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October 16, 2008

Plaja Pat brainstorm takes off

Johnson bringing Stomper Plaja Pets back

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — A soft, catchy toy idea has paid off for Jason Johnson, landing him a big payoff and cushy job in California.

The former Minnesota State University student has gone from starting a business in his downtown Mankato condominium in 2006 to working for Small World Toys in Culver City, Calif., near Los Angeles.

Now he’s bringing some of that good fortune back to MSU in the form of 600 Stomper Plaja Pets.

Those stuffed MSU mascots were manufactured more than a year ago, months before Small World Toys bought the Plaja Pets International from Johnson and his partner, Adam Kittelson, in May. Kittelson, also a former MSU student, is still in China, where he had gone to find a manufacturer after the roommates invented the toys.

They were at their second International Toy Fair in New York City in February when the “magnetically mixable” stuffed animals, which have detachable heads and tails, caught the eye of the larger toy company. After a few months of negotiations, the company was sold and Johnson was offered a job with Small World Toys.

“It’s been a busy year for us,” Johnson said during a phone interview from his office in California. “We weren’t expecting a complete buyout. It’s been a big change going from living in downtown Mankato to living in Los Angeles.”

His official title is senior brand manager, but Johnson compared his job to the one Tom Hanks’ character had in the movie Big.

“We’re playing with toys all day long,” he said. “It’s like working in a giant toy box.”

Johnson is back in Mankato this week and he’s planning to kick off one of three MSU promotions at the hockey game tonight.

Those 600 leftover Stomper Plaja Pets couldn’t be sold because it would have been too difficult to hammer out a licensing agreement with the new company, Johnson said. So he decided to see if there was a way to give the toys away while drawing attention to MSU and helping local charities.

The MSU Athletics Department was happy to help out, said Nathan Christensen, marketing promotions assistant. Two more events with women athletes and the MSU basketball teams will take place in November.

“I think it’s great letting people know what our graduates are doing,” he said.

Johnson and Kittelson are a success story for the Greater Mankato Business Accelerator program. The program, operated by Greater Mankato Growth, was new when the business partners were looking for guidance two years ago, said Jill Klinger, new enterprise and emerging business director.

The program connects start-up companies with the resources they need, including expert advice and financial options.

“Greater Mankato was an ideal environment to start our business because of the abundance of resources and exceptional people,” Johnson said. “And we want to give back to the place that fostered our success.”

Klinger said she’s hoping to bring Johnson and his entrepreneurial expertise back to the Mankato area. His contract with Small World Toys is only guaranteed for one year and his wife, Lisa, has ties to the area.

Johnson said that won’t be easy because he’ll likely be staying with his new employer for awhile.

“I haven’t seen a drop of rain in four months and its 75 and sunny every day, so it’ll take a bit to lure me back,” he said.

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