Before there were Squishmallows, before the TikTok videos and celebrity fans, there was a lawyer standing inside a toy factory in rural China trying to understand how plastic became a product. That lawyer was Judd Zebersky.
He had earned his JD from the University of Miami School of Law and run his own law firm. In 1997, with no manufacturing experience, he left the legal profession and flew to China to learn the toy industry from scratch.
Starting Over in the Field
The education was hands-on. Judd Zebersky learned injection molding, blow molding, and rotocasting. He spent time on hair rooting processes, design pipelines, and engineering specifications. He traveled through southern China to factories in remote villages along dirt roads. “I looked at my wife, and I said, ‘I want to make toys,'” Zebersky recalled. “She said, ‘Follow your dreams,’ and that’s what I did.”
The result was Jazwares. In its early years, the company built a business around licensed entertainment products, partnering with franchises like Minecraft, Fortnite, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Acquisitions came later: Wicked Cool Toys in 2019 brought Pokémon, and Kellytoy in 2020 brought Squishmallows.
Squishmallows Take Over
Each Squishmallow had a name, a birthday, and a personal biography. The toys spread through TikTok communities and collected endorsements from celebrities including Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. More than 100 million units moved in a single year at prices between $5 and $30.
Alleghany Capital Corporation became an early investor in 2014, later taking a majority stake in 2016. Berkshire Hathaway absorbed that position through its purchase of Alleghany in late 2022. Judd Zebersky retained authority over operations throughout every transition.
Jazwares grew to about 1,400 employees and reached over 100 countries. Zebersky received the South Florida Business Journal’s Ultimate CEOs recognition in 2024. He also built Jazwares Cares from the company’s founding, directing toy donations to Make-A-Wish, Toys for Tots, and Ronald McDonald House. He stepped down from Jazwares on March 20, 2026. Visit this page for more information.
Find more information about Judd Zebersky on https://toybook.com/jazwares-leadership-transition/