Names: Susan Bishop and Kevin O'Donnell.
Nationalities: American.
Age: Unknown
'Foolish' Idea: Character dolls - Brainy Babies - based on history's greatest people who overcame tremendous odds to help enrich the world.
Start-up Capital: Not known.
How Idea was Launched: Started a company, 'The Bishop Interactive Group', based in Cleveland. She called the dolls, 'Brainy Babies'.
Sales: The dolls, along with computer games and cartoons, are sold through stores.
Earnings: Expect $1.3 million in 2nd year of trading.
Susan Bishop, was 19 when in 1975, she had a skiing accident which left her with life-threatening injuries. She spent the next eight months in a full body cast, after her spine was stabilized with numerous bone fusions supported by steel rods and clamps. Then tragedy struck a second time - she was in a head-on car crash that shattered her spine again. Doctors thought she'd never be able to have children.
Susan Bishop found herself in a full leg and partial body cast for 6 more months, plus her face was injured and a knee had shattered. Her pain was constant and for 14 months, Susan was a prisoner of her hospital bed, and afterwards had to endure years of rehab. But a vivid dream of walking in India gave her the courage and inspiration to fight and within weeks of her dream, she began walking again.
Susan Bishop later traveled to one of the most isolated areas in Southern India. When she returned home, she married and later had two children, Daniel and Sarah. When Daniel was 9 and Sarah, 7, she divorced her husband. With her new partner Kevin O'Donnell, she came up with the idea for Brainy Babies - the idea was a mixture stemming from her own trials and thinking about her children.
Brainy Babies are soft toy characters, based on history's greatest people who overcame tremendous odds to help enrich the world. They started up a company, 'Bishop Interactive Group', to sell the dolls, along with computer games and cartoons. Susan Bishop's immense courage has produced a booming toy business which they expect to earn $1.3million in its second year of trading.