Melissa Bernstein

Kickin’ Butt & Taking Names/White-Knight/Lifeline (A.K.A. Cherished Advisor)

Brains behind one of the greatest toy Empires in the world, Melissa founded Melissa & Doug Toys in '88 with her husband Doug Bernstein in both their basement and in Doug's parents' garage.

Together they built their startup into a billion dollar toy empire with 30 straight years of annual double-digit growth. (Good Morning America reported that M&D made more than 5,000 products, putting them in the same league as toy goliaths Mattel and LEGO. Go girl!)

A staunch supporter of screen-free toys since their origins in the 80s, like TA-DA!, Melissa credits imaginary play with children who explore, create, take risks and discover who they really are. (Now THAT is more like it!)

[P.S. Consider the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that parents limit screen time for young children.]

Having raised 6 happy, healthy children WHILE building a toy empire, can we just say Melissa has got it goin’ on!

More to love and admire: Melissa (and her husband’s) continual commitment to giving back, including to their alma-amateurs, providing both funding and one-on-one mentorship, not to mention a full-fledged endowment leadership program at the University of Connecticut.

Can we just say how extremely grateful we are that she took note of our work and was willing to do the same, sharing her invaluable wisdom with us. Thank you, Melissa!

P.S., Melissa sold her toy company in 2017 to give birth to her next startup baby, “Lifelines”, this time helping us humans navigate emotional health, inspiring us to live a more authentic, grounded, and joyful life.

We (heart) Melissa!

An additional fantastic read on our idol:
https://lnkd.in/eV8kZapP

P.S.S. Melissa’s language of choice? That would be Japanese, which she began learning in college.