Episode summary
'No Experience Necessary': Betting on Yourself in Your Twenties | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 12 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Ronnen Harary
Summary
Ronnen Harary argues that youth can be an advantage in business because younger founders have energy, access, and a willingness to keep pushing when they hear no. He says that in his 20s, people were rooting for him, taking his calls, and more willing to give him a shot than he realized at the time. He uses early Spin Master stories, including Earth Buddies and Airhogs, to show how persistence and optimism helped turn small ideas into major products.
Harary also says the toy business is “half art, half science,” and that successful products create imagination and a kind of magic for kids. He says the industry still has room despite screens, with physical toys, open-ended play, trading cards, and collectibles continuing to matter. He notes that some categories, like fashion dolls and activities, are weaker while games and puzzles are stronger.
A major part of the conversation is Harary’s learning disability, dysgraphia, which made school difficult and forced him to grind through work that others could finish more easily. He says that experience built tenacity and shaped how he approached business. He also makes a broader case that college can be valuable, but it is deeply personal, and young people should think carefully about debt, opportunity, and the risks of choosing their own path.
Key takeaways
- Harary says young founders benefit from an unusual amount of goodwill: “everybody’s rooting for you” in your 20s.
- He says Spin Master’s growth came from persistence, including pushing Earth Buddies through Kmart and turning Airhogs into a product that lifted sales from $7 million to $35 million.
- Harary argues the toy industry still has strong demand for physical play even in a screen-heavy world, especially in collectibles, games and puzzles.
- He says his dysgraphia made school much harder, but also helped build the tenacity he used in business.
- Harary says college is valuable, but the choice should be personal and balanced against cost and debt.
Notable quotes
“youth is wasted on the young”
“the toy business is half art, half science, and at the end of the day, you're looking for something that creates imagination in the kids”
“everybody's rooting for you. Everybody wants you to win. You don't realize it when you're young and everybody wants to be around you”
“It's disgraphia is the inability for you to get your thoughts out through your hands”
“it's very personal um to your own life”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. — You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. — Carol, you know what they say. — Yes, — Youth is wasted on the young. — They do say that a lot.
The older I get, the more I think that's true. — I totally agree. Like, I look back now and I'm like, wait, what was I so worried about? you know. Yeah. I wonder how much — Taking risks and just lots of different things.
Well, let's talk about taking risks and betting on yourself, especially when you're young. Ronin Harrari is the co-founder and former CEO of Spin Master. The company Spin Master, the company brought us Paw Patrol — And more. — So much more.
And more Airhogs is what I'm thinking of. — Mhm.
He's also the author of a brand new book. It's called No Experience Necessary: Why Betting on Yourself in Your 20s is the best decision you'll ever make. We're going to talk about the book in a second, but I mean, how much of your work life have you spent playing with toys?
Um, you know, toys, the funniest thing is I didn't play with any toys growing up as a kid. And if you would have asked me in university if I was going to go into the toy business, I would have told you like you're probably crazy.
So, the first part of my life, not very much. And the second half, a lot. — So, you made up for it as an adult. — Correct. — Uh, what what makes a what Well, there's I have so many questions about like toys today versus toys, you know, in my era, which is a lot of what you were bringing to us.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- career advice
- youth entrepreneurship
- toy industry
- technology and jobs
- personal ambition
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Spin Master
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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