Meet Benny Kline | Owner and Co-Founder of Tenacious Toys

We had the good fortune of connecting with Benny Kline and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Benny, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I didn’t have much of a thought process, more like we fell into it. After graduating with a degree in art, I found myself in NYC without much direction. I met my (future) wife and in our travels around the city, we discovered the odd collectibles that were both toys, and art. We were intrigued, looked into the niche more. They were designer toys, or art toys (back then we called them “urban vinyl”) and we started collecting some. I was able to hustle my way into Toy Fair in NY with a Vistaprint business card and an invoice for a purchase we had made, and the rest is history. Back then, there were a selection of art toys at Toy Fair (not really a big niche at that B2B show anymore) and we were able to place more orders. I started selling the products on eBay (I didn’t know how to make a website at that time) and the business snowballed over the next 19 years.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have always looked at Tenacious Toys like a platform or a gallery to showcase the works of emerging toy artists. Some artists get to the point where they can “fly away” or graduate and they no longer need a platform like Tenacious Toys to help elevate their names. That is great, that is always the goal. But between their start in the toy scene, and that graduation from needing my help, I am proud to host artists of all kinds on my website, make their names ring out on the internet and social media, and in general give them an extra leg up in selling their products. It’s a REALLY tough business, there is more competition now than there was 10 or 15 years ago. More artists to compete with, and more shops and galleries for me to compete with as well. I am hoping that my efforts help as many toy artists as possible during their journeys. That drive definitely sets me apart – some of my competitors look at the whole thing as a money making endeavor. I also need to make money of course, I have a life to live too, but I feel that a focus on elevating the careers of as many artists as possible is a worthy mission and one that will bring more prosperity to more people in this space than just myself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh man. Central Park for just a relaxing beautiful space, it’s so big with so many cool spots to discover, you can spend a whole day inside the park. Hit the west side along the Hudson for the views, food and drink and fun. Take the ferries around the city – upper east side, wall street, brooklyn, astoria can all be reached by the ferry. You can even get out to Jersey City by ferry where they claim they have some decent pizza… Eat food in Jackson Heights and Astoria, you’ll never see so many different authentic cuisines served anywhere on earth. Brooklyn has the dopest shops, graffiti, murals, experiences. Get out to Coney Island and the Rockaways. Eat caviar and drink vodka on the beach in Brighton Beach. Check out Alphabet city for nightlife, food and drink. Walk the High Line. Wander around the Financial District. Hop on a train up to Washington Heights. New Yorkers are really nice, just don’t stand in their way on the sidewalk or in a place where they are trying to move efficiently. You can ask any New Yorker you find what the best place to eat is, the best bar to check out nearby, the coolest thing in their neighborhood. 95% of them will light up and tell you exactly what the best spot is that they know. Many would even take you there in person to show you. AVOID TIMES SQUARE AT ALL COSTS. Just don’t go there, it’s a cesspool. The only people there are tourists and dirtbags. Go anywhere else, ask a local (look for a person with a baby carriage or walking a dog, they are in their home turf). You could spend 10 years in NYC and never scratch the surface.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout outs to my wife Steph who started the business with me, to my dad who supported us despite how risky it all seemed, my mother in law for letting us stack cartons of toys in her apartment before we had a warehouse, my tax guy Rick for helping us through that part of the business, and my trademark guy Johnny for helping us secure our trademark!

Website: tenacioustoys.com

Instagram: @tenacioustoys

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tenacious-toys/

Twitter: @tenacioustoys

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenaciousToysNYC

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/tenacioustoys

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tenacioustoys

Image Credits
All images are products I sell, I have the right to use the provided images on the internet as a part of the promotion of my business and the sales of these items. Each image is already in use on the internet in many places.