TURLOCK, Calif. -- Stephen M. Key, president of the Turlock, Calif.-based Big Idea Guys, said his company is doing a test with 7-Eleven for the retailer to carry its Hot Picks Guitar Picks.
"Wal-Mart is selling 20,000 a day," Key told The Modesto Bee. "We're in 10,000 stores [and] we're doing a regional test market for 7-Eleven convenience stores."
Shaped like skulls and monsters and even Mickey Mouse's head; carrying live-motion images, Gothic images and bearing the likenesses of Disney characters from Pirates of the Caribbean and High School [image-nocss] Musical, these little pieces of plastic have attained "must have" status in many households across the nation, said the report.
"They're guitar picks," Key said. "That's what makes them cool. They've become very popular very quickly. They're something very collectible for kids."
Without a résumé, Key talked his way into a job at Worlds of Wonder, the toy company that gave the world the Teddy Ruxpin doll and Lazer Tag, said the report. "At 27," Key said, "I became a product designer; without any experience. I saw an ad in the newspaper for a Teddy bear. It looked terrible. So I called them up the next day and told them how terrible it was and that they needed to hire me. They did."
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.