Thinkfun
ThinkFun was founded in 1985 by husband and wife team Bill Ritchie and Andrea Barthello. Bill was a born puzzler, so defining his dream company was no challenge, but the 80's were a tough time for toy companies. Retailers were moving away from games, and the Rubik's Cube, which had broken through in the mass market, was losing popularity.
No stranger to a challenge, Andrea vividly remembers the day she pulled up in their driveway and declared, "We can do this!" In the early years, Bill and Andrea's basement served as assembly line, home office, and distribution center, and our first product, the Hexadecimal Puzzle, was born right out of that basement!
Despite humble beginnings, Bill and Andrea founded ThinkFun, originally called Binary Arts, with a noble mission, "To translate the brilliant ideas of the craziest mathematicians, engineers and inventors into simple toys that can be appreciated by boys and girls around the world." We still believe this today.