Donegal, Ireland based entrepreneur Ian Harkin ditched a finance career in London to launch a doll company. Ian is the CEO of Lottie Dolls, a toy company creating a diverse range of premium quality small dolls. Since launching his company in 2011, he’s been on a mission to challenge toy industry standards with dolls addressing body image, gender stereotypes, diversity in ability and ethnicity. To date, Lottie Dolls have won 35 international toy awards and partnered with the European Space Agency, sending the Stargazer Doll to the International Space Station. In this episode of the Business Builders Show, Ian shares why he self-funded his company, to the research behind every Lottie Doll as well as why listening to kids (not parents or retailers) was the best product research and some raw insights on the challenges of creating a mission-driven company.

Discover Lottie Dolls here: https://www.lottie.com/

Learn about Stargazer Lottie: https://youtu.be/_3I0ChExz-w

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