My name is Julie Kerwin, and I am addicted to customer service.
Trust me, it came as a surprise to me, too. When I first embarked on my entrepreneurial journey, customer service didn’t even make my top ten list of “reasons to start a business.” Initially, I was all about creation and message. I had happily discovered that the act of creating something that hadn’t existed before generated the same endorphin rush that people get from exercising; a joyful sense of satisfaction, and a genuine, physiological, chemically-induced euphoria. I loved it (I still love it).
Remarkably, I soon realized that this same endorphin rush also occurs whenever I do customer service well. Happy customers make me euphoric in the same way that creating product does.
Thankfully, 99 percent of the action figures we ship have long and healthy lives, and spend those lives as central characters in save-the-world stories created by both children and adults all over the globe. Indeed, a small army of those well-served customers always take the time to reach out to let us know how much they like our product. The feedback is extremely satisfying, and I gratefully write back personally and engage in conversation with every single one of them. As strange as it sounds, I genuinely feel as if I am making new friends daily. I like to say that I have “pen pals” living in all fifty states and on six continents.
My customer service addiction, however, was not triggered by those happy customers. Rather, it was born like a phoenix from the ashes of the one percent of the packages that end up requiring some sort of intervention to remedy a problem that unexpectedly happens somewhere along the way. In these moments, I find myself ready, willing, and able to do anything it takes to rectify the situation in order to make a frustrated customer happy again.
Sometimes, action figures get injured in battle.
Having said that, when we sent our first production run out to Backers after our Kickstarter campaign five years ago, I never imagined that I would someday make it a policy to replace a broken action figure. Financially it wasn’t even an option. IAmElemental is not Hasbro or Mattel. Our production runs are much smaller. Our margins are much tighter. And, who are we kidding? Even with their exponentially larger production runs, and much better margins, Hasbro and Mattel aren’t replacing broken action figures either. Sometimes, action figures get injured in battle. It happens. I couldn’t afford to replace a broken action figure…until the day that I realized that I couldn’t afford not to replace a broken action figure.
Good Customer Service is Good Marketing
In a 2017 LinkedIn article, I proudly described us as “The Unsexy Startup”, and the description is still apt. At the outset, we deliberately and intentionally decided to forgo investor dollars in favor of a slow growth, word-of-mouth model. I believed then, and I believe now, that we would have been out of business three years ago had we taken that money. We would have been forced into hyper growth without the necessary brand awareness, and one of my biggest nightmares would have come true: people would have discovered IAmElemental action figures in a discount bin at Target or Walmart.
Having said that, I readily admit to pangs of jealousy whenever I see the marketing opportunities afforded fellow toy startups who do choose to take investor money. In the same 2017 article, I likened social media to the Biblical Tower of Babel; a place where everyone is yelling and, mostly, failing to be heard above the noise. I felt then, as I do now, that as the number of users continues to grow, rather than increasing the audience reach, the sheer volume - of both people and voices - has actually made it harder and harder to use social media as an effective marketing tool. It costs a lot of money; too much money for a small, independent toy company without investors’ deep pockets. Conversion rates are simply too low to spend my limited marketing budget spitting into the wind.
Instead, we have opted to direct the bulk of our marketing dollars toward better customer service. Recognizing that Amazon Prime customers have become accustomed to free shipping, we started offering free domestic shipping on orders over $25. Grateful for our international customers, we now ship anywhere outside the United States for a flat $10 fee. And, most importantly, wanting our customers to embrace our “Play with Power” mantra - even if it means that an action figure occasionally loses a limb in the process - we replace broken Courage and Wisdom figures free of charge.
Thankfully, the number of action figures who actually do lose a limb is relatively low; most of them aren’t tortured to death by the family dog like our very first replacement figure casualty. IAmElemental figures generally survive their battles unscathed. Nevertheless, the decision to change our policy and replace broken figures has generated our best marketing ROI in five years. For, while we definitely want - and need! - new customers to grow and survive, our actual customers are the most important Superheroes in the IAmElemental universe. We only exist because of their generous and enthusiastic support. As a result, good customer service is not just a passion, it is a prerequisite. Not because it is good marketing; and not because the customer is always right. Rather, because a happy and satisfied customer is everything.
]]>“Do people actually think that [these] are real reviews and customers? No Iamelemental, they dont [sic]. We all know its you stuffing your own reviews, and do you know why? Because you have a neat base idea, that you totally f*cked up with feminist social justice bullsh*t. I hope you choke on inventory.”
Before I go any further, I want to state for the record that, thankfully, this type of negative comment is actually not all that common in my world. For, while my company, IAmElemental, celebrates strong women in the form of Superpower female action figures, the Superpowers, themselves, are, in fact, universal. And we are very proud of the fact that we are deliberately a “girl targeted, boy inclusive” company, and that our male-to-female customer ratio is actually much closer to 50/50 than the comment above might lead one to believe.
As the mother of two boys, I have recognized a few truths from the very beginning of my journey as a maker of “girl power” toys. Number one on the list is the fact that it is neither necessary, nor desirable to emasculate men in order to lift up women. And, so, we didn’t, we don’t, and we won’t.
If It Bleeds, It Leads
Nevertheless, despite our positive messaging, our toys do not appeal to everyone. And that is as it should be. The world would be a pretty boring place if everybody always agreed with one another. However, having said that, when I don’t like something that I encounter in my social media feed, I simply move on (or mention it to my husband or a friend as an anecdote to ponder), I don’t publicize my negative feelings. Unfortunately, thanks to social media, not only has the world’s population been given a platform to share every single one of our innermost thoughts, feelings, opinions and complaints, but we are also encouraged to do so; criticism - whether constructive or destructive - is expected of us.
There is a reason that the saying “If it bleeds, it leads” has morphed into the word “Clickbait” in modern lexicon. The owners of Twitter, Facebook/Instagram, and YouTube know that fights, debates, disagreements, battles, and full-frontal attacks are exactly the type of content that keeps their audience most engaged and, therefore, logged onto their respective platforms longer. As a result, “Trolls on the Internet” (as opposed to Harry Potter’s “Troll in the Dungeon”) are not going away any time soon.
The One-Third Rule
So, how to deal with the occasional ugliness? In the IAmElemental universe we employ “The One-Third Rule” to keep our stress at bay. The rule is an adaptation of a lesson taught to me many years ago; a lesson I not only initially rejected, but found repugnant in its cynicism.
I first heard about “The One-Third Rule” at a meet-and-greet for parents of my older son’s incoming kindergarten class. He turns 21 this year, just to give you a sense of how long I have been marinating in this philosophy.
My husband and I arrived at the party bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Our son had not gone to preschool, so this was our very first big school event, and we were looking forward to getting to know all of the parents of our son’s future friends. As we stood around chatting with another couple (who actually eventually became good friends), we must have expressed our enthusiasm a little too earnestly and naively, because the wife quickly set us straight. The parent of an older daughter in addition to her five-year-old son (code for battle-worn and experienced), she leaned in and explained:
“You’re going to like a third of the parents. You’re going to hate a third of the parents. And you’re not going to care about a third of the parents.”
On the taxi ride home, her comment was the number one topic of conversation. “How cynical!” we exclaimed. “Totally ridiculous!” we assured one another. Throughout the summer, we continued to talk about her comment, relaying the story to friends, horrified at this woman’s “totally inaccurate and negative” take on the world. And, yet, over time, we came to understand that, not only did her mantra make a certain amount of sense, it was actually applicable to pretty much everything: the workplace, social gatherings of all shapes and sizes, networking conferences, family(!), and, of course, social media.
Recognize & Accept
And, far from cynical and horrific, thinking in terms of “The One-Third Rule” is actually incredibly helpful and, arguably, even good for one’s mental health. Because, instead of feeling disappointment, sadness or anger when we come across someone with whom we don’t connect or bond, “The One-Third Rule” enables us to recognize and accept the fact that we don’t live in a Utopian society where everyone always gets along and agrees with one another. And, even more important, it is not just OK, it is totally normal to encounter people and things that don’t always fit together like a puzzle piece. In fact, we should expect it.
Over time, I eventually found a way to not just embrace the rule, but to apply it in new and useful ways. “The One-Third Rule,” it turns out, is an especially effective tool for dealing with Trolls on the Internet. For example, here is my response to the angry comment above:
“Hi XXX - Have you ever heard of the 1/3 principle? It goes like this: A third of the people are going to love you. A third of the people aren't going to care about you. And a third of the people are going to hate you. I won't pretend that the fact that you hate us doesn't sting. No one likes to be hated. And I wish that I could sit across a table with you to talk this out (because we don't stuff reviews, buy followers, or tell lies... and we most definitely aren't the social justice warriors you hate so much). As the mother of two boys, I just don't fit the profile you've imagined. But, I suspect you're not interested in being converted. Warmest Regards, Julie”
Focus on the Fans
When we first launched IAmElemental on Kickstarter in 2014, we were lucky: we rarely got complaints. However, when an angry email did occasionally land in my inbox, I made it my personal mission to convert the Hater to our side. I wanted everyone to absolutely love what we were doing. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t. But, thanks to “The One Third Rule,” I have learned to give far less bandwidth to the Haters and instead, focus on the wonderfully supportive fans. Like the gentleman who posted this on social media recently:
“So, I was looking at my sister's IAmElemental figures (and if you have kids, I suggest perhaps grabbing some, because seriously, cool stuff here). I noticed that each set has an emotion you might not expect to be a positive emotion.
Set 1: Fear. (Self-Explanatory)
Set 2: Oblivion. (Head in the Clouds / Forgetfulness)
Now, you'd wonder why such things would be considered a positive thing, but think about it. Each has their place - especially if you can control them. Fear? That's your mind letting you know you might be in danger, and your body preparing for you to either fight for your life or to run away hard. Both of these are positive things, things necessary for survival at times. Oblivion? There's nothing wrong with daydreaming in the right time and place - having a quiet, happy period with your thoughts, and sometimes it's good to forget things - it allows you to heal and move on with your life…. I have to say, these figures can provoke thought, they can provide a teachable moment. I like that.”
Because, after all, while the Trolls aren’t going to ever go away, it’s our wonderfully like-minded and loyal audience - the people who appreciate and celebrate what we do - who deserve to be fed, and heartily; not the Trolls.
]]>"IAmElemental's special-edition Elements of Power Workbook features our award-winning Courage and Wisdom female action figures. It introduces girls and boys to the positive and powerful messages of the IAmElemental universe, helping them explore character-building concepts and strengthen their own superpowers," said IAmElemental's Chief Elemental Officer Julie Kerwin.
"IAmElemental's Veterans Day promotion honors my husband's grandfather, who turns 96 years old this November. Joe is a World War II veteran who served as a gunner on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and fought in five other battles under General George S. Patton including the Battle of the Bulge. We are grateful for his exceptional Courage and for that of Veterans everywhere who serve our country," said Kerwin.
"Because we believe that 'Literacy is the Ultimate Superpower,' IAmElemental is especially thrilled to partner with United Through Reading, an organization that honors veterans like Joe and supports children's literacy. Their 40 Million Stories campaign gives deployed parents an opportunity to record themselves reading stories aloud for their children back home," Kerwin added.
Founded in 2013 and based in New York City, IAmElemental is a privately held, women-owned small business. The company is currently in development with The Jim Henson Company on a new animated children's television series based on its popular female action figures.]]>It is kind of ironic that the first school to invite me to talk about powerful female action figures was...a school for boys. However, the invitation was actually only tinged with irony. For, while I would love to be invited to speak at schools for girls - and coed schools, too, for that matter! - I am the mom of two boys, and I have been a parent at the school for a very long time. Furthermore, I am happy to report that the absence of girls does not mean that there is an absence of an appreciation for, and understanding of gender equality in all its forms. These boys know what’s what. And, some of them, know what I do for a living. As a result, since this year’s theme was “Play to Inspire,” the TEDxYouth team invited me to speak about the power of play.
The boys did a beautiful job organizing the event. And I am grateful to the group for the invitation, their positive response to my story, and my request that they pick a power and pose with our IAmElemental shields.
The real irony is that, unbeknownst to the TEDxYouth team when they extended the invitation, one of the main ingredients that went into the stew that became IAmElemental female action figures was actually stirred into the pot in the same school gym. Back in October of 2012, I sat listening to the school’s guest speaker Jo Ann Deak lecture on brain development and boys. She told us that “boys and girls are as different from the neck up as they are from the neck down…it’s a scientific fact,” and I fell asleep that night wondering what I would have to do to a Superhero to make her appeal to the “female brain.” I woke the next morning with the answer: “It’s not Superheroes. It’s Superpowers.” Twenty-four hours later, I had a fully-formed company mission and the start of a very big idea.
So...ironically...a lecture about brain development and boys - a lecture that I attended at an all boys school - led to the creation of a company whose purpose is to celebrate the power of girls.
However, while Jo Ann Deak’s description of a gender-specific female brain may have led to the birth of IAmElemental, my IAmElemental experience has, ironically, made me question my belief in the certainty of her assertion.
Whenever I go to events to promote my business, I bring life-size IAmElemental shields with me, and I ask everyone - girl, boy, man, woman - to pick their power. Over time, I realized that something unexpected was happening. In large numbers, women were choosing the active, “strong” Superpowers like Bravery and Energy, while the men kept picking the “softer” Superpowers like Honesty and Persistence; despite the fact that studies show that words like Bravery and Energy are considered masculine words, while Honesty and Persistence are feminine words.
The difference, however, is that we are not asking people to tell us whether women are Brave or men are Honest. We are asking them to think about their own powers. Free from the limitations created by gender stereotypes, people are able to choose exactly who they want to be. And, really, despite what advertising and media - and toy companies - want people to believe, words like Bravery and Honesty don’t have a gender. So why not stop disseminating the message that they do?
This is at the heart of what my company is trying to change. And, thankfully, we aren’t alone. For example, a year after our launch, Mattel partnered with DC Entertainment and introduced their own line of female action figures for girls. Suddenly, we were at the forefront of a cultural zeitgeist. For them, it was smart business. For us, it was real progress. Or so we thought.
Ironically, despite all the girl power/gender equality talk, many in the toy industry are still playing catch up with society’s shifting ideas about play and gender. One of the most powerful executives in the toy industry looked at my products and told me, “You have to dumb it down; girls aren’t going to be able to understand these concepts.” And, “You should really spend some time watching how girls play.“
Lots of girls love to play with dolls and princesses. However, just because a girl loves to play with dolls and princesses doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t also enjoy playing with action figures.
Play is powerful. The toys that girls play with impact the stories that they tell. The storyline that’s implied when a girl plays with dolls dressed as princesses is very different from the story that naturally unfolds when you have two figures that are dressed like knights, for example.
Same with boys.
After I gave some Courage figures to two brothers, their mother told me it was a revelation to hear them playing with female action figures. It hadn’t occurred to her until they started incorporating the IAmElemental figures into their typical play patterns that she had never before heard them say, “She’s coming to save you.” “Here she comes to save the day.”It’s a subtle but important distinction. It doesn’t change their play, but it does have the power to change their thinking.
Ironically, my disappointment with my TEDxYouth talk performance is a perfect example of just how much power our early childhood experiences have to influence the adults we become.
When I pick my own power, I never pick Bravery. I don’t consider it one of my Superpowers. I also never pick Fear. For, despite the fact that I have spent the past four years arguing in favor of Fear as a Superpower - constantly explaining the important role that Fear plays in warning us of danger - I have never quite mastered the Superpower, myself. And, that struggle was on full display the day of the TEDxYouth talk. I was scared. Really scared. As a result, I wasn’t as confident and error-free as I would have liked. I was not perfect.
In the IAmElemental universe, we’ve replaced “Practice Makes Perfect” with “Practice Makes Progress.” And we preach strongly against the practice of perfection. But, after my mother’s death to breast cancer when I was eight years old, I became a poster-child control freak. I was afraid of making mistakes. I was afraid of failure. And I was afraid of being pitied for being motherless. As a result, I fell victim to what behavior experts call the “perfection problem”; that elusive struggle between being one’s authentic self, while also trying to always appear...perfect.
Well, the joke’s on me, because my life has now become one big, imperfect mess. Thanks to the magic of entrepreneurship, I make mistakes and fail at something pretty much every day. I feel Fear more acutely than I ever have before. And, whenever I don’t perform perfectly - like at a TEDxYouth talk - I beat myself up about it...while I pretend that I’m not.
Unfortunately, I am not alone. We live in a world where private lives have become public spectacle. As a result, many of us have adopted the old-fashioned Superhero trope of creating false alter egos. But, unlike Clark Kent or Diana Prince, we don’t do it to hide the fact that we are Superheroes. Quite the opposite; we do it to mask our insecurities. The problem, is that these false faces also block access to our Superpowers.
One of the nuances of IAmElemental’s Superpower message; the secret sauce that differentiates us from traditional Superhero mythology, is the fact that The Elements of Power aren’t bestowed upon us from an outside force like a spider bite, or a poison, or a Greek god for a father. Rather, strength and power is attainable because it resides within.
I constantly tell my children, “Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides.” Because, while I don't always like some of the choices I've made in my life, I like that I have never made choices based on what anyone else was doing, or what anyone else thought I should do. Every decision, right or wrong, has been mine. I have created my own life.
I want every child to feel that power - the power to use their internal resources - to create their own origin story; to succeed (and fail) on their own terms. However, after bearing witness to my post-TEDxYouth talk self-flagellation, I have come to understand that what I really should be telling my kids, telling myself, and telling every person in the IAmElemental universe is this: Don’t create an outside that doesn’t match your inside.
One of our taglines is, “real heroes walk among us.” Ironically, it took a TEDxYouth talk and the Superpower Fear to stop me in my tracks and teach me that the most important word in that sentence isn’t hero...it’s real. For, it is only by truly accepting and embracing our authentic selves - flaws and all - that we can access our best selves, and be our own Superhero.]]>Typically defined as the ability to read and write, in the IAmElemental universe, we employ a broader definition. We define literacy as “acquired knowledge.” Anything that develops the body, mind, and spirit - and keeps the brain’s synapses firing on all cylinders - comes under our literacy umbrella. We want kids to love the act of learning. We want them to view knowledge acquisition as a lifelong pursuit, not just something that they do in school because it’s required of them. And we want kids to want to learn because it betters their lives and helps them accomplish their goals.
In my personal parenting universe, I have found that one of the best ways to help kids internalize the IAmElemental definition of literacy is through daily read-alouds. In fact, I consider reading aloud to be my Parenting Superpower. Furthermore, I suspect that it just might be the secret to parenting.
OK. OK. I know. There is no actual secret to parenting. Parenting is complicated. And, unlike business success, parenting success (whatever “success” means when it comes to parenting) is ephemeral and hard to quantify.
And, yet, there’s no denying the power of the read-aloud.
I started reading chapter books aloud to my firstborn son at bedtime when he was about three years old, because (if truth be told) I missed reading books. Parenting had robbed me of both time and energy. All I read were magazine articles. Who had time to commit to a whole book? But, then, I had an idea. I grabbed a beloved chapter book off my shelf and told my son that it was a “listening book.” I’d sit beside his bed in the dark with a flashlight and read a chapter a night (or until one of us dozed off - usually me).
Both of my boys quickly embraced the idea that it was possible to create images in their imagination while listening to a story. And, once they got used to read-alouds, I started carrying our latest chapter book around with me wherever we went. My boys are now 12 and (gulp) 20 and, to this day, I always have a book in my bag (currently: Wendelin van Draanen’s difficult yet uplifting Runaway). We read in taxis, in restaurants, in museums, in the park. We read whenever we are waiting in line, waiting in a theatre for a movie to start, waiting for the bus to arrive.
One of the first books that I read aloud to my eldest son was Roald Dahl’s sublime Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. About the same time, I happened to read an article about parenting that posited an interesting theory. It explained that, when it comes to the relationship between a parent and a child (and the child’s developing relationship with the outside world), everything comes down to attention. And that one key to successful parenting is teaching your child to desire and “ask” for good attention rather than bad attention.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory provided the perfect language to help my son (and, later, his brother) internalize this message. At three years old, and for many years afterward, whenever he was asking for attention in the wrong way, I only needed to ask whether he wanted to be Veruka (...or Augustus ...or Mike Teevee) or Charlie, and he would say, “I want to be Charlie!” And he would make the better choice; the choice to ask for good attention.
However, reading aloud has gifted my family much more than just behavior modification opportunities.
* Reading aloud allowed me to introduce my boys to really good literature earlier than I would have been able to if I had waited until they could read classics on their own. As a result, they enjoy and appreciate good writing. To be clear, they also love graphic novels and toilet humor. In fact, my youngest son’s career goal is to run Mad Magazine someday, and I am thrilled. However, they are also not intimidated by the likes of Shakespeare and Homer. And I am thrilled.
* Reading aloud encourages natural, spontaneous learning. My boys have always been free to stop me whenever there is a word or a phrase that they don’t understand, or a concept that needs explaining. This has helped develop both their vocabulary and their ability to express themselves. But, even more important, because they have made a habit of it, my boys aren’t afraid to ask questions and admit that there is something they don’t know; an often underrated, but important life skill.
* Reading aloud has been wonderful for their comprehension skills. Because I have the ability to occasionally pause the story so that we can discuss big ideas or passages I think are important to ponder along the way, they have become adept at recognizing and understanding universal themes and concepts embedded in literature. As an added benefit, this ability has served them extremely well in school.
* Reading aloud has also afforded me the opportunity to introduce them to new topics and ideas that don’t necessarily fit into their already packed school curriculum. Our family recently honored the boys’ 95-year-old great-grandfather for his service in World War II. A gunner on the beaches of Normandy, he went on to fight in five other major battles, including the Battle of the Bulge. In addition to history books about the war, I read the boys All the Light We Cannot See. This beautifully written, Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel had two likeable young protagonists: a blind French girl, and a German orphan recruited into a Hitler Youth Camp. My younger son found it hard to process the fact that he was rooting for Werner even though he knew that, in real life, the boy would have been tasked with hunting down and killing soldiers like his great-grandfather. Not only did my son learn a lot of history, he was reminded that, often, the answer to a difficult question is: Well, that depends.
* Reading aloud permits me to, sometimes, edit words and passages. I am passionately anti-censorship. However, when I read them Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, I edited out the n-word. We talked about the word’s history and its meaning. I explained why Mark Twain used it. And I explained why I wasn’t going to use it.
* Reading aloud gives me license to feed my boys a hearty diet of books with female protagonists. While much is written about the lack of female representation in film and TV, there are amazing female-driven stories found throughout literature. I always said that I was going to read “girl power” books to my boys until they told me to stop; they never did. Early on, I instituted a three-chapter rule. I knew that if I got through three chapters before telling them the title of, for example, A Little Princess, I’d have them hooked. It worked like a charm.
* Reading aloud has taught my boys to be more empathetic. Every book that I read aloud reaffirms the existence of one basic truth: that there are an infinite number of ways to live a life. These books remain stored for eternity in their memory banks, helping them to make sense of who they are, and better understand the billions of people who co-exist alongside them in the world in which they live.
* Reading aloud is happy time spent together as a family creating a shared language. I recently reorganized our family bookshelves, and it felt as if I was sifting through my sons' brains. Yes, I mean that literally. As I sorted the books into piles according to type (picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, reference material, etc.) and subject (history, science, philosophy, fiction, biographies, humor, etc.) it was as if I was making my way through the data that makes up the sum of their parts; not only their brainpower, but also their very essence. I really and truly believe that reading aloud to my boys has played a huge role in helping grow them into good people and interesting human beings.
Finally, reading aloud is redemption.
I won’t lie, I have gone to bed every single night for 20 years worrying and wondering: “How horribly did I screw up my kids today?”
Because, I am the “bad cop” in the house, and I make no bones about it. Because, despite my fear of failure (and my actual, quantifiable failures), I have a job to do and I am going to do it. And, because, while I love my boys and I think that they are totally awesome, I recognize that we are - all of us - a work in progress until the day that we die.
But, read-alouds? Read-alouds are my savior. My secret weapon. The Superpower that helps me enjoy parenting even when I’m bad at it.
No matter how busy... stressful... annoying... exhausting the day has been; no matter how many parenting lectures I have had to deliver; no matter how often we’ve rolled our eyes behind one another’s backs; no matter how many times they’ve pushed the “mute” button and tuned me out, we end every single day feeling connected and content. Together, in the dark, with a flashlight, I read. The words travel from my mouth to their ears embedded with a message of love. And I end the day feeling like, maybe not the best mom in the world, but certainly the luckiest.]]>Our 2014 Kickstarter was met with an avalanche of press. We were at the forefront of a cultural zeitgeist, and our toys were named one of TIME Magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of the Year. We were the crowdfunded startup that proved there was an untapped market for thoughtfully designed, well-made female action figures that weren’t hyper-sexualized, that would appeal to young girls (and boys). The big toy companies raced to join us. Mattel’s DC Super Hero Girls followed 18 months later, and Hasbro’s Star Wars Forces of Destiny figures weren’t far behind.
And, yet, it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. Despite our positive reviews, we heard some complaints. Occasionally, we were accused of being lazy for failing to provide a backstory. In the IAmElemental universe, our action figures aren’t Superheroes, they’re Superpowers. Each one has a definition and a power intended to be used as the jumping-off point for story creation. This decision was deliberate. When we first launched, we felt that there weren’t enough examples of stories where females were the protagonists and the ones saving the day. We wanted kids to be active agents in the telling of those stories.
Having said that, we have always recognized the power of storytelling. While we don't need research, plenty exists that says it is important for both girls and boys to see vibrant examples of strong, healthy female protagonists across all types of media. So, we always had stories brewing. Although my COO, Veenita Bleznak, didn’t join the company until the month after our Kickstarter ended, she happened to be at my home for dinner in October of 2012, shortly after I came up with the idea for IAmElemental. Firing on all cylinders, my mind racing with the possibilities, I cornered her on the couch and forced her to listen to the many content-related ideas that were literally pouring out of me.
I wasn’t the only one who saw storytelling potential.
From the very beginning, we were regularly approached about expanding into all sorts of media. The list would make your head spin. To say that it was overwhelming is an understatement. Jump in too soon, and you could drown in your own ignorance. Wait too long, and risk losing the wind in your sails altogether; leaving you trailing hopelessly behind. Unfortunately, when it comes to content creation, there is no way to dip a toe into the water. You have to take the plunge, or get off the diving board... the wrong way... down the ladder.
Luckily, I had a guardian angel to guide me through the process; a childhood friend (my maid of honor, if you can believe it) happened to work in children’s television - in animation, no less.
“You can’t take any of these meetings,” she told me. “You are going to have one chance. You can’t make a move until you figure out what you want.” She was right. I didn’t know what I wanted. So, I waited.
In the meantime, I educated myself. I signed up for industry newsletters. I watched children’s television panel discussions on YouTube. I familiarized myself with production companies around the world. My son and I watched a seemingly endless stream of animated show preview videos. And, all the while, the list of media companies looking for new content continued to grow.
Every six months or so, my guardian angel and I would meet for lunch. I’d give her a progress report, and wait with bated breath to see whether or not my metaphorical gatekeeper thought we were ready to explore the content development stage yet.
In the meantime, we kept pushing forward with the figure line. Our first set of seven 3.75” Courage figures was followed by our 6.5” Courage Core Power figure, and our first TOTY (Toy of the Year) nomination for 2017 Action Figure of the Year. This was followed by our second set of seven 3.75” Wisdom figures, and a second TOTY nomination for 2018 Action Figure of the Year. Next up? Our 6.5” Wisdom Warrior will be revealed at Toy Fair in February.
My guardian angel advised us well, and we took our time to find a partner who loved and understood our mission as much as we do. Because, while our action figures are strong, healthy females, the message of empowerment that we've embedded in our figures is universal. It’s an important distinction. IAmElemental celebrates both the power of women and the Superpowers that reside inside us all. No matter your gender, everyone has the capacity to be a real hero and choose to use their powers to be their best selves.
This past November, we announced a partnership with The Jim Henson Company to develop an animated television series targeting children aged six to 12; a show about powerful females that the whole family will be able to watch together.
Three and a half years after our Kickstarter campaign, we are still moving the needle and working to disrupt the market. Because, what I said at the Women in Toys gala is true. At the end of the day, we really aren’t a toy company. We are a mission-based company, embedding a message of empowerment in all that we do.
Development is just the first step of what will be a very long journey. But, we are grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with the wonderful team at the Jim Henson Company to bring both our figures and our message to life. The right partnership was worth the wait.]]>HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — The Jim Henson Company announced today it will develop a new animated children’s television series based on the popular female action figures by IAmElemental. The series will target children ages 6 to 12. The deal will give The Jim Henson Company the opportunity to develop and produce the television series across all platforms. Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford of The Jim Henson Company will serve as executive producers.
IAmElemental created the first-ever female action figures designed specifically for children. Its Series 1/Courage figures include Bravery, Honesty, Fear, Enthusiasm, Energy, Industry and Persistence. Series 2/Wisdom includes Creativity, Ingenuity, Curiosity, Logic, Exploration, Mastery and Oblivion. The company conducted a Kickstarter campaign which was fully funded in two days, drawing backers from all 50 states and six continents, and its groundbreaking products were named by TIME Magazine as one of the “25 Best Inventions of 2014” and “Top 10 Toys of 2014.” Most recently, IAmElemental was selected as a finalist in the 2018 “Action Figure of the Year” category at the Toy Industry Association’s Toy of the Year Awards. The company was also a 2017 finalist in two categories, “Action Figure of the Year” and “Rookie of the Year.”
“At The Jim Henson Company, we have a tradition of creating strong female heroes in our past and current television and film franchises,” said Halle Stanford, President of Television at The Jim Henson Company. “Partnering with IAmElemental is incredibly exciting because it will be our first foray into the superhero genre with a cast of powerful young women at its core. We are excited to introduce a unique and fresh superhero television series geared for children all over the world.”
“We are thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to work with the Superhero team at The Jim Henson Company,” said Julie Kerwin, Chief Elemental Officer, IAmElemental. “Their Superpowers of creativity and originality have inspired me both as a child and as an adult, and I couldn’t wish for a better partner to bring the IAmElemental messages of character strength and empowerment to a wider audience.”
About The Jim Henson Company — The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 60 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world-famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), Dot. (Sprout/Hulu), Splash and Bubbles (PBS), Word Party (Netflix), Doozers (Hulu/ Sprout), and the Emmy®-nominated Sid the Science Kid (PBS), Dinosaur Train (PBS), and Pajanimals (Sprout). Television productions include Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller and the sci-fi cult series Farscape. Features include Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, as well as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, MirrorMask, and Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow. The Company is currently in production on the feature The Happytime Murders, starring Melissa McCarthy, and the upcoming Netflix original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Projects in development include the highly anticipated film Fraggle Rock.
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. The Company is home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television, theme park and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of- the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand is currently touring Puppet-Up! – Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show. http://www.henson.com www.facebook.com/hensoncompany www.twitter.com/hensoncompany
About IAmElemental — New York City-based IAmElemental is a privately held toy company creating the first-ever female action figures designed specifically for girls (and boys!). Founded in 2013, the company conducted a Kickstarter campaign in 2014 which was fully funded in two days, drawing backers from all 50 states and six continents, and was named by TIME Magazine as one of the “25 Best Inventions of 2014” and “Top 10 Toys of 2014.” IAmElemental’s female action figures are available online and in retail stores worldwide. “If you give a girl a different toy, she will tell a different story”; “Play with power”; “It’s character, not characters”; “Shared, everyone’s powers grow stronger”; and “We have Superpowers. Want some?” are trademarks of IAmElemental.
Twitter: @IAmElementalToy, Facebook: IAmElementalToy, Instagram: IAmElementalToy.
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]]>My husband says that there’s no crying in baseball or startups. However, I would be lying if I said that there haven’t been some tears along the way. My wonderful PR guru would rather I keep this fact to myself. “You’re a duck,” she has explained. “You only want them to see your serene beauty above the water. No one needs to know about the frantic paddling your feet are doing underneath.” And, I get it. Admitting that I cry sometimes isn’t really befitting someone who runs a company. I am also not supposed to admit that my wifi hotspot is my office, that there is no staff, and that when I tell you I have a meeting at three o’clock, I’m really at school pick up. But, the truth is, it’s the truth. And, quite frankly, at this point, I am proud of the fact that we are what I lovingly call an “unsexy” startup.
Last November, IAmElemental was lucky enough to be TOTY (Toy of the Year) finalists for Rookie of the Year and Action Figure of the Year. Our set of female action figures representing the seven Superpowers that make up Courage lost to Mattel’s DC Super Hero Girls. And I am thrilled. A company with a full-time staff of two (myself and my Superhero COO, Veenita Bleznak), had the honor of losing the “Oscar” of the toy industry to two of the biggest, most powerful entertainment and toy companies in the world. It was the surreal culmination of good fortune, hard work, and a product that is perfect for the market.
Our 2014 Kickstarter was unusually successful. Not only were we fully funded in 48 hours (ultimately raising 465% of our original goal) by thousands of backers in all fifty states and six continents, but we were the lucky beneficiaries of a level of press coverage that was more “lightning in a bottle” than “normal course of events”; including being named one of TIME Magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of 2014. However, while all the attention was wonderful, it didn’t relieve the pressure we were under to convert our concept into an actual consumer product under a very tight deadline (read more here).
In the middle of this stressful first production run, while I was discovering just how much there was to learn, someone said to me, “You can’t run a business from a cell phone. It’s embarrassing.” You know what’s embarrassing? Making the mistake of thinking that the bells and whistles - the optics - matter. I have never run a business before. And, I certainly don’t pretend to know everything that goes into building a successful business. In fact, as Veenita likes to say, one of the secrets to our survival is that “we know what we don’t know.” Having said that, one thing that I do know, is that the reason we are still alive and in the game three years later is because I have kept our overhead as low as possible.
So, if you’re contemplating starting a business, please keep in mind that the statistics are real; close to 90% of all startups fail. As sexy as all of those articles in business periodicals make entrepreneurship sound, with their photo shoots of beautiful offices, a hip staff of geniuses, ginormous marketing budgets, and seven-figure investors who fund it all, most bootstrapped startups are home-based like mine. Turns out, that not only can you run a startup from a cell phone, you probably should run a startup from a cell phone.
I will confess at the outset that I still retain vestiges of the Luddite I was prior to launching IAmElemental. I didn’t have any personal social media accounts, and we hadn’t created any for the business before our Kickstarter launch. Rookie mistake. As much as we prepared for the Kickstarter campaign and post-Kickstarter production run, we were unprepared for the social media explosion that followed. I just didn’t get it.
And, three years later, I still don’t completely get it. As much as I love the Internet for its access to the vast stores of information that feed my research-loving soul; even though I know that my company wouldn’t exist without it (more here); and despite the fact that the internet has connected me with amazing people I would have otherwise never encountered, in many ways social media continues to confound me.
Like the Biblical Tower of Babel, lately it feels as if everyone is just yelling, and mostly failing, to be heard above the noise. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, as the number of users continues to grow, rather than increasing the audience reach, the sheer volume - of both people and voices - has actually made it harder and harder to use social media as an effective marketing tool. It often feels as if I’m just spitting in the wind.
So, you might be surprised to learn that I am personally responsible for all of our social media output. And that I do it diligently, and I take it very seriously. While I don’t necessarily do it the “right way” (is there a “right way”?), I have found myself enjoying it more ever since Martyn Tipping, a speaker at a panel on social media effectiveness at Toy Fair/2016, offered this advice: Don’t worry about “likes” or “shares” or even “engagement”. Instead, use social media for storytelling. Compose every post so that if someone new discovers your site and scrolls through, she will get a clear sense of who you are and what your message is just by reading the first few posts.
This suggestion revolutionized the way I handled output. It also calmed me down. Because, on our shoestring marketing budget, our voice will never be loud enough to overcome the din. But, as Gary Vaynerchuk says, “One is greater than zero.” So, I celebrate each and every follower, comment, and share. We may be dwarfed by the shadow of social media giants with giant-sized budgets. But, step by step, post by post, we continue to build our brand.
In the IAmElemental universe, we have a saying: Real heroes walk among us. And we believe this with every ounce of our being. However, the interesting thing about saying it - out loud and often - is that this simple statement has magnetic power, and it pulls real life heroes into our orbit with a frequency I never anticipated.
So many people have reached out and offered to help us over the past three years, it is actually somewhat mind-boggling. Despite the fact that I am someone who has never considered herself a networker (more here), the IAmElemental message and mission resonates with people, and we have been exceedingly lucky to have generated an army of Mentor/Friends who have guided us and helped us to learn how to navigate this strange new startup world.
Then, there are the amazing retailers; wonderful people who have been willing to take a chance on a small, self-funded startup. We don’t have a sales force in place yet to regularly solicit retailers. We don’t have a TV or movie tie-in to lure in shoppers. Yet, the retailers come. And, because we don’t sell single figure packs of our 3.75” figures on our site (we sell sets), the only place to get them is via our retail partners. We cannot overstate our gratitude to both the early adopters and the most recent additions to the IAmElemental team for providing a place where a kid can go to pick a power and discover our secret: that all the Superpowers they could ever want or need are already inside of them.
The biggest thank you of all, however, goes to our amazing customers. No matter their age or gender - girl, boy, man, woman - our customers are the most important Superheroes in the IAmElemental universe. We only exist because of their generous and enthusiastic support. As a result, good customer service is our passion (more here). And, as the lone member of the IAmElemental Customer Service Department, there is nothing that matters more to me than a happy and satisfied customer. Not just because the customer is always right. Rather, because the customer is everything.
These are just three of so many valuable lessons we learned during our first three years, and we’re eternally grateful to our real life heroes for teaching and supporting us in our success. However, we plan to follow the advice of another one of our heroes, Han Solo, who said, “Don’t get cocky.” Because, after all, we still have a long way to go. In the meantime, we can’t wait to show you what IAmElemental is up to next. And we look forward to continuing to learn as we grow... however unsexy those lessons may be.]]>Kickstarter removes barriers to entrance and allows lay people like me an opportunity to test the hypothesis and enter markets that used to be closed to all but a few. This is remarkable in and of itself. However, the fact that the IAmElemental/Kickstarter story doesn’t end with our campaign is even more remarkable. Kickstarter success, it turns out, is the gift that keeps on giving.
In addition to being asked to share our origin story, I also constantly talk about our wonderful Backer community and the important role that their early and ongoing support has played in our survival. As a bootstrapped startup with no marketing budget to speak of, we rely on word of mouth to help us generate brand awareness; and there are no better cheerleaders on the planet than Kickstarter Backers. Believers from the very beginning, Backers invest emotionally as well as financially and, in our case, almost three years later, they continue to show up for us. Not only do they write the best fan letters (I liken them to pen pals), and make great design suggestions (the well-received peg holes and stands we added to our new series are a direct result of Backer input), but they are also exceedingly loyal and generous customers. When we launched our Buy One/Donate One program for childhood cancer awareness last September, the Kickstarter community made up a significant portion of our buyers. And, as further proof of their kindness, a number of them insisted on donating their purchased figures back to us for distribution.
However, Backers aren’t the only important Kickstarter community in the IAmElemental universe. Fellow Kickstarter Creators also play a role in our continued success. I was reminded of this last month at New York Toy Fair, which also serves - unofficially - as an annual Kickstarter Reunion for us. Thanks to Kickstarter panel discussions and dinners, Toy Fair booth placement, Women in Toys (WIT) events, and email outreach, we have gotten to know a number of amazing Kickstarter Creators over the past few years. Some, like the Roominate team, offered advice prior to our Kickstarter campaign, even helping us find a factory for our first production run. Some, like Wonder Crew Creator Laurel Wider, sought advice from us prior to their own campaigns. And, some, like Laurie Paterson of Build & Imagine, have joined our post-Kickstarter network and contribute regularly to ongoing brainstorming and information-sharing. All of them have also become friends.
To truly understand Kickstarter, you have to experience Kickstarter. It is a trial by fire, and all the due diligence in the world can’t adequately prepare you for the reality. As a result, there is a wonderful comraderie among the Kickstarter community; a kinship and “We’re in this together” sensibility that makes us all fast friends.
As a result, paying it forward is baked into the Kickstarter DNA. It is an ethos that we at IAmElemental very much appreciate. One of our taglines is, “Shared, everyone’s powers grow stronger.” And the recognition within the Kickstarter Creator community that helping to light someone else’s candle doesn’t diminish your own has been instrumental as we all work to transition from Kickstarter campaign to startup in an industry where that generosity of spirit isn’t always the case.
The Sincerest Form of Flattery
Don’t get me wrong. There are many people within the toy industry who have helped us the past two years. So many, in fact, that I often find myself asking, “Where do you hide your cape?” as I am amazed by the kindness of strangers willing to go the extra mile to make sure that IAmElemental has a fighting chance. However, as with any industry, competition is fierce. Successful Kickstarter startups have grown accustomed to toy fair booth visits from major toy company executives who intentionally turn their badges around so that we can’t identify them, copycat products flooding the market before we are able achieve the brand awareness we need for exponential growth, and massive marketing campaigns designed to cut us out of the timeline all together.
Kickstarter, it turns out, isn’t just giving Creators the opportunity to test a product and prove a viable market, it is serving as a free research platform for major corporations and, in the case of the toy industry, shifting the landscape entirely.
Lammily gave birth to Barbie’s new body. Wonder Crew and Boy Story finally convinced American Girl Doll to introduce a Boy Doll. Goldieblox, Roominate, and Yellowscope inspired a whole new category of STEM toys aimed at girls. The list goes on and on. Even IAmElemental’s Kickstarter success has played its part. Not only did we help to change the conversation about the hyper-sexualization of the female action figure, and the way that girls (and boys) play, we also inspired larger companies like Mattel/DC to join the conversation and move the needle further and faster than we ever imagined. In fact, my very first LinkedIn article back in April of 2015 welcomed Mattel/DC to the female action figure party when, following on the heels of our success at being named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of 2014, they announced the creation of the DC Super Hero Girls.
This shift has not only changed the conversation, it has also changed the playing field. Last year, the Toy Industry Association (TIA) announced that they were radically revamping their Toy of the Year (TOTY) award categories. Removing the gendered Boy and Girl Toy classifications, they created six new categories, and IAmElemental was thrilled to be nominated as Finalists in two of those new categories: Action Figure of the Year, and Rookie of the Year.
It is no accident that six of the seven nominees in the Rookie of the Year category began their lives as Kickstarter campaigns (congratulations to 3Doodle who, deservedly, won the award). Kickstarted companies are the fuel that is propelling the toy industry forward, so it is important that TIA not just acknowledge, but celebrate them. And, they are starting to do just that. In addition to the new TOTY Award categories, TIA also re-designed the Launchpad section at New York Toy Fair this year. What used to be a small area highlighting a handful of new companies was relocated, enlarged and heavily promoted.
As expected, we lost Action Figure of the Year to the DC Super Hero Girls. However, I sent out a newsletter afterward explaining that, even though we lost, we won. Because when DC Super Heroes won, they won a category that IAmElemental - in partnership with our Kickstarter Backers - helped to create.
Every time Mattel/DC Entertainment wins an award, or succeeds in selling the DC Super Hero Girls, they validate the hypothesis we tested via Kickstarter way back in May of 2014.
The industry recognition means so much to us. And we are grateful to the Toy Industry Association for helping to spread the word about our small, self-funded startup. They nominated us alongside one of the biggest toy companies and media empires in the world!
Even though we lost, we truly feel like we won.
Kickstarter is much much more than just a crowdfunding platform.
It is a revolution - an equal opportunity revolution. And, for many, the gift that keeps on giving.]]>The Wonder Women Awards recognize and honor female executives who are creating positive change by giving back, passing on the lessons they've learned, and paving the way for future leaders. Kerwin founded IAmElemental in 2013, creating the first female action figures designed specifically for children. The company's groundbreaking products were also honored by the Toy Industry Association as 2017 Toy of the Year finalists in the Action Figure of the Year and Rookie of the Year categories.
"We are really not a toy company," said Kerwin in her acceptance speech. "We're a mission-based company. We've embedded a secret message in our toys: you are a superhero, and all the superpowers you could ever want or need are already inside of you. And shared, everyone's powers grow stronger."
IAmElemental's Series 1/Courage and Series 2/Wisdom female action figures are now available online and in retail stores worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.IAmElemental.com/retailers, call (800) 274-8282, or visit Booth #5207 at the 2017 North American International Toy Fair.]]>The Toy of the Year Awards are presented by the Toy Industry Association (TIA), the not-for-profit trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and bringing toys and youth entertainment products to kids of all ages. Finalists were selected by a panel of toy and play experts, retailers, academics, and journalists.
"Our fans love IAmElemental because we bring something extraordinary to the toy aisle: action figures with healthy body types, forward-thinking design, and superpowers based on character traits like Bravery, Honesty and Curiosity. As a startup company, we are so honored by this industry recognition for our Series 1/Courage female action figures, and we are thrilled that Series 2/Wisdom has joined them on toy store shelves in time for the holidays," said Chief Elemental Officer Julie Kerwin.]]>"Like so much in the IAmElemental universe, our association with childhood cancer comes from our close relationship with our customers," said Chief Elemental Officer Julie Kerwin. "Fourteen-year-old Anna Bosma of Harbor Springs, MIwas an IAmElemental superfan – a collector of our Series 1/Courage female action figures who eagerly awaited the release of Series 2/Wisdom this fall. Upon learning from her grandmother that she was unlikely to see their release, we sent her an advance set of our newest figures. Sadly, Anna succumbed this summer after a four-year fight. Our Buy One, Donate One program honors her legacy, and her wish that IAmElemental figures be shared with others. Anna understood - more than I could ever dream - about Courage and Superpowers and Character. And it is Anna who continues, every day, to push us and inspire us. We are so grateful to Anna's parents, Buck and Heidi Bosma, for allowing us to celebrate Anna's life this way, and for offering to work with us to bring Courage to children and families like theirs."