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Twin Sisters Productions Finds Niche with Products that Help
Children Learn using MusicView Online

Plain Dealer Reporter I April 15, 2009 16:05PM
Posted by: Marcia Pledger

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Twin sisters Kim Thompson and Karen Hilderbrand were just looking for a way to get elementary school students interested in multiplication.

Thompson, a teacher, and Hilderbrand, an engineer, came up with "Rap With The Facts," which they expanded into an album of musical educational aids.

That was 1987, and starting a multimillion-dollar business was the furthest thing from their minds. But today, the pair operate Twin Sisters Productions, a Stow company with hundreds of educational products and $5.5 million in sales.

Word of that first recording spread fast among teachers, students and parents, and educational supply stores started selling the cassette tape. At the same time, Thompson was pursuing a master's degree in "Integrating the Arts into the Elementary School Curriculum." Professors were right, she found. Music inspired kids to learn.

For the next five years, the sisters worked part-time to make just one tape each year about subtraction, addition, division and phonics. By the time Thompson wrote and recorded their sixth product, a cassette to teach about states and capitals, it was time to leave their first careers.

"Once we quit our jobs, the business really took off," Hilderbrand said.

Since then, the pair has created more than 500 products and more than 3,000 songs. Products range from activity books to preloaded Mp3 players, greeting cards and music CD sets sold primarily through national retailers, including Wal-Mart and Borders.

Except for songs like "Old McDonald," Thompson has written all of their songs and books. About 90 percent of the music is recorded with studio musicians in Nashville, Tenn., but they own all of their intellectual property, which was key to helping their business grow.

Vince Douglas started working last year at Twin Sisters Productions as senior vice president. But for more than 20 years, he watched the twins build their business from afar.

The first time they met -- at an educational trade show in Denver -- he was running a start-up book publishing business. The twins were sitting at a homemade booth covered in felt, feeling unsure about seeking national interest with just one product: a cassette tape.

Years later, when he became president of McGraw Hill Children's Publishing division, he turned to them for help in developing a line of book and music products specifically for wholesale clubs.

"There's virtually no one else out there doing books and music the way the twins can do it," Douglas said. "They've found a very nice niche, and they've grown along with that niche."

Gold and platinum albums, for a half million and a million sales, line a wall at a conference room in their headquarters. Other walls are covered with an array of products. But talent is only half of their strength. Douglas attributes much of their success to their complementary skills.

Both women are creative. They finish each other's sentences when they talk about having more ideas than they will ever be able to create. But while Hilderbrand prefers to focus on operations, logistics and running a 30,000-square-foot pack-and-ship operation, Thompson focuses on product development and marketing.

Last year, Thompson made more than 20 trips to Westchester, Pa., to sell six items on QVC.

"She travels, and I take care of all of our kids," Hilderbrand said. "I would never be a host on a TV show. Appearing live is way too stressful. But she loves it."

The twins have conquered all sorts of challenges, beginning with expanding from 2,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet within four years. In 2000, they sold their business to Montreal-based children's TV programmer Cinar Corp., but they ultimately bought it back after Cinar struggled. One of the legal conditions: They had 30 days to take over distribution, moving everything back to Northeast Ohio from North Carolina.

But the sisters prefer not to talk about that experience. They prefer to focus on the future.

"One thing we did really right is we own all of our own intellectual property," Hilderbrand said. "And because of that, we can do any contracts we like with any products we want."

"Music used to be just a cassette, record or CD. Now music is embedded in everything from phones to teddy bears," she said. "There's a lot of opportunities to license our intellectual property."