Mary Couzin

In case you think you need a ton of capital to start a business, let me tell you a story from my first business, nearly 33 years ago. The business was called Campus Faces. It wasn't our idea. Every fall, two upperclassmen at our university would go around with cameras when students came back to campus. They took pictures of everyone. They made these giant collage posters of all the photos and hung them around campus. Kids would cluster around, trying to find themselves. What made it a business was that these guys sold ads around the edges of the posters to the local shops that served the student community. Then we found out the two upperclassmen were graduating and not coming back to do it. "Screw the fertilizer," we said. And we jumped on it immediately. We didn't have a grand business plan. We didn't know the first thing about photography or commercial poster printing. We just saw a market that people already loved. How much were we risking? Practically nothing. Just our time. No prototype. No capital. We knew who the advertisers were from the previous year's posters, so we went to those businesses, plus some new ones, and took in about $4,000 in deposits. I took half of it and went to Europe for the summer. We found a boilerplate one-page ad contract (I don't even remember where we got it) and had the advertisers sign it. When school started, I took every single photo myself with the Nikon I got for my bar mitzvah. I developed the film. Then I sat at my mother's kitchen table cutting and arranging the collages, and my sister brought her friends over to help. We found a printer. Made about 9,000 posters. For a week straight, Anton and I were just two guys schlepping posters up and down dorm stairwells across campus, hanging them everywhere. We never paid a lawyer. Never built a website (this was before the web). Never spent a dollar on marketing that we didn't have to spend. That first year, Campus Faces grossed $12,000. We each took home about $3,000. The second year, we expanded to 2 schools and grossed $30,000. The third year, 5 schools, over $100,000. Not only did Campus Faces let me and Anton graduate with zero student debt, we finished with about $10,000 left over, which we kept in reserve for whatever we did next. That next thing turned out to be Spin Master. If you're waiting to start something because you think you need capital, or a lawyer, or a website, or a plan, or permission, please just start. You need less than you think.

At Cottage Door Press, we believe stories should spark curiosity, connection and a lifelong love of reading — and that belief is at the heart of Luna StoryTime. Seeing Luna now on shelf at Target is an exciting milestone, and I’m especially grateful to the licensing and content partners who believed in the vision and came on board — including Sesame Workshop, Paramount, The Walt Disney Company and more. Thank you as well to Target and The Barcode Group for helping us bring Luna to families in a whole new way. Proud of how far we’ve come — and excited for what’s next. ✨

Snap Circuits is a STEM Celebrity! Thank you TMZ for the #SnapCircuits shoutout! Screen-free fun and learning is so important for kids and their families. Proud to have Snap Circuits on a list with such other fantastic toys brands! Our small but mighty team at Elenco Electronics continues to make waves! Extra points for the fabulous title "Toys That Keep Them Busy Without Driving You CRAZY"!