End-to-End Design • Development • Kickstarter • Production
A 100% recyclable
fort-building kit for kids
In January of 2015, my co-founders and I were reflecting on our journeys to Stanford. We realized that our wildly diverse upbringings aligned in a few key dimensions, all of which led to an interest in STEM.
We believe that unstructured play gave us the power to develop creative confidence and independence through hands-on exploration, skills that directly fostered our passion for design and engineering. But we found that so many of the latest toys came with a set of instructions that limited creativity and innovation -- and there was almost always a screen involved.
So we created Boxly, a 100% recyclable building kit that allowed kids to gain creative confidence through building. Boxly is a toy where assembly is required, but instructions are not. It was designed for easy construction and fast clean-up, so kids could independently build life-size forts without taking apart the living room. Boxly has the familiarity of a cardboard box, without the constraining shape or size.
Because after all, they say the best gift for kids is the box it comes in.
Six months after our initial brainstorm, we were funded
Following a few rounds of ideation, prototyping, parent interviews, and user testing with kids, we launched Boxly on Kickstarter in May 2015 with several product offerings. The Kraft kit provided for a more authentic cardboard box feel, while the White kit allowed for a broader opportunity for artistic customization of the panels -- and it came with two bonus chalkboard panels. We also offered a Connector set, perfect for using all the cardboard already in the home.
Once funded in June, we kicked off manufacturing with our vendor partners, successfully shipping to our backers before the holiday season that same year.
