Spin Master Co-Founder Ronnen Harary on Paw Patrol, Bakugan, and Betting on Yourself Young
In this episode of The CEO Series, Will sits down with Spin Master co-founder and chairman Ronnen Harary. Ronnen walks through the early days of the company, including Earth Buddy, Devil Sticks, and Air Hogs. He also gets into the boom and bust of Bakugan, when sales went from $450 million to a billion and back again. He points to hubris as the real cause and explains how that period led directly to Paw Patrol. He tells the full story of Paw Patrol's inception. He talks about writing his book, No Experience Necessary, and opens up about his dysgraphia, growing up with emotional neglect, and the gifts that came with both. He also covers why he prefers running a public company to a private one, the decision to step down as co-CEO in 2021, the sabbatical that took him from Cape Town to Nairobi, what tariffs did to the toy industry last year, and why physical toys are growing rather than shrinking in an AI world. He closes on the perception of wealth and business leaders, why he finds the billionaire framing distasteful, his views on monopolies and free markets, voting with your wallet, and the simplest way to get equity in anything.
