Lisa Williams is the founder and CEO of The World of Entertainment, Publishing, and Inspiration™. The World of EPI is a multicultural children’s toy company manufacturing and design firm, seeking to celebrate diversity. Her doll collections feature The Fresh Dolls, The Fresh Squad, Simply Fresh, and Positively Perfect Doll Collections. Below, she explains the why of her brand and gives advice for future CEOs.
How did you begin the brand journey for this phenomenal doll line?
I was a college professor, and the first African American to get a Ph.D. in logistics at The Ohio State University. I was very successful, but my heart was calling to do more. And I had the opportunity to write a line of books that empower children. From those books, we were asked to do a line of dolls in the image and likeness of the books. I wanted to make sure that the dolls were authentic. So I custom blend the skin tone and make sure the facial features and hair are representative. We have everything from braids, curls, to Afro puffs, and we’re coming along with even more really cool authentic hairstyles. When I looked around the marketplace, and I saw what was being offered to our community, it was something that was very traditional, but it didn’t really capture who we are. So I created a line of dolls called Fresh, which is a fresh perspective on dolls. And so our dolls have fuller bodies, as well, authentic hairstyles, skin tones, and facial features.
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