German Doll

Ruth did.

Ruth was frustrated … her husband Elliot and the board of their company just didn’t believe what she was telling them … Ruth thought there was a big gap in the market … and she had a very specific idea of how to fill it but they just wouldn’t listen.

Now Ruth knew what she was talking about … she had a front row seat everyday to product testing as she watched her daughter Barbara and son Ken play with all sorts of toys at home … and toys were what the family company made. Originally the company had been started by Elliot and his business partner Matt but Matt had sold his shares due to ill health and now Ruth ran the company with Elliot.

Ruth was not going to give up on her idea easily. A little later, while on a family vacation in Germany, Ruth came across a toy called Bild Lilli that was based on a German newspaper comic character … it was very much what she’d envisioned … and inspired her to try once again … so she bought three of the toys .. giving one to her daughter and the other two to the company’s toy designers … and they set to work. Two years later, with her husband and the board won over, the company introduced the toy at the International Toy Fair … and it was a hit proving Ruth’s instincts right.

Today, over 70 years later, the toy has sold over a billion units …and continues to be a strong seller for the company named after the original business partners Matt and Elliot .. Mattel … and the toy? Well Ruth named it after her chief product tester … her daughter … Barbie.

Barbie is a great idea … because when you see a gap in the market … plug it.