Meghan Gamboa

Tell us about your career journey and how you ended up here.

My career started within the walls of Hasbro, where I worked for 15 years across notable properties including My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Play-Doh, NERF, Transformers, and more. Our founding team started Ageless Innovation in 2018, when we found a gap in the market for the needs of older adults. We believe that play is a basic human need, and we keep it at the heart of all of our solutions-oriented products. 

Describe yourself in 5-7 words - have fun with it!

Innovative, optimistic, personable, encouraging, brave, generous, charismatic

Tell us about a time when you thrived at work, and what you learned about yourself from that experience.

Most recently, our team was tapped by Hasbro to be their first-ever licensee dedicated to the older adult market. Talk about coming full circle! Working alongside their team and ours to reimagine classic board games, offering age-inclusive components and new ways for gameplay, and marketing them to the older adult population has been such an exciting, yet sometimes challenging, journey. We learn something new every day with this project, and it’s been a dream to watch older adults have the chance to play games that were uniquely designed to be more accessible for them and enjoy social interactions with their peers.  

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of my job is hearing stories about, or having the opportunity to meet, older adults that our products have positively impacted. Our team is inspired every time we hear from family members and caregivers who share what our products mean to their aging loved ones. 

How about when you "turn off" and go home? Any hobbies or fun activities you are involved in?

“Turn off” and go home?  More like “turn on” and go home!  The best parts of my day happen once I return from work to be greeted by my loving family.  My husband and college sweetheart, my two teenage children, my enormous Bernese Mountain Dog, and four cats.  My time after work is best spent cooking home-cooked meals, walking around the neighborhood with the pup, running to and from soccer practices, and attending school functions.  As a collegiate soccer player myself, one of my favorite days of the week is Saturday where I coach my daughter and her friend’s soccer team called the Inflatable Unicorns. 

Any must-read, must-watch or must-follow recomendations?

If you’re a food and travel fan, don’t miss Gordon Ramsey’s Uncharted!  Certainly worth your time.  Also, The Proposal, Love Actually, and Pretty Woman will be movies that never get old for me.  I also advise that if you see the cooking magazines in the checkout at the grocery store, give in and buy them.

Anything else you want to share with the WiT Community?

I so much enjoy being part of the toy world!  Both from my time at Hasbro and now serving such a deserving audience of older adults.  The people I have met and experiences I have had are more than I had ever dreamed of getting from a career.  I encourage anyone coming into this space to take chances, say “yes” more than “no”, and never be afraid to show off your silly side – we are having fun after all!