When Jimmie Byrd and Eric Flynn met a decade ago through the local entrepreneurship community, they knew they wanted to go into business together.
After years of tinkering with ideas and starting side businesses, the pair in 2021 launched Living Icons, which combines figurines with augmented reality.
“Our hopes are to be synonymous with podcasters and influencers for the ultimate expression of their fandom,” said Byrd.
Living Icons has already released a Buffalo Bills-themed product called Buffalo Table Slam under the brand Tailgate Mafia and plan on launching a campaign for the product to kick off the next football season. The augmented reality part of the product allows the user to see an infamous breaking table at a Bills tailgate.
The founders are in the inaugural cohort of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus’ IC Success program, a free, yearlong program aimed at connecting historically marginalized entrepreneurs with supports and resources. The pair also recently got accepted into Launch NY’s Founders Go Big program, which aims to help underrepresented founders create high-growth potential businesses.
Thanks to the mentorship they’ve received so far through IC Success, Byrd and Flynn have refined their customer base to focusing on creating figurines for podcasters. They've done their market research.
“They make sure you have a nice addressable market that you can really sink your teeth into and have a market to pursue,” said Flynn.
The toy collectibles market growth was projected to reach $35.3 billion by 2032, according to Market Decipher’s 2022-2032 forecast report. And podcasters are underserved when it comes to the figurine market, according to the founders.
They’re in the process of narrowing their business pitch and plan to start approaching podcasters by the end of this year to acquire clients.
The entrepreneurs also plan on raising funds, and getting into the Launch NY program helps set them up for that prospective raising.
“We’re working on brand awareness,” said Flynn. “Most people, when they see it, get a chuckle out of it.”
