Run it as a business, create a compelling story around it, and who knows? It might become bigger than you imagined it to be. If nothing else, your kid will remember this as the greatest entrepreneurship experience in their early years.
