The tech-enabled entertainment devices, with their apps and gadgets, are a global phenomenon. Their users, often children as young as six, enjoy hours of mind-numbing entertainment.
For now, this is our futuristic present. Yet it is one that frustrates many adults who believe kids’ playtime should be spent in the real world – not a virtual one.
“Kids today are being fed information and entertainment, rather than discovering and learning themselves,” said Kirsten Brito, who co-founded a children’s toy business in December two years ago.
Her start-up, The Running Rabbits, aims to encourage creativity in children and engage their imaginations. The company's flagship product is “Tristan” – a wooden system that allows itself to be adjusted and modified. It’s a table, a see-saw, a cart, and a boat – “whatever your child wants it to be and more”.
“Kids' playtime today is very different from what we experienced in our childhood,” said Kirsten, talking about her partner, Andre Calixto, an architect. “Kids would often be seen on their electronic devices… [or] in front of a TV screen playing video games. Before, playtime meant using your imagination.”
She took matters into her own hands. The company, based in the Philippines, has been in business since 2012. The Tristan product costs about $850. All materials and production are 100% from the Philippines. The toys are all gender-neutral.
“We decided we wanted to create toys that encouraged learning through imagination and physical activity,” said Kirsten, an MBA student at AGSM in Sydney, Australia. “We did not want the presence of colours to limit the imagination of the children. We wanted to give them a blank slate to play with.”
Kirsten is one of a growing band of MBA students who are going it alone. Figures released last week show that 26% of all MBA candidates, who will start programs this year, intend to become entrepreneurs. That is a 6% rise from a few years ago. It is more than 20% higher than the proportion of 2013’s graduates who now consider themselves self-employed.
It has surprised some business schools, at a post-crisis time when the MBA jobs market is in rude health. According to research by the Financial Times, nearly 70% of AGSMs’ MBAs are in employment three months out of graduation.
At the same time, the school, part of the wider Australian School of Business, has upped its entrepreneurial focus. The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, launched in 2007, seeks to improve the quality of innovative thinking in Australia.
Just a few months into launching The Running Rabbits, Kirsten was overwhelmed. “I realised I definitely still had a lot to learn,” she said. The entrepreneur had wanted to pursue an MBA since high-school.
“That was a perfect time – if any,” said Kirsten, who joined AGSM earlier this year. She already has a renewed confidence: “I'm confident that my new knowledge and improved skill set will benefit the business and anything I may pursue thereafter.”
She has a background in brand and press relations. Before launching her own business, she worked for MAC Cosmetics, a brand under Estee Lauder, managing PR strategies across all media channels. She first entered the company as a brand coordinator in 2011.
Before that she worked as a buying assistant for TSE Cashmere, the women’s retail company. In that sense her background mirrors her education. Kirsten was a student at the prestigious London College of Fashion, before studying design and management at Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Yet it is that background that proved to be her biggest start-up challenge. “Our team's background is in marketing and design, so when it came to setting up our patents and filling taxes and such, we were really out of our comfort zone,” she said.
Kirsten felt forced to hire professionals to smoothen the process. “I usually like being hands-on, but at the same time, I think there's some wisdom in realizing you can't do it all alone.”
She may be part of Australia’s best business school, but Kristen is part of an even more exclusive club. According to women’s advocacy group Women as Entrepreneurs, females make up just 17% of the entrepreneurial scene in the country. Few business schools world-wide have an equal male-to-female cohort ratio.
“It seems like pursuing further education for women may not be as much as a priority for women as it is for men,” said Kirsten. “The reality is, women tend to be significant care takers of the household. This situation influences women to prioritize family life and of course, pursuing an MBA is time away from family.”
But she added: “I can also see this changing as plenty of non-traditional family roles are evident in society today. More men are getting more involved in the household, and there is also a significant increase in women becoming the primary breadwinners in their families.”
Some of this apparent entrepreneurial inequality should correct itself as economies and markets continue to grow. More start-ups are launched every year. But success rates are less pretty.
After strong demand from students, AGSM launched its first Women in Leadership Club. There are similar clubs at schools across the world. Kirsten, the club’s president, will hope to empower women in their professional and personal lives. The club will host a series of events – the Empower Event Series.
“The series aims to inspire women through speakers and business conferences featuring successful AGSM alumni and industry leaders,” said Kirsten at the time of her appointment.
The launch of the club coincides with the appointment of the AGSM Student Society’s first female President, Virginia Kane.
“From my research, I've found that although a lot of women agree that we need more leadership training and support programs, it is a whole other thing for women to step up and make this a priority in their careers,” said Kirsten.
Club members will hear from industry leaders and successful MBA alumni – highlighting women in leadership roles. Kristen hopes to launch workshops and a mentorship program. She wants to transition into a marketing function post-MBA, but her start-up will still be her “passion project”.
When it comes to gender diversity – as it always does – she thinks there needs to be a constant discussion about the topic. She says companies need to realize there is a disparity – but also promote gender equality.
“I'm a big believer of women empowerment. I think there are a lot of very talented and brilliant women. But although there are plenty of opportunities for women today compared to 50 years ago, it is still a work in progress.”
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