Building but cute takes you behind the scenes with a young, scrappy, and imperfect team as they build a plush toy brand from the ground up.

Each episode follows Mikey Schumacher and the team as they tackle one real problem they’re trying to solve that week. No highlight reels. No recycled, goofy LinkedIn founder wisdom. Just the messy, chaotic reality of building something from scratch, and figuring it out as they go.

In Episode 9, Mikey, Trisha, and Jovita reveal the chosen names for the new community-built but cute characters and share what’s next for the upcoming community survey!

Building but cute takes you behind the scenes with a young, scrappy, and imperfect team as they build a plush toy brand from the ground up.

Each episode follows Mikey Schumacher and the team as they tackle one real problem they’re trying to solve that week. No highlight reels. No recycled, goofy LinkedIn founder wisdom. Just the messy, chaotic reality of building something from scratch, and figuring it out as they go.

In Episode 7, Mikey, Trisha, and Jovita dive into the results of the very first community-built but cute survey and reveal the new characters advancing to the next round of community picks!

Building but cute takes you behind the scenes with a young, scrappy, and imperfect team as they build a plush toy brand from the ground up.Each episode follows Mikey Schumacher and the team as they tackle one real problem they’re trying to solve that week. No highlight reels. No recycled, goofy LinkedIn founder wisdom. Just the messy, chaotic reality of building something from scratch, and figuring it out as they go.In Episode 7, Mikey, Trisha, and Jovita dive into the results of the very first community-built but cute survey and reveal the new characters advancing to the next round of community picks!

Building but cute takes you behind the scenes with a young, scrappy, and imperfect team as they build a plush toy brand from the ground up.
Each episode follows Mikey Schumacher and the team as they tackle one real problem they’re trying to solve that week. No highlight reels. No recycled, goofy LinkedIn founder wisdom. Just the messy, chaotic reality of building something from scratch, and figuring it out as they go.
In Episode 6, Mikey and Jovita discuss the results of the first community-built but cute survey and introduce the launch of our newest character, Mellie.

Building but cute takes you behind the scenes with a young, scrappy, and imperfect team as they build a plush toy brand from the ground up.

Each episode follows Mikey Schumacher and the team as they tackle one real problem they’re trying to solve that week. No highlight reels. No recycled, goofy LinkedIn founder wisdom. Just the messy, chaotic reality of building something from scratch, and figuring it out as they go.

In Episode 5, Mikey is joined by Jovita and Trisha to introduce a brand-new but cute character, built entirely by the community!

In a world racing toward AI, what does it mean to build a dream plushie business from the ground up?Join Mikey Schumacher, Founder and CEO of but cute, as he shares the journey of creating a plush toy brand that embraces anxiety, awkwardness, and all the beautifully imperfect parts of being human.In Episode 4, Mikey is joined by Jovita, but cute’s Operations Specialist, to dive into how we’re building our community, from our newsletter strategy to Discord, Facebook Groups, and beyond.

In a world racing toward AI, what does it mean to build a dream consumer brand from the ground up?

Join Mikey Schumacher, Founder and CEO of but cute, as he shares the journey of creating a plush toy brand that embraces anxiety, awkwardness, and all the beautifully imperfect parts of being human.

In Episode 3, we dive deeper into the USC New Venture Seed Competition, pitch competitions, and how but cute got its initial funding!

In a world racing toward AI, what does it mean to build a dream consumer brand from the ground up?Join Mikey Schumacher, Founder and CEO of but cute, as he shares the journey of creating a plush toy brand that embraces anxiety, awkwardness, and all the beautifully imperfect parts of being human.In Episode 2, we dive deeper into the Slauson & Co. Family and Friends Accelerator that but cute is part of, and explore the next steps in growing our company.

In a world racing toward AI, what does it mean to build a dream consumer brand from the ground up?

Join Mikey Schumacher, Founder and CEO of but cute, as he shares the journey of creating a plush toy brand that embraces anxiety, awkwardness, and all the beautifully imperfect parts of being human.

In Episode 1, we explore the story behind but cute — where it started, why it matters, and what it takes to bring a deeply personal idea to life.