Student Name: Muhammad Ahmed

Student ID: B00833061

School of Engineering

Academic Year: 2019/2020 (Semester 2)

Assessor, Dr.James Uhomoibhi.

Module code: MEC860

Module Title: Entrepreneurship (Engineering)

ToyLearn: Educational Toys

ToyLearn: Educational
Toys

NEW VENTURE PLAN

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Group()
 Table of contents
Toylearn: Educational Toys.............................................................................................................3
The market.......................................................................................................................................5
Market Segmentation...................................................................................................................5
Target Market Segment Strategy.................................................................................................7
Industry Analysis.........................................................................................................................7
Management and New Venture Team.............................................................................................8
Personnel Plan.............................................................................................................................9
Marketing Strategy..........................................................................................................................9
Web Plan Summary...................................................................................................................10
Website Marketing Strategy......................................................................................................10
Production Strategy.......................................................................................................................11
Financial Strategy..........................................................................................................................12
Sales Strategy.............................................................................................................................12
 Toylearn: Educational Toys

With a dynamic start-up business that was founded in 2012 and has produced a range of

educational tools for children that are both entertaining and engaging, “ToyLearn” is on the rise.

With the help of the Ohio Secretary of State, David and Jen Funster, a husband and wife pair

who established their business in 2012, have created an Ohio S-Corporation. “ToyLearn” intends

to be profitable in its first year of operation, and the business anticipates a significant rise in sales

over the next few years.

As a starting point, “ToyLearn” is introducing three distinct instructional toys that are simple to

use. To begin with, there is the NumberToy, which is a great toy that allows youngsters to learn

about numbers and counting while having a fun time at the same time. Aside from that,

LetterToy is a toy that, as its name implies, aids youngsters in learning the alphabetic sequence

more quickly and efficiently. Among the company's products is PhonicToy, a gadget that looks

like a little computer and is designed to teach children phonics and arithmetic abilities. It is

available for purchase via Amazon.com. The fact that all of the items are instructional tools that

help young children in acquiring fundamental abilities is not lost on them since they are also

enjoyable to play with (Yelland, 2018), which motivates children to utilise them on a regular

basis. The internal department is hard at work on the creation of new goods and services for the

company's customers.

ToyLearn believes that there are three critical components to success that must be fulfilled in

order for the organisation to be successful over the long run. The first is the urgent need for the

development of toys that are both innovative and instructive while still being entertaining

(Davari & Farokhmanesh, 2017). The establishment of stringent financial controls is the second

most important factor to consider in this process (Karadag, 2015). Another important factor in
achieving success is receiving feedback from customers (Alves, Cunha & Araújo, 2020); thus,

the creation of an efficient feedback system for product development is another critical

component of achieving success.

ToyLearn has identified two client segments that it intends to target with its goods and services

in the near future: children and adults. Individual consumers make up the first category of the

market segmentation, which is the most basic. In most cases, the purchasers are parents or

grandparents acting on behalf of a kid or grandchildren. There are now 3,354,430 potential

consumers in the market, which is increasing at an annual pace of 8%. The industry is growing at

an annual rate of 8% (Khajeheian, 2018). It is designed to target the second market group, which

is made up of wholesale buyers, who are often businesses that acquire goods with the purpose of

reselling them to their customers.. The majority of the time, these establishments are some kind

of childcare centre, nursery, or preschool institution. The industry has a potential client base of

702,335 people, and it is expanding at a rate of 10% per year.

ToyLearn's excellent management team, which is headed by David and Jen Funster, increases the

probability of the organization's long-term sustainability. David received his bachelor's degree in

engineering from the University of Rochester, where he now works as a product engineering

manager. As soon as he graduated from high school, David began working for Hewlett-Packard,

where he spent several years in the product development department. Soon after his departure

from HP, David accepted a job at Nintendo, where he was in charge of the company's video

game development. Together with David's life experiences and educational background,

ToyLearn's outstanding goods and services have given him with a plethora of abilities that he can

put to use to assist them in expanding market penetration based on the quality of their products.

The second half of the management team has just graduated with a Master of Education in
educational leadership from Case Western Reserve University, making Jen the last member of

the group. Jen offers to ToyLearn a wealth of expertise and experience in the creation of

instructional products, which gives her a distinct advantage over her colleagues.

The market

To differentiate between the two categories, it is possible to segment the market for instructional

toys:

 Individual consumers: Those who belong to this category include parents or grandparents

who are buying a gift for a particular kid who is in their care or under their supervision.

 Wholesale purchasers: This sector includes educational institutions such as schools,

childcare facilities, and other commercial enterprises that purchase the product for their

customers to utilise.

As for distribution, ToyLearn has decided not to use the old tiered distribution system, which

depended on wholesalers to supply goods to retailers. Instead, the company sells directly to

consumers. Even while this increases the amount of work that ToyLearn must do in order to

generate sales, it results in higher profit margins for the business as a result of the increase in

effort. While this process will initially be more expensive, once relationships with individual

consumers and wholesale purchasers have been established, the marketing cost per sale will

decrease dramatically as the original customers become more familiar with ToyLearn's

outstanding product line and continue to make purchases.

Market Segmentation

ToyLearn has split its target market into two different client categories, as previously stated in

the preceding section: people and companies.

 Individuals: This category consists of people who purchase a single item for their kid or

for someone they are acquainted with. Some of these features include having a family

income of more than $50,000, having high educational and developmental goals for their

children, and a desire to begin the process as soon as is reasonable. Their average

educational attainment is an undergraduate degree, with graduate-level degrees

accounting for 41% of the group's total qualifications.

 Businesses: Specifically, it is this department that is responsible for buying toys for the

children who are clients of the business. Depending on where they are located, these

organisations are often either day care centres or educational institutions, such as nursery

schools or preschools. The number of children in their care may range anywhere from

seven to twenty-five at any one time.

Target Market Segment Strategy

For a variety of compelling reasons, ToyLearn will concentrate on individual consumers and

wholesale clients:

 Better margins: Despite the fact that sales volume will be lower than if wholesale

wholesalers were used, margins will be greater.

 Closer contact with customers: It will be easier to establish a stronger relationship with

consumers if they are sold directly to the customer. As a result, it is possible to get a more

accurate feedback loop, which is essential in the product development process..

 More efficient: Distribution of products will be made more fluent discarding all the

layers in between.

Industry Analysis

In comparison to other sectors, the toy industry is unusual in that it has a huge number of toy

makers, which makes it stand out. Toy manufacturers that specialise in the manufacturing of

educational toys may be found in a small sector within the broader toy industry. This business

has only just begun to take off as a consequence of the increasing validity of the convergence of

toys and educational tools in general (during the past five years). While a child was playing with

his or her toys, they were thought to be useless diversionary activities that enabled the child's or

child's caregivers to obtain some much-needed rest while the child was playing with his or her
toys. At the time, there was no acknowledgment of the fact that toys might have educational

value, thus this situation continued for a long time. Researchers have just lately shown that it is

possible to create a toy that both captivates children's interest while also teaching them

appropriate behaviour via studies that have been published (such as sharing).

Management and New Venture Team

Developed and maintained by the Funsters with the assistance of their husband and wife team,

David and Jen Funster, who each contribute their own set of unique and important talents to this

endeavour, ToyLearn was developed and will continue to be maintained by the Funsters.

David earned his bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Rochester, where he

was recognised for his achievements in the field. Following graduation, David moved to work at

Hewlett-Packard, where he spent several years in the product development department. Despite

the fact that he was loving his job, he couldn't help but yearn for more freedom and began his

search for a new career path. The chance to work on the creation of portable video games

presented itself to David while he was still employed at Nintendo. Over the course of his four

years at Nintendo, David gained a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the game development

company. At the conclusion of his third year, he and his wife Jen started seriously considering

the possibility of establishing their own company. David chose to stay on at Nintendo for another

year in order to save money for his future business endeavors, which would be announced later.

Jen has a bachelor's degree in English from Case Western Reserve University as well as a

master's degree in educational leadership from the same school. Jen started working at the

Montessori Institute shortly after completing her Master's degree in education. Jen worked at the

institution for a number of years, developing instructional materials for youngsters ranging in age
from two to six years old, among other things. Despite the fact that it was a wonderful

experience, there was a significant amount of bureaucracy that stopped Jen from working on the

projects that she believed were the most essential at the time.

Jen eventually started chatting with David, and the two of them came to the conclusion that they

both had the necessary abilities to create learning toys for the benefit of others. The moment they

realised that they would be working for themselves, they were ecstatic, and they started working

on their first product practically soon after learning this. The fact that we were able to create a

product that combined the entertaining aspects of a toy with the informative powers of an

educational tool was largely due to Jen's great concept. David's significant contributions to the

project included the original concept for the prototypes as well as the one-time manufacturing of

the prototypes, both of which were completed by David.

Personnel Plan

 Marketing, product development, and operational excellence are all within the purview of

Jen, while product development and engineering are under the jurisdiction of David.

 Sales and marketing

 Additionally, this position will help with accounting tasks in addition to delivering

excellent customer service.

 Marketing Strategy

For the sake of its marketing strategy, ToyLearn will emphasise the fact that its products are both

educational and amusing, despite the fact that they are truly educational. This is a critical

message to communicate since parents will want their children to be able to play with this kind

of toy if they are to be successful. The addition of a "toy" component in the product is meant to

maintain children's interest in the product, which is sometimes difficult to do with other

educational devices and equipment.

The marketing strategy will recognise and take into account the fact that there are two distinct

customer groups that must be attracted to the company. The marketing plan will be implemented

in phases. Despite the fact that both groups are buying the same product, ToyLearn recognises

that the two groups are very different and that it is necessary to raise their awareness in order to

get their attention in order to gain their attention.

To market its goods, ToyLearn will use advertising and direct mailings to reach out to

consumers. It is planned to place the advertisements in periodicals or journals that have been

carefully chosen depending on the demographics of the target readership. Publications will be

utilised to reach the general public, while a combination of magazines and journals will be used

to reach the business community.

Web Plan Summary

ToyLearn's website will serve as a resource for customers since it will serve as the primary

marketing channel for the distribution of the goods. A low-cost and very successful way of

disseminating information about ToyLearn and its products, the company claims. One section of

the website will be devoted to general information, while the other will be devoted to retailers

and wholesalers, as well as other interested parties (merchants and distributors). Besides
marketing information, the second section will include information other than marketing

information, such as inventory and other data, as well as marketing information.

Website Marketing Strategy

A basic and uncomplicated website marketing plan is presented for your consideration. When

printing and referencing the URL on printed materials, as well as when communicating with

consumers, it is recommended that you include it in all communications. A large number of

search engines will be notified about the site as a result, guaranteeing that the largest number of

people possible will be able to find it. The advantage of this is that prospective consumers who

are unfamiliar with ToyLearn but who are familiar with the product category will be directed to

ToyLearn's website as a result of this.

Production Strategy

Playing with three different practical and educational toys developed by ToyLearn that will help

in the development of key abilities in children while still being enjoyable to play with will be a

favourite pastime for youngsters. Despite the fact that the toys are still in prototype form at this

time, they are completely functional and are on the brink of being completed when they are done.

 Toys such as "NumberToys" are interactive toys that light up and make noises when

youngsters place a stylus over the right numbers on a number board. It not only assists

young children in developing their numerical abilities, but it also assists them in

developing their hand-eye coordination skills as they grow in age as well. Children that

take part in usability testing with NumberToy not only learn about numbers, but they also

exclaim with pleasure when they interact with the product as a consequence of their

participation.
  The popularity of this product, which is similar to NumberToy in that it teaches

youngsters the alphabet, is lower since it is not as readily accessible as NumberToy. It

has also been shown that the use of LetterToy may assist youngsters maintain their

attention spans.

 PhonicToy, which comes in the shape of a little PC laptop computer, is an educational

toy that youngsters may use. A children's book, as well as a stylus for sketching, are

included in the package. Almost immediately after the stylus is put on a page, the gadget

starts reading aloud tales, recognising the sounds of musical instruments, and guiding the

children through basic arithmetic tasks.

Currently, this is the product line that is being developed; however, as new concepts are

produced and launched into the market, it is anticipated to expand in the future. In-house design

and manufacturing of prototypes will take place; however, the overwhelming majority of the

actual manufacturing will be carried out by third-party suppliers or contractors.

Financial Strategy

Sales Strategy

Each customer group will have its own sales strategy, which will be tailored to meet their

specific requirements. It is the goal of individual sales tactics to create enough awareness of

ToyLearn so that customers would request that their local retailers carry ToyLearn for their

children. For ToyLearn to successfully target the business sector, the company's goal is for

businesses to buy not just one or two items, but the whole range of goods that cover a variety of

skills, all of which are essential to corporate success. This is especially important since

businesses are often repeat customers, which means that if a client is pleased with a product, it is
more than likely that the client will be a long-term customer and will not seek out other suppliers

in the future.
 References
Alves, C., Cunha, J., & Araújo, J. (2020, August). On the pragmatics of requirements

engineering practices in a startup ecosystem. In 2020 IEEE 28th International Requirements

Engineering Conference (RE) (pp. 311-321). IEEE.

Davari, A., & Farokhmanesh, T. (2017). Impact of entrepreneurship policies on opportunity to

startup. Management Science Letters, 7(9), 431-438.

Karadag, H. (2015). Financial management challenges in small and medium-sized enterprises: A

strategic management approach. EMAJ: Emerging Markets Journal, 5(1), 26-40.

Khajeheian, D. (2018). Market analysis, strategy diagnosis and opportunity recognition in toy

industry. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 33(2), 220-240.

Yelland, N. J. (2018). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Young children and multimodal learning

with tablets. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 847-858.