This week’s Founder Friday continues our series spotlighting Australian entrepreneurs making waves. Last week, we featured Dan Richards revealing the highs and lows of running a business hrough relentless innovation.
Beckett’s journey from corporate employee to entrepreneur wasn’t immediate. For years, she explored different business ideas across sport, nutrition, and fitness, but none sparked genuine passion.
“Over the years, I explored different business ideas in sport, nutrition, and fitness, but none of them lit me up,” she explains.
The breakthrough came through confronting her own limiting beliefs and fears about entrepreneurship.
“One of the most important mindset shifts for me was moving from ‘I can’t do this’ to ‘How can I do this?'” Beckett says. “That change, along with accepting that fear is part of the process, has made all the difference. You can learn anything or get help with the things you don’t know; everything is figure-out-able.”
Another critical turning point was overcoming her reluctance to put herself in the spotlight.
“Another turning point was letting go of the fear of being seen. In the beginning, I didn’t want to put myself out there, but showing up has been one of the best experiences for me and the fastest way to connect with people,” she reflects.
Childhood trauma becomes business purpose
From her first day in corporate life, Stella Beckett knew something was missing, but it took becoming a parent to realise what that something was.
“From the very first day of my corporate job, I knew I didn’t belong there. I always had the urge to create something of my own,” Beckett explains. “Over the years, I explored different business ideas in sport, nutrition, and fitness, but none of them lit me up.”
The turning point came through painful self-reflection. Growing up in a dysfunctional home marked by substance abuse and harsh criticism, Beckett developed anxiety and self-worth issues that followed her into adulthood.
“The turning point came when I looked at my childhood and realised how much I’d struggled with self-confidence and self-belief. It shaped how I moved through the world, and I knew I wasn’t alone,” she says.
When Beckett became a parent, that reflection transformed into action. She didn’t want her child to face the same emotional struggles she had endured.
The gap in the market
Beckett’s search for tools that combined emotional education with play came up empty. There were journals for children. There were toys. But nothing brought them together in a way that made confidence-building simple and consistent.
“I wanted tools that made confidence-building simple, consistent, and part of everyday life. I looked for something that combined emotional education with play, but couldn’t find it,” she explains.
That realisation sparked the creation of Diary Dolls in September 2024. Each doll comes with a backpack containing a journal, a character story, and activities focused on specific resilience skills like gratitude or positive affirmations.
“What sets Diary Dolls apart is how they combine play with personal growth. Kids learn through stories, routines, and imagination, so by pairing a cuddly toy with positive mindset tools, it becomes a fun and effective way to support their development.”
Building trust through purpose
From the beginning, Beckett positioned Diary Dolls as a purpose-led brand rather than following trends. Every decision, from design choices to messaging, stems from the core mission of helping children build emotional resilience.
“From day one, Diary Dolls has been a purpose-led brand. I didn’t want to sell a trend; I wanted to solve a real problem for both children and parents,” she says.
Building trust with parents became just as important as creating the product itself. Rather than focusing solely on sales, Beckett’s marketing strategy centres on providing genuine value through content that offers parenting tips, emotional intelligence tools, and activities families can use at home.
“By offering support beyond the product, we’ve built long-term relationships with our audience,” she explains.
The approach appears to be working. Beckett has expanded into boutique retail stores, carefully selecting stockists that align with the brand’s values and can showcase the dolls’ story effectively.
Standing out in saturated markets
Despite the challenges of competing in Australia’s crowded toy market, Beckett has found ways to differentiate Diary Dolls beyond traditional marketing approaches.
“While many children’s brands focus on fun or aesthetics, Diary Dolls is about helping children build self-belief and emotional strength from the inside out. The dolls are designed to be the toy a child remembers as an adult, not because of how it looked, but because of what it taught them,” she explains.
The approach extends to how she selects retail partners. Rather than pursuing every available opportunity, Beckett carefully chooses stockists that align with the brand’s values.
“Expanding into boutique retail stores has been a game-changer. I chose stockists carefully, focusing on stores that aligned with our brand values and could showcase the dolls in a way that brought the story to life,” she says.
This selective approach appears to be paying dividends. When customers encounter the dolls in person, particularly when searching for meaningful gifts, they connect with them immediately. The retail presence also works synergistically with online sales, with in-store exposure building awareness and trust that often leads to repeat purchases online.
Expensive lessons and hard-won wisdom
An expensive lesson came early when Beckett realised her initial boxed packaging design didn’t suit the product and made shipping more costly. She scrapped the entire first order and redesigned the packaging to better align with both the brand and customer experience.
“Packaging redesign was another expensive lesson. I initially launched with a boxed design, but after placing the first order, I realised it didn’t suit the product and made shipping more costly. I scrapped it and redesigned the packaging to better align with the brand and the customer experience,” she recalls.
Like many first-time entrepreneurs, Beckett discovered that bringing a custom product to market involves a steep learning curve. Prototyping took far longer and cost significantly more than anticipated, requiring multiple rounds of sampling to achieve the desired quality standards.
“Bringing a custom product to market comes with a steep learning curve. Prototyping took far longer and cost far more than I anticipated. It took multiple rounds of sampling to get the design, materials, and quality to the standard I wanted. Even now, I see the product as a work in progress. I’m proud of the dolls I’ve launched, but I’m always looking for ways to refine and improve them,” she reflects.
The process taught her valuable lessons about patience and perfectionism in product development.
“Don’t rush. Take the time to get the product right before going into production. Growth takes patience, and if your mission is clear and your product delivers real value, momentum will follow,” she advises.
Future vision and market expansion
Currently, Beckett has launched two dolls – Affirmation Alice and Journal Jasmine – with three more in development. The expansion includes a unisex range designed to reach a wider audience while maintaining the same core mission.
“We stay ahead by listening closely to parents, watching how children engage with the dolls, and evolving based on real needs. This year, we’re expanding into products that reach a wider audience, including a unisex range, while keeping the same core mission at the heart of everything we do,” she explains.
Rather than following market trends, Beckett remains focused on child development fundamentals.
“We don’t follow fleeting trends. We’re grounded in the fundamentals of child development, and everything we create stems from that foundation,” she says. “Our focus is on designing timeless products that encourage the emotional practices children need to feel secure, confident, and connected in themselves and the world around them.”
Beyond the product development challenges, Beckett has faced the daunting task of building brand awareness from scratch in an oversaturated market.
“Building awareness and an audience from scratch has been a big challenge. In a competitive market full of beautiful products, you need more than looks to stand out. You need a message that resonates,” she says.
Her advice to other entrepreneurs centres on patience and authenticity rather than chasing rapid growth.
“Get clear on the problem you’re solving and start small. Don’t expect overnight success; there’s a lot of noise about brands taking off instantly, but that’s not the norm. Building a business is about momentum. Some days you’ll move forward, other days it will feel like you’re going backwards, but if you keep going, you will make progress.”
The bigger picture
While Diary Dolls operates in the competitive toy space, Beckett’s vision extends beyond sales figures. She wants to contribute to raising a generation of children with stronger emotional foundations.
“I want to help raise a generation of kids who truly love themselves, who trust their voice, and who have the self-belief to go after what they want in life without self-doubt holding them back,” she explains.
With mental health conditions accounting for almost 15% of Australia’s disease burden in 2024, innovative approaches that integrate emotional learning into childhood development could play an increasingly important role in prevention and early intervention.
For Beckett, success isn’t measured solely in units sold but in the potential long-term impact on children’s emotional wellbeing. The dolls are designed to be more than toys – they’re intended to be tools that children remember as adults, not for how they looked, but for what they taught them about believing in themselves.
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