Podcast appearances and mentions of ilana ben ari

In this episode, we hear the story of Ilana Ben Ari, a social and emotional skills designer, the founder of 21 Toys, and the inventor of the Empathy Toy and Failure Toy. We explore the topic of empathy and what role it plays in our work-life. The story of bringing the empathy toy into the corporate world unfolds into learning how empathy is becoming a more critical skill than ever before. At the end of the episode, we hear an outtake from two 9-5ers on the role of empathy at work. Download the 'Selling Soft Skills' guide here: https://twentyonetoys.com/pages/download-the-guide-to-selling-soft-skillsFollow on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/twenty-one-toys/ 

The world of work has changed enormously over the past few years. It's hard to keep pace and harder still to find forums that can help us get ahead. MoveFwd, happening in May 2023, is an event for people leaders to be inspired to harness change, adapt, and move forward to create a better world of work for everyone.This special event-focused edition of the HRchat show will offer a preview of the event series that was officially announced today. We mix up the episode format this time by inviting past HRchat guest, CEO at CareerBeacon, and brains behind the new MoveFwd event, Yves Boudreau to join Bill Banham as a guest co-host.Listen as Yves and Bill interview Kevin Yip, MoveFwd speaker and founder of Blueboard, an employee recognition and incentives platform powered by hand-curated experiences.Kevin and his team say Blueboard makes it easier for companies to give meaningful employee rewards, incentives, and gifts – from one-of-a-kind to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And you can learn more about Blueboard by listening to HRchat episode 381 with Jonathan Irvine.Questions for Kevin Include:Please can you take a minute or two and give the listeners an overview of Blueboard and your role at the company?You work with lots of HR folks at Blueboard. What do they seem to be focused on right now as we look ahead to 2023?What can companies expect, what are the solid results after taking steps towards building a culture of employee fulfillment through innovative recognition?Tell us why you decided to get involved with the MoveFwd event and can you share anything about what attendees can expect to hear from you and Blueboard co-founder, Taylor Smith at the event in the Spring?Sounds great but the May event promises to offer “Tangible tools and actionable items to create a better world of work.” In 60 seconds or less: what top tool/actionable item can attendees of your session expect to take away and why does it matter?"Part of supporting mental health as a company is being able to openly talk about it. As a leader, acknowledging when you're feeling burnt out and need to unplug (in public settings) is a powerful way to model that behavior and gives license for your people to do the same.” How do you, Taylor and the leadership team encourage open dialogue at Blueboard? More About MoveFwd At the full-day event, happening in Spring 2023, attendees will learn from enlightening speakers such as talent acquisition expert Tim Sackett, Blueboard founders Kevin Yip and Taylor Smith, and Twenty One Toys founder Ilana Ben Ari. Attendees will also get the opportunity to make strong connections with other leaders and be inspired to adapt and move forward in this new world of work. Learn more at movefwd.ca.We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast and

Join us in celebrating Small Business Month this October with UPS, as we present the UPScale Podcast Series! Where we will be talking to small business owners about what it takes to have a successful and thriving company. We'll also get into some of their secrets for managing UPS as partners along with all these other topics that are key when you're running your own enterprise!For second episode, we got the chance to chat with Ilana Ben-Ari, Founder of Twenty One Toys. Ilana Ben-Ari is a multiple-award-winning design entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker, Ariane de Rothschild Fellow, and Inc. Magazine's Top 100 Female Founders of 2020. She has been working at the intersection of design and social innovation for over a decade. Her company Twenty One Toys has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Bloomberg, and her invention, The Empathy Toy, was praised by TIME magazine as a “technology that is reshaping the future”. In this podcast, Ilana shares her journey and inspiration to start a business while also sharing how she resolved the challenges during this time. She goes on explaining why partnering with brands like UPS are so important for any entrepreneur's success story as they helped Ilana resolve some of those obstacles in order to reach where she is today.

Where does creativity come from? And how do creatives, especially women, tackle failure? In this “lesson on escalating dares”, Ilana Ben-Ari talks about how she turned her creative vision into a business, despite the stigma that women and creatives are limited to just coming up with ideas. Why stop at invention, when you can build your own business? Find out how to tackle the fear of failure and use playful creativity and bootstrapping efforts to build something you can truly be passionate about. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How to take the leap and start your own business. Can designers be business owners? Risk tolerance and how it plays a role in predicting economic, social, and personality outcomes among women. Failure and how the notion of failure directly impacts women's decisions for their future. Negative gender stereotypes in the workforce today. Why perfection shouldn't hold you back. The difference between running a business and maintaining a business. How to nurture your creative gifts. Creative women and the notion of feminine leadership.  

At what age did we lose our sense of play?  What role does play have in boosting trust, collaboration, and creativity? A big role, it turns out.  My guest today, Ilana Ben-Ari, says research shows we gain tremendous amounts of communication, collaboration, and empathy skills in kindergarten, but they then drastically decline as the education system demands more metrics and less play from us. Science shows us that the act of play fosters innovation, collaboration, and empathy - AT ANY AGE. Today, we talk about her path from empathetic design to running a company dedicated to boosting empathy and collaboration in schools and organizations through her ground-breaking empathy toy. We also talk about the importance of play for adults, and how the empathy toy works, as well as her future vision to ensure that emotional intelligence skills are valued and celebrated just as much as STEM skills. Key Takeaways:Design starts with empathy. You're getting at the root of what someone's day to day challenges are, and you look for opportunities where you can more positively impact their life and their experiences. We are living through a time of unprecedented change. Whenever there is such rapid change, the only way to effectively and successfully navigate it is through interpersonal relationships; you cannot get through that rate of change by doing everything yourself.Whether we are a team of two or 200, at 6 or at C-Suite, the empathy toy acts as a metaphor for a real life scenario. "We've lost this idea that learning should be fun and we can take risks. We should be thinking about emotions as part of our creative processes, and, outside of that, we should be talking about emotions and behaviors." —  Ilana Ben-Ari About Ilana Ben-Ari:Ilana Ben-Ari, CEO, and Founder, Twenty One ToysIlana Ben-Ari is a toy designer turned social entrepreneur. She is the founder of Twenty One Toys and the inventor of the Failure Toy and Empathy Toy - the award-winning facilitation tools used in 1000s of boardrooms and classrooms in over 50 countries. Featured in Inc. Magazine as one of the Top 100 Female Founders of 2020, her inventions have been praised in TIME magazine as a technology that is reshaping the future of learning. Connect with Ilana:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilanabenariLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanabenari/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilanabenari/Connect with Twenty One ToysTwitter: https://twitter.com/21toysInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/21toysPlay for free in a Global Play Session and join the community! https://twentyonetoys.com/pages/global-play-sessions-empathy-failure-toys Don't forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria's brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

At what age did we lose our sense of play?  What role does play have in boosting trust, collaboration, and creativity? A big role, it turns out.  My guest today, Ilana Ben-Ari, says research shows we gain tremendous amounts of communication, collaboration, and empathy skills in kindergarten, but they then drastically decline as the education system demands more metrics and less play from us. Science shows us that the act of play fosters innovation, collaboration, and empathy - AT ANY AGE. Today, we talk about her path from empathetic design to running a company dedicated to boosting empathy and collaboration in schools and organizations through her ground-breaking empathy toy. We also talk about the importance of play for adults, and how the empathy toy works, as well as her future vision to ensure that emotional intelligence skills are valued and celebrated just as much as STEM skills. Key Takeaways:Design starts with empathy. You're getting at the root of what someone's day to day challenges are, and you look for opportunities where you can more positively impact their life and their experiences. We are living through a time of unprecedented change. Whenever there is such rapid change, the only way to effectively and successfully navigate it is through interpersonal relationships; you cannot get through that rate of change by doing everything yourself.Whether we are a team of two or 200, at 6 or at C-Suite, the empathy toy acts as a metaphor for a real life scenario. "We've lost this idea that learning should be fun and we can take risks. We should be thinking about emotions as part of our creative processes, and, outside of that, we should be talking about emotions and behaviors." —  Ilana Ben-Ari About Ilana Ben-Ari:Ilana Ben-Ari, CEO, and Founder, Twenty One ToysIlana Ben-Ari is a toy designer turned social entrepreneur. She is the founder of Twenty One Toys and the inventor of the Failure Toy and Empathy Toy - the award-winning facilitation tools used in 1000s of boardrooms and classrooms in over 50 countries. Featured in Inc. Magazine as one of the Top 100 Female Founders of 2020, her inventions have been praised in TIME magazine as a technology that is reshaping the future of learning. Connect with Ilana:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilanabenariLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanabenari/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilanabenari/Connect with Twenty One ToysTwitter: https://twitter.com/21toysInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/21toysPlay for free in a Global Play Session and join the community! https://twentyonetoys.com/pages/global-play-sessions-empathy-failure-toys Don't forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy Connect with Maria: Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.comLearn more about Maria's brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.comHire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-RossLinkedIn: Maria RossInstagram: @redslicemariaTwitter: @redsliceFacebook: Red Slice

How do we evoke empathy and understand failure in business if we stopped learning the tools to develop them in kindergarten? We need to put play back on the agenda.Ilana Ben Ari joins Niko Woischnik, founder of TOA, on the podcast this week. Ilana founded Twenty One Toys in 2012 and was included in 2020's top female founders for showing that play is the route to emotional intelligence and commended for reshaping the future of learning in TIME magazine.Twenty One Toys is not your average toy company, it's a training and development company aiming to teach what textbooks can't; empathy and failure.Both award-winning toys are used worldwide in classrooms and boardrooms in 50+ countries in a bid to reframe failure and recognise different perspectives and self-awareness.Ilana and Niko discuss her journey to a social entrepreneur and founder, how getting investors as a female founder is harder, and understanding your rhythm as a founder is key - night owls have just as much success as 5am early birds.Bootstrapping a business from the bottom up? Make sure that resilience, curiousness, and blind faith are on your radar.Notes and Links:Twenty-One Toys - https://twentyonetoys.com/SHEEO - https://sheeo.world/Are meetings getting in your way? Makers schedule - http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.htmlLooking to level up or enter a new field? Join TOA Klub for cohort-based learning. Four Klubs to chose from, each including Masterclasses, AMA's, and peer-to-peer learning. Apply now: go.toaklub.com/539a53Subscribe to our NL (https://bit.ly/3xpBX2s), follow us on Instagram (@toaberlin), Twitter (@toaberlin), Linkedin (toa-berlin) and Facebook (TechOpenAir).Support the show (https://paypal.me/TechOpenGmbH?locale.x=en_US)

What skills should our children learn to succeed in the 21st century? Industrial designer Ilana Ben-Ari shares how she approached the problem through design thinking and why she developed the Empathy Toy and Failure Toy for her company TwentyOneToys.com. For more information visit www.pathtolearning.us and to support this podcast visit: www.patreon.com/pathtolearning/.

Ilana Ben-Ari, the Founder, CEO, and Lead Designer of Twenty One Toys, joins the show to share her journey from playing with abstract toys as a kid to bringing the transformative power of play into thousands of schools and offices around the world. Hear why we learn through play, how the Empathy Toy and Failure Toy work, what skills will be most important in the future workplace, the punny URLs Ilana has secured, and her impression that will quack you up. Connect with Ilana at TwentyOneToys.com and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @21Toys and @IlanaBenAri

This is Make Rocket Go Now.Six speakers, six episodes and six big ideas. In each episode our guests explore one idea from various disciplines and perspectives. The next six missions feature:Ilana Ben-Ari, Inventor & Founder of Twenty One ToysIan Brunswick, Futures Curator & Head of Strategic Academic Engagement at Science Gallery DublinArpita Kumar, Filmmaker and WriterJonathan Chippindale, Digital Entrepreneur & Founder of HolitionProf. Linda Doyle, Engineer & Dean of Research at Trinity College DublinTim O'Connor, Former Diplomat & Former Secretary General to the President of IrelandThis is a time capsule for ideas. A podcast for curious minds. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wanna have know the importance empathy and failure play in the creative process and entrepreneurship? In this episode, Matt @mattgottesman sits down with Ilana Ben-Ari (Toy Designer, Social Entrepreneur, Founder of Twenty One Toys) and they go all in on what design has taught her about entrepreneurship, what’s missing from our educational system, how kids can accelerate faster if we keep nurturing their creativity, how adults and CEOs need to return to their childlike creative state to have better outcomes in business and life, creating toys that challenge people to think beyond their behavioral norms, sparking conversations on real life issues through the use of toys, what we can learn from children and their creative perspective, her company Twenty One Toys and their founding products empathy and failure toys and much more…   Follow Me: Instagram: https://instagram.com/mattgottesman  Instagram: https://instagram.com/hdfmagazine Website: https://mattgottesman.com Facebook: @mattgottesmanofficial   Podcast: Subscribe: https://ampl.ink/dZ2Xd

There are many ways to finance your business and if you've gone to a bank lately you may find that channel is not one of them. That's why you may want to consider 'bootstrap financing", but it takes a certain approach to living and working to make it successful.My guest to share her successful journey doing this since 2012 is Ilana Ben-Ari, a dynamic innovator. She is the founder of Twenty-One Toys, and behind the internationally acclaimed Empathy Toy. Ilana's stories are engaging and relevant for any entrepreneur looking to grow at the speed of purpose. And you won't want to miss our conversation about the Pay and Wait Business Model.KEY ASPECTS OF OUR CONVERSATION:How curiosity, humility and chutzpah is the foundation for successEmpathy does not mean nice.  It is the imaginative act of looking at the world from different perspectives that aren't your own and deeply understanding it allEmpathy is a skill that can be taught, and it is needed now more than everYou invent your own luck. Ilana's approach to thatIt will get easier. Kind of....Celebration and insight to a successful move to an on-line format from a purely live and in person modelCLICK HERE to learn more on this topic and guest.Support the show (http://entrepreneursvelocity.com/join/)

Inventors and developers are time and time again urged to stay away from the start-up world, especially if they are women. Ilana Ben-Ari, Founder of Twenty One Toys and winner of Startup Canada’s 2019 Mississauga Canadian Export Challenge, thinks creating a sustainable business with a... The post Combining Design and Social Impact with Ilana Ben-Ari – August 20, 2020 appeared first on Startup Canada.

Did you know, thought leaders around the world, including the current CEOs of both Microsoft and Slack, are focusing on empathy as one of the most critical skills to the business, creativity, and design. In this episode, we speak to Ilana Ben-Ari, an inventor and social entrepreneur who has devoted her life to spreading empathy by developing toys that help to nurture this practice through her business Twenty One Toys.Over the course of 45 minutes, we cover the role that toys have played in influencing creative geniuses, how engaging in play is a catalyst for fostering creativity and how Ilana managed to package an experience into a product. Often those who originally oppose attending these workshops express how important the work of teaching empathy and creativity is. Ilana leaves listeners with a final message: To solve the world’s problems, we need more creatives to become entrepreneurs. Listen to this episode at one of the links below to find out how Ilana is making an impact, one toy at a time.Listen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsListen on Apple PodcastsRead my detailed recap of the entire episode here.Read the Medium Summary with free quotes and graphics here.

Ilana Ben-Ari  is a multiple-award-winning design entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker, and founder of 21Toys; a company that has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, and Bloomberg, ... her invention, The Empathy Toy was praised by TIME magazine as a “technology that is reshaping the future”.   In this conversation, we discuss how 21Toys has gone from a company running in-person training, and workshops all over the globe, to a radically different business model supported by a now fully remote team. We also discuss the importance of empathy, creativity, and resilience, how we're all trying to adapt to this "great pause" and more. 

Where does creativity come from? And how do creatives, especially women, tackle failure? Ilana Ben-Ari talks about how she turned her creative vision into a business, despite the stigma that women and creatives are limited to just coming up with ideas. Why stop at invention, when you can build your own business? Find out how to tackle the fear of failure and use playful creativity and bootstrapping efforts to build something you can truly be passionate about. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How to take the leap and start your own business Can designers be business owners? Risk tolerance and how it plays a role in predicting economic, social and personality outcomes among women Failure and how the notion of failure directly impacts women’s’ decisions for their future Negative gender stereotypes in the workforce today Why perfection shouldn’t hold you back  The difference between running a business and maintaining a business How to nurture your creative gifts  Creative women and the notion of feminine leadership  #LESSONUP: (10:20) A massive new study of over a million people from 23andMe suggests that genetics makes some people more willing to take risks. More important than that though is that the research shows that environmental, demographic and of course cultural circumstances play a much more significant role in determining risk tolerance.  (11:24) High -achieving women in particular derive less confidence from positive feedback than men at the same caliber and negative feedback takes a greater emotional toll. From a cultural standpoint, when women are put in situations where they are aware of negative stereotypes about their gender, they become even more anxious about feeling and proving those stereotypes right.  (14:19 ) Calendar your creativity, calendar the blocks where you can have space because we need space as creatives to receive ideas. Now a lot of people will push back on that. I can't schedule my creativity and I'm like, yes, you can. Especially if you're running a business. It's part of your process and part of your creative discipline. You were given these gifts and so you have to nurture them in a certain way. (16:06) My thinking and the reason why the failure toy exists is so that we can just start talking about all the nuances of what we feel like when we talk about failure and what does failure mean? Failure can only exist if we have the definition of success and that's all posts can move. When you introduce competition, when you introduce new people, literally the context of the room, you can feel like you're winning in one room and you're failing in another room. The spectrum of just human beings and how we respond to risk and competition and blame and all of those things. But also there's a spectrum to failure. (17:34) Failure is simply the emission of required or expected action. It's not predictable, not boring. Failure can be a fluke. It's a pattern interrupt and sometimes it can be done right miraculous. Case in point, like these inventions that were made by mistake penicillin, the Slinky, post-it note, popsicles, the pacemaker and my favorite color mauve. Failure is not what you're looking for when you accept what is, but it will allow you to see. (18:41) There's so much that we can do if we ... definitely, as a woman, if I don't give up my power so easily, I really hold it. But I'm also able to ask for help and bring other people in and learn from them. (19:25) So I think that there's so much that we can actually accomplish and the biggest shift, I think the first step is just the mindset. You're allowed to start a business and you're allowed to have a successful business. There's a million obstacles in your way and it's important to be aware of those, but it's not impossible and I think a lot of people just opt out of that even being an option because they have this idea of what a real business person is. (22:15) So I would say as a toy designer, I live in the world of contradictions and friction and the idea that you're holding multiple truths at the same time and how they butt up against each other is where get creativity. I really believe the greatest creatives are the ones that can hold multiple truths and multiple energies at the same time and it's the friction that they create that leads to some really exciting inventions. (23:38) Designing a business is one of the most fascinating, exciting, interesting things to do and I think the majority of designers that exist, I don't know if they call themselves social entrepreneurs, but really true good designers search for the right problem so they don't ... our whole mantra is that you don't find a solution, you don't jump into the solution and go, this is what everybody wants and then sell and market it. You are constantly searching for the right problem and you're working towards the problem and really good design is human-centered. More in-depth show notes and shareables available at voicelessonspodcast.com.

This week on Exponential, Ilana Ben Ari is the founder of a company called 21 toys…its first product was a toy designed to help people learn about empathy…its latest, aims to teach failure. I asked her when she landed on the idea of teaching concepts like these through toys.

Ilana Ben-Ari was working on a design-school project when she learned there was a huge social and emotional gap between the visually impaired and the sighted community. What began as a university project grew into Twenty-One Toys, which teaches 21st Century Skills with the Empathy Toy and the new Failure Toy.  In this episode:  How Twenty-One Toys got started  Ilana’s early days of bootstrapping the company The value of coaching Why it’s important to teach failure to all ages  How the first SheEO Venture cohort divided up the money at the Venture Retreat The challenges of being an entrepreneur Ilana’s favourite ways to take care of herself and how she reminds her team to do the same  We invite you to become a SheEO Activator or apply to be a SheEO Venture at SheEO.World.

"We get asked how different business students are than a kindergarten class or a high-school class, or these big business leaders. We're human beings and there are so many layers to the complexity and backgrounds that we have. It really has to do with who you are as a human." Episode #4 of Season 2 of The Social Impactors Podcast features #SocialImpactor Ilana Ben-Ari, Founder, CEO & Lead Designer at Twenty One Toys, an award-winning social enterprise that teaches empathy, failure, and other key 21st century skills using toys and playful workshops. Ilana and I talked about how she began building 21 Toys, why she believes empathy is the most important 21st century skill that we can teach, how we need to teach the importance of empathy and failure from kindergarten all the way to Fortune 500 CEO's, and why we need to bring fun back into the classroom. Join the Social Impactors Community: 1. Leave an iTunes review to help new people find it! Link: https://apple.co/2WI5Ckn 2. Check out my website and share it! There's even a #merch store to become a real life #socialimpactor! Link: http://bit.ly/thesocialimpactorswebsite #SocialImpactEverywhere --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theimpactorspodcast/support

On this episode of She Rises, Giovanna talks with Ilana Ben-Ari. Ilana is a female entrepreneur who is creating innovation that changes the way we learn soft skills like empathy, how to fail, and how to be a better human. She shares how her empathy toys are impacting schools and offices across the world and how she is able to make miracles through the simple act of play. Ilana shares her background and educational history of design.   Ilana explains how her toys mimic real-life scenarios that address patience, frustration, and creative communication. Ilana discusses why she insisted on using the label “toy” instead of “facilitation tool”. Ilana mentions how toys can lead to programs like “21 Leaders” that have seen an 85% reduction in students being sent to the office for conflict and bullying. Giovanna discusses the importance of teaching empathy and failure to children AND adults.   Ilana shares how “breaking the rules” can lead to creative confidence. Ilana emphasizes how so many big businesses like Google and Microsoft are acknowledging the value of creativity and emotional intelligence. Ilana explains how the creation story of kindergarten inspired her to use specific materials to draw attention to the value of soft skills. Giovanna discusses how innovation pulls from previous building blocks and helps us re-prioritize lessons we’ve already learned about how to treat others and work together. Memorable Quotes: Being good at school has nothing to do with being good at life. Empathy toys are valuable because they brings up conversations that make invisible skills visible. Toys are not necessarily frivolous. They can teach important skills and lead to valuable insights. The goal of a really well-designed product is to leave room for someone else to come in and own it, change the rules, and use it to learn and teach others. The skills we valued and learned in kindergarten are now the key skills we need to excel in our work.   We’re getting back something we lost by returning to the basics and simplicity of play.    Resources Mentioned: Ilana Ben-Ari Twenty One Toys: Toys that teach Empathy World Economic Forum Future Jobs Report Satya Nadella—Microsoft’s CEO’s Book Froebel Education Maria Montessori Caroline Pratt

Ilana Ben-Ari is the founder and CEO of Twenty One Toys. The company’s first product The Empathy Toy, is now used in thousands of schools, homes and corporations across 45 countries. It was featured in TIME as one of 6 new technologies shaping classrooms and offices of the future. In this episode, we discuss the rise of her toy start-up, how to teach empathy and "soft skills", why toys are the new textbooks, and the gap between what kids are being taught vs. what jobs will actually exist when they graduate.

Listen in as we talk to Ilana Ben-Ari, founder of award-winning toy start-up Twenty One Toys, a TEDx speaker, and Ariane de Rothschild Fellow. She has been featured in the Guardian UK, Independent UK, and TIME magazine. Today she shares her story with us.

Ilana Ben-Ari is the founder and CEO of Twenty One Toys, a company that designs and manufactures toys, workshops, and training programs that teach young adults and children valuable skills such as empathy and failure. She is a multiple award-winning product designer, TEDx Speaker, and has been featured in numerous publications including The Guardian UK, Independent UK, and Time Magazine. Ilana joins me today to share her story on how she founded her company, what inspired her to create the Empathy toy, and how her toys, workshops, and training programs are being used by children and teachers as well as corporate executives. She also shares the challenges she has had to overcome as a young, bootstrapping company and why she believes being bold is critical to the success of a small business.   “In those first years of building your business, it’s really about survival, and that involves a ton of sacrifice.” - Ilana Ben-Ari     This Week on Young Money: How the idea for the Empathy toy started How her toys, workshops, and training programs go beyond teaching young children about empathy and failure Key traits and elements that lead to her success and how she defines success The biggest financial revelation in her business The importance of thinking strategically to build a long-term, successful business The challenges involved in bootstrapping a small business The importance of evaluating your business plans and aligning them with your goals How she viewed her business in the early stages of growing her business How being bold helped her achieve her goals   Resources Mentioned: Do Schools Kill Creativity? TedTalk by Sir Ken Robinson SheEO Playing on Purpose Ilana Ben-Ari at TEDxYouth at Montreal Toys as Tools for Communication - Ilana Ben-Ari at TEDxConcordia   Key Takeaways for Young Millionaires-in-the-Making: Use money as a tool and vehicle to get you where you’re going. Be bold. Ask people for help when you need it. Be credible. Follow through with what you say you will do. Connect with Ilana Ben-Ari: Twenty One Toys The Empathy Toy Ilana Ben-Ari website     Can I AFFORD it? This episode is sponsored by the masterclass Can I Afford It? How to be certain of what you can and can’t afford in your business in 5 minutes or less every time. This training has been specifically designed for entrepreneurs with sales in the 6 to 7 figure range to provide the 5 Steps to Cash Flow Clarity.  If you are an entrepreneur with sales at these levels and want to make powerful money decisions, you do not want to miss this important masterclass. Head over to bissettfinancialfitness.com/afford to register now.  Stop asking yourself the question can I AFFORD it?   Rate, Share & Inspire Other Young Millionaires-in-the-Making Thanks for tuning into the Young Money Podcast - the advice show for young millionaires-in-the-making! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, head over to iTunes and leave us a rating and review. Don’t forget to share your favorite episodes on social media!   Subscribe to the Young Money Podcast on iTunes so you never miss an episode and reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, our LinkedIn Company Page, or by visiting our website.

In this episode of In the Business of Change, we speak with Ilana Ben-Ari, founder of Twenty One Toys and producer of the Empathy Toy which is gaining ground in classrooms and organizations everywhere. We talk about the power of play, the rising importance of empathy, the endless challenges of being an entrepreneur and the […] The post The Power of Play with Ilana Ben-Ari, Founder of Twenty One Toys appeared first on SEE Change Magazine.

Ilana Ben-Ari’s startup, Twenty One Toys, is part of a revolution. A toy revolution. On their website they ask: “Our revolution demands answers: Where are creativity, play, teamwork and empathy in our classrooms, our boardrooms or the public square? More importantly, how do we teach these critical skills?” In school we learn to compete, to win, to make the highest marks and try to become the best. But how do we teach future generations – and even our own generations in the workplaces and political discussions we engage in right now – the skills we desperately need to thrive in the 21st century? How do we teach things like empathy, creativity and how to handle failure? Ilana’s answer - with toys of course! Ilana Ben-Ari is a multiple-award winning industrial designer, TEDx speaker, and Ariane de Rothschild Fellow. She has been featured in the Guardian UK, was Independent UK's small business person of the week, and winner of C2MTL's emerging entrepreneur award. She has been working at the intersection of design and social innovation for over 7 years at studios in Montreal, Helsinki, London, and, most recently Toronto, Ontario. Ilana is best known as the founder, CEO and lead designer of her first startup - Twenty One Toys. She transformed her thesis project into the company’s first product, The Empathy Toy. Originally designed for visually impaired students and their sighted classmates, it is now used as a tool to teach Empathy to anyone and everyone. Already in 43 countries, over 1000 schools, 30 post-secondary institutions, 100 offices, and even 3 MBA programs, it was featured in TIME magazine as “one of six new technologies shaping classrooms of the future.” Show Notes & Links: Ilana Ben-Ari’s website Ilana on Twitter @IlanaBenAri The Twenty One Toys Website The Empathy Toy Website [VIDEO] Ilana's TEDx Talk [VIDEO] Ilana's Creative Mornings talk, School is a Poorly Designed Game Ilana's Medium Blog Post – These aren’t my pants and other ways I’m bootstrapping my way to the top.

Ilana intentionally lived “8 months of sin” to get over her fear of breaking the rules and spent her early days as an entrepreneur living in a house full of circus performers. Now the founder of an award-winning toy company Twenty One Toys, Ilana Ben-Ari takes us through her fascinating journey, including the roles of failure, guilt, and shame in the practice of leadership.