Austin Hirtzel is a University of Kentucky undergraduate student in the College of Design.
His startup company, TriStacker, is saving parents from embarrassment, frustration, and empty wallets with a new children’s toy. This toy solves the problem of buying new toys for your 0-3 year old every week to help them meet important developmental milestones. It alleviates the embarrassment of having obnoxiously colored toys scattered about your living room when guests come over. It also cuts back on the space needed to store toys that no longer have a purpose.
TriStacker does all of this by utilizing free play—undirected play that activates the child’s imagination and is proven to be important in the development of problem-solving skills. The design of the toy allows for milestones to be reached in children 4 months old through 4 years old and beyond. TriStacker is a toy that grows with your child giving it the potential to become a household staple such as LEGO.
This business model is still in its infancy stages, the plan for the near future includes a few practicable steps. Make a small batch of prototypes and test them locally through focus groups and the University’s Early Childhood Laboratory. These tests would help validate the idea and give key insights for product iterations/growth. An initial approach is to sell small batches online which would gain some early adopters of the product. Testing would still occur simultaneously to fully develop the toy to what research shows it needs to be. Next, the toy would be sold to mom influencers and prepare a large batch to be sold online for the holidays. Everything would be prepared for early gift purchasers and to catch the eye of larger retail companies like Target and Walmart. The influencers and early purchases will help gain traction to sell in these stores’ as special Christmas in July tests—retailers will test a toy’s sale potential for the holidays
by putting out new toys in July. If this strategy proves effective, manufacturing a larger stock to be sold during the following holiday.
Email: austin.hirtzel@uky.edu
Project Owner
Austin Hirtzel