Draft for Ben Varadi, built by BrieflyMe from public sources.

Ben Varadi

Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer, Spin Master

Ben Varadi

Over thirty years of asking every toy the same question: does it get you excited?

Play the story Meet Ben
Ben Varadi smiling, in a pinstripe blazer over a grey t-shirt
Toymaker · co-founder edition

A life built on play

If it weren't for inventors, Spin Master wouldn't be here today.

Ben Varadi, to Mojo Nation, July 2023

Ben co-founded Spin Master in Toronto in 1994 with Ronnen Harary and Anton Rabie. The three started with US$10,000 and a nylon stocking full of grass seed. Today the company makes Air Hogs, Bakugan, Hatchimals and PAW Patrol.

Ben runs the creative side. His Hall of Fame testimonials credit him with a keen instinct for ideas, and with pushing products from acquisition to launch at lightning speed.

Ben's story

01 / 10 · This is me

    This is me

    I'm a toymaker.

    Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Spin Master. For over thirty years I've asked every toy one question: does it get you excited?

    Origins

    0123456789012345678901234567890123456789

    My father once pointed at a gas station and suggested I would work there. Instead I left Ivey and ran manufacturing for a stocking full of grass seed, with no experience.

    4.3 million Earth Buddies sold

    Turning point · 1996

    A toy plane in a park.

    I was 26. The Air Hogs prototype was a Schweppes bottle with wings cut from a fish-and-chips container. I still call it one of the most pivotal moments of my life.

    The safe oneStick with what already sells

    The one we tookBack a plane that flies on air

    Boxing Day · 1998

    Everybody got these planes for Christmas.

    The Sky Shark's wings were breaking and the customer line jammed. I didn't know what to do. So I answered the phones myself.

    Journeys · 2003

    Signed on the back of an envelope.

    In a Hong Kong hotel room we bought Catch-A-Bubble on the spot. It became Outdoor Toy of the Year.

    The hard year · 2011

    Bakugan grew too fast.

    We lost roughly $100 million. I kept a mentor's rule from it: Don't take a risk so big that if you're wrong, you'll sink the company.

    What I build

    2,000+

    people make toys, shows and games at Spin Master, from offices in close to 20 countries.

    What drives me

    Find the yes reasons before the no reasons.

    When an inventor brings us something, I'm usually in the room. I sit in on about three of every four of those meetings.

    Now and next

    The next chapter is Ben's to write.

    What he wants to build in the next five years goes here, in his own words.

    Ask Ben What are you focused on now, and what do you want to be remembered for?

    Meet Ben

    People know the toys better than the man who picked them.

    Chapter 1

    Early life

    Ben grew up in Toronto, raised, as Maclean's put it in 2000, on a steady diet of television. His father once pointed at a gas station and suggested that was where Ben would work. He graduated from Western's Ivey Business School in 1994. An ad firm turned him down as too unorthodox, so he went to run manufacturing for a grass-seed toy, with no experience.

    Chapter 2

    Present day

    Ben is Spin Master's Chief Creative Officer and an Executive Vice President, and shareholders re-elected him to the board in April 2026. He still sits in on about three of every four inventor meetings. Off the clock, he collects keyboards and synthesizers and plays them in a basement studio.

    Chapter 3

    Vision for tomorrow

    This chapter is empty on purpose. Nothing public says where Ben wants play to go next, so we'll write it with him.

    The toy shelf

    Thirty years, one shelf at a time.

    1. 1994

      Earth Buddy

      Grass seed and sawdust in a stocking. Ben ran its manufacturing. 4.3 million sold.

    2. 1995

      Devil Sticks

      The toy that gave Spin Master its name. 1.75 million sold.

    3. 1996

      Air Hogs

      The prototype was a Schweppes bottle with fish-and-chips-container wings. Ben flew it in a park at 26. It democratised flight for kids.

    4. 1998

      Sky Shark

      On Boxing Day the phones jammed over broken wings. Ben answered the calls himself.

    5. 2003

      Catch-A-Bubble

      Bought on the spot in a Hong Kong hotel room, signed on the back of an envelope. Outdoor Toy of the Year.

    6. 2008

      Bakugan

      Launched with Sega Toys. One of the company's biggest lines.

    7. 2011

      The hard year

      Bakugan grew too fast and the company lost roughly $100 million. Ben kept a mentor's rule from it.

    8. 2013

      PAW Patrol

      The show premiered on 12 August 2013. The same year, the founders started The Toy Movement.

    9. 2015

      Going public

      Spin Master listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange as TOY.

    10. 2016

      Hatchimals

      The egg that hatches. A web series followed in 2017.

    11. 2024

      Melissa & Doug

      Spin Master closed its US$950 million purchase on 2 January.

    12. ?

      Ben's pick

      Which toy is Ben proudest of? Not the biggest seller. His favourite.

    What drives Ben

    Four rules he plays by.

    1. Does it get you excited?

      The only question that matters is: Does it get you excited?

    2. Find the yes first

      You've got to try to find the 'yes' reasons before the 'no' reasons.

    3. Inventors are partners

      We still work with the inventors we met 25 years ago. I always tell inventors that there's no politics here.

    4. Never bet the company

      Don't take a risk so big that if you're wrong, you'll sink the company. A mentor's rule Ben kept after the Bakugan year.

    Rules 01 to 03 are from Ben's interview with Mojo Nation, July 2023. Rule 04 is from his Western alumni profile.

    Spin Master in numbers

    Awards

    The trophy shelf.

    • 1999

      EY Young Entrepreneurs of the Year

      Emerging category, with Ronnen and Anton.

    • 2022

      Canadian Toy Hall of Fame

      Inducted with his co-founders.

    • 2023

      Toy Industry Hall of Fame

      With Ronnen and Anton, the first founders of a Canadian company to get the US honour.

    • 2024

      Marketing Hall of Legends

      AMA Toronto, class of 2024.

    • ?

      Top 40 Under 40

      Canada's Top 40 Under 40. No source gives the year. Ask Ben, and ask what else belongs on this shelf.

    Giving back

    Every kid should get to play.

    The Toy Movement

    In 2013 Ben, Ronnen and Anton started The Toy Movement to get toys to children in need.

    Ben's own causes

    Public sources stop at The Toy Movement. Ask Ben which causes he gives to personally, and why.

    Media

    Ben, in conversation.

    Good reads & listens

    What's on Ben's nightstand?

    Ask Ben Name three books, shows or podcasts that shaped how you think about play.