ONE HELL OF A COMEBACK

John Hinnen always wanted to make things. A born tinkerer, the son of Illinois spent the better part of his 20s designing toys and novelties in his parents' garage. Then he turned 50, and that unrealized dream began to gnaw at him. And the answer came as a surprise. Through a peer, Hinnen had h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Entrepreneur (Santa Monica, Calif.) Calif.), 2018-03, Vol.46 (2), p.44
Main Author: Keohane, Joe
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Entrepreneurs
Executives
Hinnen, John
Personal profiles
Richards, Todd
Toy industry
Turnaround management
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Summary:John Hinnen always wanted to make things. A born tinkerer, the son of Illinois spent the better part of his 20s designing toys and novelties in his parents' garage. Then he turned 50, and that unrealized dream began to gnaw at him. And the answer came as a surprise. Through a peer, Hinnen had heard that Wham-O -- the company that created such legendary toys as the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop, the Superball, Silly String, and the Slip 'N Slide -- had recently resumed its long-discarded practice of accepting submissions from random inventors. Meanwhile, Todd Richards didn't expect to wind up running Wham-O. A big, amiable guy and a talented athlete, Richards was signed as a free-agent out of college by the San Francisco 49ers but quickly realized he was outclassed. He rebuilt relationships with retailers, launched some products that fared well, and updated existing products like the Slip 'N Slide with new features. Revenue grew between 20% and 25% over his first two years, he says.
ISSN:0163-3341