Serious Child's Play

Another part of maturing is knowing when to shift from entrepreneurial mode, in which creativity and development trump all else, to business mode, in which adult supervision becomes mandatory. For Bossa Nova, that meant hiring a toy-industry gun, in the form of new CEO Martin Hitch, a veteran of Mattel and Hasbro. Penbo and Prime-8 were introduced in Europe this year, using local distributors. But the company, whose revenues are approaching $4 million, wants to crack the U.S. market and its big retailers. With the selling season for next year under way, Hitch will help Bossa Nova get six products into the mix.

A 12-person outfit like Bossa Nova, or 100 firms like it, will never replace the jobs at the big steel plants that once defined Pittsburgh. Palmer and Skaff wanted best-in-class manufacturing; for robotic toys, that means China. But Skaff says Bossa Nova is by no means constrained by child's play. He sees a company that can grow with its customers. "As the children age, they will be familiar with our toys," he says. "We will introduce robots that accompany them in their lifestyles." In other words, personal robots, born in Pittsburgh.