Things that Make You Smile The story of MukikiM, the company responsible for award winners like the Rock & Roll It Piano and The Genius Square, is a love story of sorts. In the early 2000s, founder Zvika Givli was looking forward to travelling the world after his release from the Israeli army. Then he met a girl at a party. “I already had a visa to India!” he exclaims. “Meeting her changed my plans.” They were married and after jobs overseas, settled in Milwaukee. In 2012, MukikiM was launched. On the eve of the company’s 10th anniversary, we talked to Zvika about his role in his company’s success and new, potential award winners coming up. You have degrees in biotech engineering, and finance & international commerce. You grew up in Israel and worked there and in China for international companies. How did you end up in Milwaukee, and how did you end up in toys? Zvika Givli: After three years in China managing a food gifts factory, it was time to extend my contract. My wife preferred that we close that chapter in our life and move on to the next one. I had job offers from other companies in China and in Vietnam, so we considered continuing our adventure somewhere else or going back to Israel. My wife is from Milwaukee, so in the end we continued our adventure here. I managed a local factory but missed
Players of new Genius Gems must match their gem patterns to those that appear on the game dice. Inset: Zvika Givli
the challenges of my previous job. I always wanted to have a company of my own, and when I came across a cool toy called Mini Flyer – it was a sensor like a ball that elevated and hovered based on hand motions – I started a company to distribute it in the USA. We don’t sell it anymore, but MukikiM offers many other cool toys and games in 10 different categories. They’re available here and in Europe, Japan, Korea, and several Latin America countries. In terms of ending up in toys, I grew up in the 1980s when there were no screens. I was always playing with toys, making up games, and using my imagination. What skills from your previous jobs help you succeed as a toy manufacturer? Manufacturing management skills in general, and manufacturing in China, specifically. I managed 1,200 workers in a factory there; I came from a different culture and I was young, so it was a big challenge. I didn’t speak Mandarin, but more challenging than the language was the culture. Today, understanding
the Chinese culture in terms of doing business helps me a lot. MukikiM products, like many other toys, are produced in China, and I can look at the production from the factory’s perspective. I understand the bottlenecks and the supply chain challenges and ways to overcome them. Where do you look for toy inspiration? Did you invent any of MukikiM’s offerings? I personally haven’t invented a toy from A to Z, but I contributed to some ideas and early-stage product development to make the toys more commercial, for instance, and to make them more engaging for kids at play. I get my inspiration from playing with my kids – three girls ages 14, 12 and 3. Your toys are multiple award winners. What qualities do they have that maybe other toys do not? I think our toys are very clear to the end user. There is no need for a long explanation or to read the manuals to know how to play with them. They’re also easy to operate and keep kids engaged January/February 2022 — edplay.com 21
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