Ben Gorbaty – licensing and product development.
Ben Gorbaty, founder and creative force behind three successful licensing and product development companies—North American Thought Combine, Inc., The Licensing Connection and O Tay! Inc.—is a master at bringing together the talents of top creative, artistic and marketing professionals. In addition to being an inventor and product developer, Ben represents numerous artists and creative properties, and consults with manufacturers to enhance the marketing of their products through licensing.
Thought Combine is a creative think tank that develops products, concepts, promotional and advertising campaigns, gifts, novelties, toys, electronic gadgets, hardware items, and animated characters for the marketplace.
Through O Tay! Ben represents artists, designers, and other creative groups and properties. In conjunction with the creative talent, Ben helps develop and license designs, products, and fully developed lines to manufacturers on a royalty basis. He performs an integral part of all phases, beginning with initial concept, creative direction of presentations, followed by targeting potential licensees and structuring deals, all the way through to the sample and approval stage. His goal is to seamlessly translate the artist’s vision into the marketplace so that they can do what they do best—create!
With The Licensing Connection, Ben acts as a licensing consultant to manufacturers, helping them locate and secure licenses to enrich the marketability of their products and product lines through licensing.
In his companies, Ben works hands-on in the development of toys (Hasbro), storybooks (Random House), animated character properties (Jeffrey Scott Productions), home furnishings (Creative Co-Op) gift lines (Enesco) and one-of-a kind items like Glow-in-the-Dark Band-Aids (Johnson & Johnson). Many of Ben’s projects have become industry standards, including the “Buddy” category of large-format soft-stuffed dolls for boys (WWF Wrestling Buddies® with Kenner/Tonka/Hasbro), the licensed pet product category (Little Mermaid & Mickey Mouse Aquariums, Tweety Bird Birdcages and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Terrariums with Penn Plax), the Playfaces® category of licensed character face pillows and the inflatable furniture category, Inflate-a-Pals® (from Play•By•Play). Johnson & Johnson, Dupont, Proctor & Gamble and Curad, are among the many companies Ben has developed concepts for, while Elmo & Sesame Street, Spiderman, Looney Tunes, Barbie, Winnie the Pooh, Garfield and The Muppets are but a few of the licensed properties he has worked with.
From product developer, inventor and licensing agent, to licensing consultant and creative producer, Ben is a man of many hats. He currently resides in Westport, Connecticut.
