Mighty Jaxx: How this 32-year-old built a $200 million toy empire

[00:00:00] Jackson Ahl: Hi Jackson. Hey, how are you doing? Nice to meet you. We have tons of stuff over here, lots of collectibles, a lot of my favourite artists, people that we work with from all over [00:00:16] Speaker 2: the world. Jackson Ahl is the founder of a designer toy company that has partnered with some of the biggest visual artists and global brands worldwide, producing collectibles that reflect pop culture and trendy designs. And in the process, this Singapore entrepreneur propelled his $20,000 startup into a multi-million dollar international toy empire. I grew up knowing that [00:00:38] Jackson Ahl: I'm not academically performing really in that area and it's that realisation that everyone else, or at least I should pick people who are way smarter than I am and I collaborate with them and I work with them. And if these artists dedicated their career to building that craft, then they are way better than what I can ever be. [00:01:02] Speaker 2: Mighty Jacks is a tech-driven company that designs and manufactures collectibles and lifestyle products. The 32-year-old started the company back in 2012 when he was just 22. Since then, Mighty Jacks has sold millions of toy collectibles in more than 80 countries around the world. But this is not Jackson's first brush with entrepreneurship. When he was 18, Jackson started Red Army Camera to import, refurbish and sell vintage cameras from Russia. [00:01:34] Jackson Ahl: It started doing pretty well, like 20 grand a month, so it's pretty good money. And then I went into a more serious partnership for that brand, seed investment, things like that. But then through that period, I understand certain differences and envision would actually cause the company to suffer in that sense. So I left that company. I couldn't continue with it. [00:01:55] Speaker 2: But it was not long before the wheels started turning in Jackson's head again. [00:02:00] Jackson Ahl: I started watching a lot of how it's made videos. [00:02:02] Speaker 2: On YouTube? [00:02:03] Jackson Ahl: Yeah, you know those videos that tells you how chicken nuggets are made and hot dogs are made? Fascinating, right? Like the process that goes into it. And so as I watch it, and I look at my shelf of collectibles that I have, because I'm a big collector of all these things, right? [00:02:18] Speaker 2: Jackson has been an avid toy collector since he was 17. [00:02:22] Jackson Ahl: Because I could only afford the $10 item, so I started collecting a lot of those. So there are a whole bunch of them. But the problem really with a hobby, right, is you sort of get sucked into it a little bit. So you buy the $10 item, and then you buy like the $30, $40, and somehow you just start spending hundreds on it. And that's how I came to be a collector. And so I began to think like, could I create something physical with my own hands and craft it? [00:02:53] Speaker 2: With zero experience in toy production, his curiosity led him to book a one-way flight to Shenzhen in China. He visited factories to learn more about the toy production process, including techniques such as hand-sculpting and molding. [00:03:06] Jackson Ahl: I thought there was just a couple of machines that spit it out. And then I got shocked on my life when I saw hundreds of people over there. Just painting on that one piece of item, and crafting that item, of what our perception would be a mass market product, like an action figure of sort, right? You can buy in any, you know, big box store. [00:03:24] Speaker 2: Inspired by what he saw in China, Jackson returned home after one month to create his own designer toy. [00:03:30] Jackson Ahl: So I went to one of my very close friends, he's a graffiti artist, so it's called Clock Tool. [00:03:36] Speaker 2: Together, they created Mighty Jack's first collectible, called Hell Lotus. But Jackson quickly realised there's no playing around in the toy business. [00:03:45] Jackson Ahl: Because I have virtually no credit score, so I have to lean on my dad's credit card, and we maxed out that card. Right. It was like 20,000 Singh. We launched it at Comic-Con. We sold 10% of the inventory, which is like 20 pieces, 200 bucks each. Terrible. [00:04:07] Speaker 2: But Jackson did not give up. He began cold calling and emailing specialty stores in the US, hoping to sell his toy. [00:04:14] Jackson Ahl: Eventually, after six months, that inventory was sold out. It's as if we never felt that fear again. So I took the money, and we rolled it. We never took external money until much later. [00:04:24] Speaker 2: Over the years, Jackson continued to partner with visual artists to create unique, limited edition collectibles. [00:04:32] Jackson Ahl: We now have over 100 different artists all over the world. The narration has always been artist-centric. [00:04:38] Speaker 2: But the tide truly turned for the company in 2015, when Jackson scored his first licensing partnership with DC Comics. [00:04:46] Jackson Ahl: And one day, I just found the email of the global head of toys in the US, and his secretary replied, "We do have 30 minutes this Friday. You can come by and just chat with us." So he saw the designs. We have like 3D prototypes for him. At the end of it, he was just, "All right." I went out of the room. I thought, "Nah." And the next day, they sent over the contract. Wow. And it was for a global deal. And in that period of time, we quadrupled the top line. [00:05:13] Speaker 2: That year, Jackson said Mighty Jacks made $1.7 million, four times more than the previous year. Jackson began to double down on collaborations with top brands to tap into fandoms all around the world, from Hasbro and Nickelodeon to Netflix and Formula One. Through that, Jackson was also able to produce collectibles on a wider scale and at a lower cost, making them more accessible for fans. [00:05:38] Jackson Ahl: I forgot that I came from a $10 item. Like, I just got stuck with the more premium item. Because your understanding gets more sophisticated and you want better. [00:05:49] Speaker 2: The DC collectibles were sold at $10 each. That is relatively affordable compared to other Mighty Jacks toys that are produced in much smaller quantities. Those can cost as much as $1,200. Toys are a big business. In 2021, $104 billion worth of toys were sold, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.1% since 2016. Blind boxes, where buyers do not know which figurine or toy they will get until they unpack them, are also very popular in China. The market for these items in China, also known as mystery boxes, is expected to exceed $4 billion by 2024. Sensing an opportunity, Jackson started producing blind boxes in 2020. Partnering with American designer Jason Franny, who is known for his iconic anatomical art. [00:06:42] Jackson Ahl: We applied it on a lot of our licensed partners. And they all love it because it's such an alternative look to things. And now it becomes more of a staple line for us. [00:06:52] Speaker 2: The blind box collecting craze, however, has faced a fair share of criticism. Some liken it to gambling, with dangers of breeding addiction, as young consumers cash in to complete entire collections. This has led to calls for more regulation over blind boxes in China. At the start of 2022, Shanghai pushed out new rules limiting the price and prohibiting the sales of toys to children below eight. [00:07:17] Jackson Ahl: We operate in a different manner. We are basically creating things for the demographic of people that they are my peers, right? So they are like 20 over years old to 40 over years old. Now these are more seasoned collectors. The idea is to distribute this culture to the people who understand them. That is the objective for us. [00:07:40] Speaker 2: Between 2019 and 2021, the company's revenue grew at a compounded rate of 71%. To date, Mighty Jacks has raised around $40 million, valuing the company at over $200 million. Its investors include Chinese conglomerate Tencent, KB Investment, which is owned by one of South Korea's largest banks, and Tokopedia investor East Ventures. Jackson's next focus is expanding into the metaverse. Offering fans exclusive digital experiences with physical collectibles. In 2021, Mighty Jacks launched its first collection of NFT trading cards, featuring cards that look like the Chinese cuisine, ding-sang. [00:08:23] Jackson Ahl: When we launched it 6,000 units, when it sold for like, I think two seconds, it was just sold out. We're like, okay, yet again, almost like a DC moment. It's like something's happening. So when you buy our NFT, you get access and opportunity to purchase the physical manifestation of it in that design. Only this bunch of people or fans would be able to purchase this figure. Now, because only they could do it, and they can combine the both asset class together, it generates even higher value for them, because no one else in the world could have it. And so with the value, they purchase more products, which gives them even more value. And this becomes sort of a standard flywheel that we have already worked on right now.