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Apr 26, 2021 · Melissa Bernstein and her husband built their company Melissa & Doug into a $500-million-per-year toy empire. ... By 2008 Melissa & Doug's annual sales surpassed $500 million, and the company was ...
- Bernstein & Doug Co-Founder: Turn Darkness Into Light
- Be Authentic Like Melissa Bernstein
- Don't Worry About Impressing Others
- Melissa & Doug Co-Founder: Find What Drives You
- Channel Your Struggles Into Creativity
- Find Good Partners Like Melissa & Doug
- Find Your Next Passion Project
- Melissa & Doug Co-Founder Melissa Bernstein
Turning difficulty into success, or "darkness into light," defines Bernstein. She co-founded the leading toy maker more than 30 years ago with her husband of 30 years, Doug. Melissa & Doug is best-known for its colorful array of wooden puzzles, play cutlery and plush toys. Bernstein is arguably the most successful living toymaker. Melissa & Doug ha...
Most people think of jolly elves painting toy trains in the North Pole when they think of a toymaker. Others might think of giant toy manufacturers pumping out mass-produced licensed action figures. But Bernstein doesn't fit those cliches. Her toymaking magic is forged in humanity, genuineness, pain and failure. A panic attack while taking the LSAT...
Following graduation from college, Bernstein thought she'd follow her mind and walletand ignore her heart. Pushing away her creative urges, she decided to parlay her top grades into a professional career. She targeted Wall Street. She landed a financial analyst job at Morgan Stanley in New York City. It didn't take long before she realized while th...
Working at Morgan Stanley, Melissa, then 22, slipped into depression. Her boyfriend at the time, a 24-year-old Doug, was miserable in his day job, too. He talked her into quitting their jobs together and doing something new. They pulled together "their meager savings" and brainstormed what "we wanted to do for the rest of our lives," she said. As c...
Bernstein and her husband realized puzzles are a timeless toy the industry left behind. They just needed innovation. Thinking of old books they loved as kids, they recalled those that had interesting fabric sewn on them. They decided to bring texture to wooden puzzles. They landed on the Fuzzy Farm Puzzle, a wooden puzzle with textured pieces. It w...
Success often means pairing up with partners you can trust, Bernstein says. In 2008, she decided to sell part of the business to a private equity firm. As the company and their family of six children grew, Bernstein found they were losing their entrepreneurial risk takingand playing it too safe. "We were being strangled all the time because we were...
Ask Bernstein what she's working on next and a smile dawns. And it's not just toys. She's also published a book, "LifeLines" and website to share her story. It's also a guide to find happiness. Just as her toys show children what's possible with creativity, her book does the same with those dealing with mental health issues. "It's showing people th...
Co-founded Melissa & Doug with husband in 1988, turning a small wooden puzzle maker into a billion-dollar toy company.Overcame: Lifelong struggles with depression and existential anxiety.Lesson: "All innovation starts with curiosity and it starts, at least for me, with a question: 'Why?' And really having that drive to want to find the answer, and if you can't find it, create it."- 9 min
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chapter for Melissa & Doug. “We’ve been so fortu-nate and want to give back,” says Melissa. “We feel like this is what the world needs most right now.” ‘I can now breathe for the first time in my life’ —MELISSA BERNSTEIN A As a girl, Melissa Bernstein wanted to be Barbie—blonde, popular, perfect. “I thought she was the
Apr 1, 2021 · “She does mean it,” confirms Doug Bernstein, who is as equally open and warm as his wife. The couple was set up by their mothers—Connecticut friends both named Barbara. The women encouraged Melissa and Doug to get together when the pair was in college, she at Duke, he at the University of Connecticut.
Through the wonderful, timeless toys she has created with her husband and their company, Melissa & Doug, Melissa Bernstein has sparked a brilliant imaginativ...
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Melissa & Doug, LLC. Melissa & Doug, LLC (formerly Lights, Camera, Interaction!, Inc) is an American manufacturer of children's toys, [1] [2] including wooden puzzles, arts & crafts products, plush toys, and other educational toys. [3] [4] The company was founded in 1988 by Melissa and Doug Bernstein in their basement and in Doug's parents' garage.
Mar 14, 2021 · Melissa Bernstein, co-founder of Melissa & Doug, talks about her lifelong struggle with depression. CBS News. For most of her life, Melissa concealed what she calls her existential...
