He Makes Working Miniatures of All Your Favorite Toys

Alan Dorfman's big idea is that everything is better when it's tiny—and actually works. In a profile for the Wall Street Journal, Natasha Khan follows the 66-year-old behind Super Impulse, the company that has turned shrunken versions of classic toys and gadgets—Etch A Sketch, Rubik's Cube, Slinky, Operation, Hungry Hungry Hippos, even Jenga—into a runaway business. His first breakthrough came with a 3.5-inch Super Soaker keychain that skeptical executives said would never shoot. It did, all over someone's tie, and 5 million units were sold in year one.

Since then, Dorfman has been on a constant hunt for what to miniaturize next, obsessing over engineering quirks like how to weight micro Jenga blocks or keep bubbles out of a marble-sized Magic 8 Ball. Each miniature is approved by the maker of the full-size version and carries the same promise on the packaging: "Yes! Actually Works!" The Journal digs into how a onetime bored law student became a niche toy mogul by betting that Americans still want tactile, low-tech distractions—especially when they fit in a pocket. For more on Dorfman and what he's looking to shrink next, read the full story at the Journal.