The Step-By-Step Roadmap for Launching Mission Driven Toys & Games
(Even if you only have PART-TIME hours to commit to your BIG time dream.)
Toy Creators Academy is the industry-recognized program that takes you from concept → to factory → to your first sale.
You already have the audience OR the expertise.
And you've already put your time and money behind your idea.
What you don't have is the toy-industry playbook to turn it into a manufactured product you're proud to sell.
What you don't want is to waste a year and torch your budget with the wrong factory.
you'll know if toy creators academy is for you if...
You think the toy industry is missing the mark in a specific category that YOU have the expertise to fill.
You're a parent, educator, therapist, or specialist who sees a gap in the market clearer than any toy executive does. You have the concept and the credibility. And because you're an expert you know that you need an expert level development and manufacturing process to keep moving.
You've taken inspired action.
When you came up with this idea, you felt inspired to take action and are feeling more confident that your concept is needed, but there's a nagging feeling that you might be missing an important step...or two.
You're in a start and stop pattern with this amazing idea and you just can't let it go.
In my humble opinion (and experience working with hundreds of clients) that's a sign you shouldn't. Don't give up on your idea just yet! Instead, let me hand you the steps to production, and industry contacts that are gatekept by most toy consultants.
If right now you're thinking, "Yep, that's me." I've got good news, because you're in the right place and I can help.
"TCA gave me the knowledge and the connections necessary to bring my games to life, and get them into Barnes and Noble and CAMP Stores."
- Chrissy Fagerholt, Colorado
"Within 7 months of starting the Toy Creators Academy, my toy was in its first store. Azhelle has been a muse."
- Allan Storm, Florida
"I just spent almost $100,000 on my MBA degree and I feel like a lot of the stuff I learned there...I learned in Toy Creators Academy!"
-Kieche Meleson, San Diego
Wins like these don't happen by luck.
They follow a pattern, a play pattern if you will. 😉
Here's the pattern that our most successful creators (like Samantha) follow, and what comes next for you.
That was Samantha's journey in Toy Creators Academy and it could be yours.
Toy Creators Academy® Is The Only Toy Business Program That...
Takes you from a sketch, prototype, or existing brand all the way to a product on the shelf not just "how to invent a toy."
Hands you a vetted list of real factories, so you're not gambling on a stranger from Alibaba.
Is taught by a former toy-company VP who's shipped products to Target, Walmart, and Toys "R" Us. (Not a business coach who's never made a toy.)
Shows you exactly how to get into stores. We cover wholesale margins, trade shows, buyer expectations, and your booth planning.
And when your brand outgrows you, this course shows you how to expand or pivot to licensing.
👋 Hi there! I'm Azhelle Wade, Founder and CEO of The Toy Coach.
Since 2010, I've designed and managed multi-million-dollar toy lines for companies like Toys"R"Us, Party City, Madame Alexander, and Creative Kids — earning three U.S. patents along the way. As The Toy Coach, I've consulted for major brands including National Geographic, NBC, Hasbro, Cas Holman's Rigamajig, and BDA Inc.
My work has been featured on NBC's Access Daily, On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, and the History Channel's The Toys That Built America, plus Forbes and Essence. In the toy industry, I've been honored with the TAGIE Game Changer Award and the WIT Wonder Woman Storyteller Award, which were epic moments in my timeline. The recognition that gets me most pumped are my clients' wins. I brag about them constantly:
Brandon Braswell launched his action-figure line, 9 to 5 Warriors, on Kickstarter and landed in dozens of specialty stores.
Samantha Ong grew Joey Dolls into a multi-six-figure company and pitched investors on Dragons' Den.
Joanna Paul licensed her plush invention, Whatsitsface, into Walmart and Kohl's.
Chrissy Fagerholt went from inventing to running her own brand and back again — selling her own game to Target and licensing another with Mattel.
…and those are just a few.
I'VE BEEN FEATURED ON
Here's the thing all of them had in common: they didn't hand their dream to someone else and hope. They learned the industry, built the right connections, and got their products made and sold. That's exactly what I'll help you do. First you'll clarify the real market opportunity for your idea, develop your product and manufacturing (or your pitch, if licensing is your path), and build the network to sell or license it for a profit.
Whether you're sketching your very first concept or scaling an established toy line, I'm here to help you Make It Toyetic®.
Even though I studied Toy Design, I felt totally lost the first time I made a toy. I spent years spinning my wheels, trying to avoid newbie mistakes while helping manufacture products sold in thousands of stores.
Over my career, I’ve designed and developed over 500 toy products. Here’s a look at a few of them. 👇
Then, at a toy-industry gala celebrating my husband's big award (go hubby!) I met a woman who inspired me to do something bigger with my knowledge of the toy industry and share it through a podcast. 100,000+ downloads later, it's clear I've got a knack for breaking the toy development and pitch process down to its simplest steps.
You don't need drawing skills, marketing ability, or experience in manufacturing experience to make your idea real. You just need to know WHO to work with and HOW.
I created Toy Creators Academy so no one takes control of your dream and runs it into a ditch. I've packaged everything I learned across my corporate career into a step-by-step course that explains the why behind every move and gives you solutions that fit a busy schedule and a real budget.
As a result?
Your idea gets developed, tested, and into production, with a clear plan to get it onto shelves and into homes.
"Finding this course was...literally hitting a roadmap where someone was laying out...all the things I wouldn't have even thought of."
- Mackenzie Hawkins, New Jersey
"The course has been so well put together, it's incredibly thorough."
- Anita Rowles, Sydney
"I just pitched to a very big toy company and I have to say a massive thank you to The Toy Coach."
- Emmanuel Davis, London
The Step-By-Step Roadmap for Getting Great Ideas Into Stores & Homes
Here's how I'll break down 16+ years of my industry training to take you from concept to on-shelf:
- Module 1 -
Find Out If Your Idea Is Good Enough
Before you spend a dollar on development, find out if your idea is as good as you feel it is. You'll learn my research methods to spot real market gaps, size up your competition, and confirm there's demand so you move forward with data instead of a maybe.
- Module 2 -
Shape Your Idea Into a Product People Want
Shape your idea to fill a market need that's present right now. My concept-development process refines your first product and gives you a repeatable way to develop the next ones as your brand grows.
- Module 3 -
Choose How You'll Make Money From Your Idea
Decide how you want to make money from your idea: build and sell your own brand, license it to a bigger company, or a mix of both. Get clear on the right path for your vision before you invest, so every step after points the right way.
- Module 4 -
Turn Your Product Into a Real Brand
This is where you stop thinking "one product" and start building a brand. Define your look with the psychology of color, nail your purpose with the four P's, and find the language that earns you PR, so your first SKU is the start of something bigger, not a one-off.
- Module 5 -
Take Your Idea From Sketch to Production-Ready
Take your concept from sketch to production-ready by finalizing the product and the packaging with my freelancer network. You'll learn the materials most used in toys and exactly what a factory needs to build it. (No design skills required.)
- Module 6 -
Find, Vet & Develop With the Right Factory
The heart of the program. If you've ever wondered how to work with overseas factories, this clears it right up. You get a starter pack of 20+ vetted toy specific factory contacts, and more importantly, learn to vet your own, so you never gamble on a stranger from Alibaba.
- Module 7 -
Build the Audience That Buys Your Product
Learn to amplify your authority online, build a strategic funnel, and increase your likelihood of product sales or pitch meetings.
- Module 8 -
Expand Through Licensing When You're Ready
Want a bigger company to make and sell your idea, or to expand your growing brand into categories you can't produce yourself? Build a toy-company contact list, form real relationships, and pitch like a pro.
An optional path that's powerful whether it's your plan A or a lever you pull once your brand grows.
- Module 9 -
Get Your Product Onto Store Shelves
Get your product onto shelves. Land buyer meetings, understand wholesale and distribution, work a trade show and design your booth, and use the templates that speed the whole process so you walk in with samples and leave with orders.
ONCE YOU'RE DONE
Get Your Personalized TCA Completion Certificate
Once you complete the last lesson in Module 9, your TCA Completion Certificate will be on its way to your inbox.
Hang on, I've got more for you.
I'm ADDING THESE BONUSES TO HELP YOU LAUNCH FASTER.
Your A.I. Toy Team
Five AI specialists trained on the Toy Creators Academy method. You can upload them into whatever AI chat tool you use already.
They run your market research, write your pitch scripts, plan your launches, draft your Reels, and close your clients. All in your voice.
$500 VALUE
Access to the Toy Coach's Creators Community
This Facebook Group is filled with other creators who have products in development, production, and store! A supportive community of likeminded toy people is paramount to your success. Ask questions, share contacts, and offer advice where you can.
VALUE? PRICELESS.
The Toy Safety Bundle for Toy Makers
Plan on selling toys to the US market? A safety recall is the fastest way to financially crush your budding toy biz.
Luckily you won't look like a novice when it comes to toy safety, because you're paying in full and getting the Toy Safety Bundle!
$300 VALUE
Working on a game idea? Learn the 4S formula behind creating a party game that gets licensed and goes VIRAL.
After this masterclass training, your future game designs will have players begging for just one more round.
$250 VALUE
I bet I know why you haven't manufactured yet.
You're afraid you've missed something and don't want to spend $30K finding out the hard way.
You already know there's a market need for your idea, but actually producing it means answering questions no one taught you:
❓ Which factory is legit, and which one can tell you have no idea what you're doing and rips you off?
❓ What's a die line, a spec pack, a bill of materials...and who exactly is supposed to make them?
❓ Do you need a designer, or can you go straight to the factory with your product renderings?
❓ How do you keep a $6-per-unit product from quietly becoming a $14 one?
❓ How do you walk into a trade show with production samples and leave with written orders?
Get ANY of these wrong and you lose a year of your time AND thousands of dollars on tooling, minimums, and a product that has to be re-built from scratch.
Toy Creators Academy is the program that helps you get these decisions right the first time, so the money you spend on development actually turns into product on shelves.
Let's talk about the investment.
Between samples, molds, and your first batch of product, you're looking at ~$20,000 to ~$30,000.
The upside? The potential ROI at a 70% margin, is $50,000 of revenue.
The whole job of Toy Creators Academy is to protect your revenue by helping you make the right calls on your factory, designer and play pattern.
Toy Creators Academy is the only line item in your entire launch designed to protect every other dollar.
To pay, you will be redirected to The Toy Coach's checkout page, at thetoycoach.thrivecart.com
TCA Student WINS 🥳
About The TCA Refund Policy
When you apply what I teach in Toy Creators Academy, it WILL change your trajectory and credibility in the toy industry.
Because I believe in this program so strongly, the entire course unlocks the moment you join and you get 14 days to give it a test drive.
As long as you haven't opened the Factory Resource List module yet and have viewed less than 20% of the course, you'll receive a refund minus a 3% payment processing fee.
After that, your purchase is final and you're responsible for completing all of your payments.
THAT YOUR FELLOW TOY CREATORS ASKED BEFORE JOINING
This is what I need, sign me up.
"To me, this course has been invaluable, and what Azhelle is doing in the toy industry is paving the way for new creators like myself to enter.
Azhelle's really gone above and beyond what is included in instructions and resources (in comparison to other online business courses- you really get so much more)."
PEARLY TASKER
Professional Cake Artist
"Before TCA I was going in too many directions at once, worried about missing something important and pitching my ideas as an obvious amateur. Now, I am pitching like a pro!
I feel so, so happy with TCA! I'm just sorry it took me a year to make the decision to do it."
Wendy Lattimore
Executive Assistant
Clarity. Confidence. Community.
ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN?
To pay, you will be redirected to The Toy Coach's checkout page, at thetoycoach.thrivecart.com
*Disclaimer* No Guarantees As To Results: You agree that the Company has not made any guarantees about the results of taking any action, whether recommended on this Website or not. The Company provides educational and informational resources that are intended to help users of this Website succeed. You confirm understanding that your success depends on many factors, including your skills, your particular situation, your effort, and innumerable other circumstances beyond the control and/or knowledge of the Company. Therefore, the Company can't promise that you'll achieve a certain outcome or level of success. By taking this course, you understand that any results you achieve are entirely up to you. You understand that the Company is not responsible for any results, positive or negative, that come from using the information provided in this course.
