The Ty Warner Story

[Evan]

I’m proud to announce our latest famous entrepreneur profile to EvanCarmichael.com: Ty Warner from Ty Inc. best known for his line of Beanie Babies products.

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He dropped out of Kalamazoo College to sell stuffed toys. It might not have been the most promising of starts, but when the young Ty Warner decided to start his own line of stuffed animals, he wound up taking children across the country – and their allowances – by storm. Beanie Babies were affordably priced, and with their cute individual names, Warner found himself sitting on top of a gold mine.

“Some companies are in it for the quick buck,” Warner once said back in 1996. “I want longevity.” In 1998, Ty Inc. surpassed Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc. to become the largest toy company in the U.S. How did this college drop out earn himself a spot on Forbes’ World’s Richest List?

You can read the full Ty Warner story here: http://www.evancarmichael.com/blog/2009 ... e-masters/

What do you think of Ty Warner’s story? Are there any other famous entrepreneurs you would like to see profiled?

I’ve love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

[Kevin Lee]

Great story Evan!

I especially found it interesting how Ty had originally worked as the marketer for a toy company (whereby he learned the "in's and out's" of the toy industry) before taking an existing idea from Italy to the North American market.

I would love to see what the first 10 toy cats he sold looked like

[Kevin Lee]

Hi Evan,

It's nice to see Ty's story finally published as I had originally made the request back on Jan 8/09

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2307&p=17884&hilit=ty+warner#p17884

[Evan]

Thanks Kevin - so many people to profile, so little time! Great suggestion as always!

[mbrand2222]

It's definitely an interesting story. I'm sure there are several out there just waiting to be told. The story of Mary Kay is very interesting too. Maybe you could profile her. I think she's still living the good life. Stories like these are true inspirations to the rest of us and I think we need to read about them on a regular basis to remind us that where there is a true WILL and desire, there is a way. Even if things look impossible at first glance.

[Evan]

Hi Mary - the Mary Kay Ash story is a great one... and we've already done it

Check it out at: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-En ... ummary.php

[mbrand2222]

Oh sorry. How do I get to it?

[Evan]

Hi Mary - no problem! We have a lot of content on the site! I included the link in the last post - here it is again: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-En ... ummary.php

[mbrand2222]

Sorry again. I get to where I ignore the websites listed at the bottom because everyone usually has one in their signature. I will slow down. I try to do too many things at once some days.