The Impulse Spotlight - Episode 25

In this episode, we meet with a guest who has led engineering teams for brands such as Nerf, SuperSoaker, PlayDoh, Baby Alive, FurReal, and more.

Kevin Dakan grew up outside of New York City. He had a passion for tinkering that started early when he would play with Transformers and then go home to make them out of Legos. He went to school in Buffalo, New York where he completed his degree in mechanical engineering. His first job out of school was for Fisher Price which launched a career and passion for consumer products, particularly toys.

In his free time, Kevin is a passionate sailboat racer, and met his wife while racing in the northeast. Kevin is currently looking forward to his next opportunity and excited to bring his passion for people and consumer centric innovation to his next endeavor.

In our conversation, we discussed the development of the Nerf Ultra and a new material technology that was introduced with the product. We also discussed some of the drawbacks of computer simulation and a product failure they found during physical testing that  they would never have found in a simulation because it was not a part of their model setup. Finally we talk about the importance of boldness and innovation in product development.

Join us as we dive into some of the ins and outs of developing toys for a large market.

To learn more about Impulse, please visit https://impulseproductdevelopment.com