SmallBizResource Blog -- Startups

Entrepreneur In Toyland

Posted by Gayle Kesten Monday, Feb 11, 2008, 02:38 PM ET

I've wasted too much money on kiddie toys that were barely used, impossible to put together or took up too much dang space in the house. They now reside in the garage, awaiting the first signs of spring so I can sell them in a tag sale for a fraction of what I paid.

I could have used a company like BabyPlays, a new Web-based toy rental company that works much the way NetFlix does: You choose from among a trio of membership plans, ranging in price from $28.99 to $35.99, which let you rent up to six toys per month. You and your little ones have a month to test-drive the toys, though once you hit your maximum allowance you won't receive more from your wish list until you ship something back. A postage-paid UPS shipping label *and* tape are provided. (Leave it to a mom to think of that.)

The 5-month-old company was founded by Lauren Pope, who, after searching for such a toy company for her own family and coming up empty-handed, started her own. Pope already co-owned an oilfield supply business, from which she used $250,000 to fund her new company, according to the Associated Press. Her recurring costs include buying brand-name and European toys, subletting office and storage space, and hiring employees. Of note, toys are sanitized and loaded with fresh batteries before being shrink-wrapped and boxed for shipment. If they're too big to be shipped fully assembled, then they're boxed with a screwdriver and instructions. (Another nice mom touch.)

Though Pope has yet to turn a profit, she told AP she hopes to do so by the fall.

What impresses me is how BabyPlays doesn't reinvent the business wheel; it simply applies the online rental model to a new industry. Looking for a business of your own? Think about what already exists. Kind of like those add-on doodads kids snap into their Crocs.

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