Ilana Ben-Ari – Wild Business Growth Podcast #125: Creative Toy Designer, Founder of Twenty One Toys

We all played with toys growing up. Have you ever wondered why we enjoyed playing with them so much, and why we stopped playing with them as we grew up? This week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Ilana Ben-Ari, is bringing toys into both the classroom and the workplace. Ilana is the Founder, CEO, and Lead Designer at Twenty One Toys. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur or innovator joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the crazy creative and unusual ways they grew their business, and provides tips for you to do it, too. Hear the woman who became the voice of Siri, the man who’s reinventing the sandcastle, how GaryVee’s partners are turning the wine world upside down, and more wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

Episode 125: Ilana Ben-Ari – Creative Toy Designer, Founder of Twenty One Toys

Ilana Ben-Ari, the Founder, CEO, and Lead Designer of Twenty One Toys, joins the show to share her journey from playing with abstract toys as a kid to bringing the transformative power of play into thousands of schools and offices around the world. Hear why we learn through play, how the Empathy Toy and Failure Toy work, what skills will be most important in the future workplace, the punny URLs Ilana has secured, and her impression that will quack you up. This episode covers everything from toy design to what we can learn from failure. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What was Ilana’s favorite toy growing up
• Why are we attracted to the abstract
• Where did the idea for Twenty One Toys come from
• Why does playing with toys help us learn and grow
• What is the Empathy Toy and the Failure Toy
• What does “Girls” by Beastie Boys have to do with toys
• What is the punniest URL Ilana owns
• Her Donald Duck impression

Connect with Ilana at TwentyOneToys.com and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @21Toys and @IlanaBenAri.

Enjoy the shooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

• Intro
  • [0:27] Email me at for help using your podcast as a business-building tool
  • [0:41] Connect with Ilana at TwentyOneToys.com and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @21Toys and @IlanaBenAri
  • [1:37] What was Ilana’s favorite toy growing up
  • [2:27] Why is she attracted to the abstract
  • [4:02] If you had “Non-Boy Band One Direction Reference” on your WBG bingo card, you win
• The Twenty One Toys Story
  • [4:10] Where did the idea for Twenty One Toys come from
  • [4:34] Empathy Toy, Failure Toy, Improv Toy
  • [4:48] “The Future of Jobs” by World Economic Forum
  • [5:08] Twenty One Toys Workshops
  • [5:16] MBA (Masters of Business Administration)
  • [5:52] Product Design, Industrial Design
  • [6:04] Art, Psychology, Engineering, Human Behavior
  • [6:36] Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB)
  • [7:00] BlackBerry
  • [7:29] Hi-Tech
  • [9:42] Education
  • [10:04] Sir Ken Robinson TED Talk “Do schools kill creativity?”
  • [10:52] Bootstrapped, Investors
  • [11:24] Entrepreneurs
  • [11:42] The Hansel & Gretel Approach
  • [12:02] Why do Twenty One Toys work
  • [12:04] Ilana’s TEDx Talk
  • [12:30] e-Transfer
  • [13:01] Friedrich Fröbel
  • [14:11] Kindergarten
  • [14:16] Buckminster Fuller, Frank Lloyd Wright, Maria Montessori, Caroline Pratt
  • [14:35] Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography, Architecture
  • [16:30] Risk Appetite
  • [17:07] How does Ilana view failure
  • [19:06] Avatar
  • [21:00] Failure Abstinence aka Fabstinence
  • [21:25] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool

• Wild Business Shoutout of the Week
  • [21:55] Creative Marketing
  • [22:00] GoldieBlox, Kickstarter, Debbie Sterling
  • [22:39] Toys”R”Us
  • [22:51] GoldieBlox commercial set to “Girls” by The Beastie Boys
  • [23:45] What stood out to Ilana about the commercial
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [24:55] What hobbies make Ilana feel most creative
  • [25:02] URL, StinkYoga.com, HonestEggs.com, SchvitzCarlton.com (Sweat Equity)
  • [26:22] What Weird Talents does Ilana have
  • [26:36] Ilana’s Donald Duck impression
  • [27:02] Karaoke DJ, Toy Prototypes
  • [27:29] What is the most memorable reaction someone has had to a Twenty One Toys workshop
  • [28:49] Employees
  • [29:08] Winnipeg, Canada
  • [29:22] 21 Leaders
  • [31:02] Connect with Ilana at TwentyOneToys.com and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @21Toys and @IlanaBenAri
  • [31:23] What are Ilana’s final thoughts
  • [31:55] Subscribe to the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast
  • [32:06] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on GoodPods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [32:10] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn at @MaxBranstetter
  • [32:12] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – Jungle Tribe – provided by Jamendo

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but dreading the time commitment? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool

Thanks for listening to Ilana Ben-Ari on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, subscribe to the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!