Playing Around EAndre Farrar, Arthur Ganson and Rustam Booz have their hands on a winner.
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Why didn't I think of that? thought Arthur Ganson, asculptor and inventor, when he saw someone holding what looked likea fantastic toy. As he got closer, however, that toy turned out tobe just a tube-shaped balloon.
But that balloon became the inspiration behind Ganson'sbrainstorm: Toobers & Zots, a toy that's been called the"Legos of the '90s." The 2- to 4- foot foam rubbertube (Toobers) cam be bent into any shape; the die-cut foam shapes(Zots) connect and adorn the Toobers to make various objects.
Ganson, 40, and this two partners, Rustam Booz and AndrewFarrar, both 37, distribute their $5.99 to $29.95 Toobers &Zots through the specialty toy market. "We wanted to make toysthat foster creativity and stimulate little people'sminds," says Booz.
All three partners have children, which was part of the impetusfor lunching their Woburn, Massachusetts, company, HandsOn Toys, in1993. In fact, they had been discussing their dream of marketingcreative toys for more than a year when Ganson had his moment ofinspiration.
Getting past the idea state wasn't all fun and games,however. The partners approached one manufacturer after another andwere turned down; no one had the necessary equipment. So they woundup making Toobers & Zots themselves, tapping into their savingsand credit cards to cover the initial $250,000 start-up costs.
The gamble paid off, with first-year sales of $800,000 andestimates for 1995 at $4 million to $6 million. A third group ofshapes, Oobles, should add a whole new layer of dimensionality tothe toy-not to mention profitability to the business.
