Taking risks

Starting a business from the ground up comes with risks and challenges—a concept that isn’t new to Aw, who believes risk is always involved when it comes to a “life of excitement”. For the first five years, while building his brand, Aw had to sleep in his small design studio.

In a 2020 interview with Tatler Singapore, he reveals sleeping on the meeting sofa with a single blanket and a baseball bat. The latter was a choice he made as random people would enter the studio in the middle of the night looking for things to steal. While many admired his bravery, he explained that he didn’t have a choice. “I had nowhere else to go,” he admits in the interview.

On top of hitting financial rock bottom, Aw also struggled with his family approving of his career choices. He explains that they didn’t understand why he decided to start Mighty Jaxx in the beginning, but slowly came around to it.

Regardless of the challenges he faced, the entrepreneur continued to push on. The Singapore-based design studio has become a multi-million-dollar company creating designer toys and art collectibles. Over the years, Mighty Jaxx has also produced over 100 original toy sculptures, collaborating with various iconic brands including Netflix, Adidas, Disney, and most recently, Marv Studios.

Stepping into Hollywood

When Aw was approached by British production company Marv Studios about a collaboration on a movie in 2021, he never expected his figurines to be given this much attention in the film. The collaboration saw Aw creating toys of the fictional characters within the movie. “[Marv Studios] were fans of Mighty Jaxx and picked us as we had our own unique style of collectibles,” Aw explains.

Working closely with Marv Studios’s chief creative officer Carlos Peres and head of brands and partnerships Erin Graham, Aw got to learn more about the upcoming movie’s context and needs. While the production studio gave Aw some pointers on how to best represent the individual characters, Aw and his team had freedom on the collectibles’s stylisation and final look. Aw was initially asked to prepare four characters, which expanded to eight once the studio saw their work.

Today, Mighty Jaxx’s figurines are prominently displayed in the latest spy action comedy film Argylle. Directed by Kingsman’s Matthew Vaughn, the film follows author Elly Conway as her best-selling novels begin mirroring the real life of a spy organisation. It features a star-studded cast, including Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa, John Cena and Henry Cavill.

“This is without a doubt a thrilling milestone for Mighty Jaxx, as we proudly make our debut on the global Hollywood stage,” he explains.

Taking centre stage

This latest venture into “uncharted creative territories” also aligns perfectly with Mighty Jaxx’s innovative spirit—something which Aw hopes to continue to do in the company.

Especially being in an industry that’s constantly growing and evolving, he shares how listening to the younger generation is one of the secrets to staying relevant. “[It’s] one of the key things we try to practice,” he says, adding how younger colleagues can help the team understand and learn more about today’s pop culture landscape. On the importance of having a solid team behind the scenes, he shares: “Products and processes can always be improved [on], but your people are the secret sauce.”

Regardless of how the pop culture landscape will evolve, one thing’s for sure—Mighty Jaxx will be in the centre of it all.

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