From homemade baby toys to startup bringing in millions [Video]

When Jessica Rolph had her first child in June 2010, she wanted to know everything about his developing brain.

“There’s a lot of expertise that goes into understanding curriculum for 5- and 6-year-olds when they start school,” says Rolph, 49. “But what about the early years?”

She dove into early childhood development research, seeking to understand exactly how baby toys’ flashing lights and sounds affected her young son’s neural pathways, and came up short on answers.

That experience led her and her friend Roderick Morris in 2015 to co-found Lovevery, a Boise-Idaho based company that makes developmentally-minded toys and playthings for children ages 0 through 5, and learning guides for parents.

The company brought in $226 million in revenue last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. It aims to reach profitability this year, says Rolph.

Lovevery’s toys are inspired by the homemade ones Rolph made for her son, each designed to …