Our Story: the making of ATOMS Express
About Seamless Toy Company
Our Founder Michael Rosenblatt has been building awesome stuff his whole life and has a healthy obsession for cool toys (not to mention about 5 tons of LEGO). He also had an idea that just wouldn’t go away…to create the perfect tech-toy and make it possible for ANYONE to build awesome, interactive creations.
Then in October 2012 Michael came up with the idea for “smart” building blocks. He knew he had a great idea and turned to the fantastic, entrepreneurial community in Boulder, Colorado for help. In a little under three weeks he’d built up a team of 25+ people with backgrounds in every area he needed to launch ATOMS (and boy were they PUMPED to be working on something so cool)!
By January 2013 ATOMS had raised over $183,000 on Kickstarter, gotten a bunch of media coverage (over 40 features), and proved the world was ready for the next generation of building blocks.
We’re proud of our toy mission:
To make the best tech-toys in the world and provide fun tools that will inspire the next generation of Makers, engineers and programmers.
The ATOMS Team
Michael Rosenblatt, our Founder and CEO, loves to build stuff. He went to MIT to build toys and robots (on a LEGO Fellowship). Then, he went on to Apple to build iPods and iPhones. He’s a new technology expert who believes that everyone should be able to easily build things that do amazing things. That’s why Michael started Seamless Toy Company and ATOMS Express.
Jay Hamlin, Senior Electrical Engineer and System Integrator, has an almost uncanny understanding of how things work. Among other things, he’s had a hand in almost every iPod product that’s been built and brings 30 years of System Integration know-how with him. Jay really likes building things and the things he touches tend to work a lot better.
Dan Bodenstein, Partner at Boulder Engineering Studio, can geek out with the best of them when it comes to micro-electronic, embedded systems. Dan’s a razor sharp engineer who focuses on rapid development, prototyping and testing of electronic and mechanical systems. He’s also a scuba fanatic and (when he has time) has his hands in automotive restoration projects.
John English, Partner at Boulder Engineering Studio, has a gift for building things. From prototyping, to embedded system design, microcontroller programming, and manufacture, he pulls projects together and keeps them on target. He also has a side project with sound responsive, light systems (called SoundPuddle) that travels the country. Just the kind of creative engineer we want on our team.
Here are the Founding members during our Kickstarter phase:
David Allen, iOS Guru, is a father with a love for start-ups, data, and building technology that has a real impact on people’s lives. So it goes without saying that ATOMS got him really jazzed. For the Seamless Toy Co, David creates, particularly our iOS controls.
Rob Aimi, Mechatronics Engineer, went to MIT with Michael and the two share a love of building things. Rob is particularly fast at it and was responsible for engineering all the mechatronic elements in ATOMS in record time. For the Seamless Toy Co, Rob brings robotics engineering horsepower.
Eric Budd, Eric Budd, Product Development Manager, knows how to manage technical projects and get products out the door on time and in tip-top shape. For the Seamless Toy Co, Eric wears many hats – product development, project management, quality control.
Shannon McCoy, Internal Operations Manager, loves the messy side of running a toy company – because she appreciates that out of chaos comes creativity, and because she’s a wizard at instilling order. For the Seamless Toy Co, Shannon runs operations and keeps us all on the same page, moving forward.
Gabrielle Fuqua, Community Manager, brings her love of children – her own, and those she works with daily in the Boulder community – to the ATOMS team. Under Gabrielle’s guidance, the Seamless Toy Co knows what kids want because we have incorporated kids into the process of creating their own toys.
Mandy Godown, Social Media Manager, knows the power of building community and sharing stories that inspire. She can often be found roaming with tech startup types in Boulder and brings with her brand awareness, social media know-how, and love for empowering socially good companies.
Fiona A., is a 7th grader at Summit Middle School in Boulder, CO. She loves to create – whether by singing, acting, writing or building toys that do stuff with ATOMS. For the Seamless Toy Co, Fiona serves as our Chief Creative Officer and helps us make ATOMS to be exactly what kids want.
