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Carinne Meyrignac turned a simple idea sparked by motherhood into a children’s publishing business generating millions in annual revenue. After discovering musical books in France that kept her young daughter engaged, she returned to Los Angeles and struggled to find similar products.
In 2016, she decided to create her own interactive musical books, launching Cali's Books from her family garage. In an interview with Entrepreneur, Meyrignac explained how she travelled to China to meet manufacturers and invested about $30,000 in her first order of 6,000 books. What began as a small venture gradually expanded through direct-to-consumer sales, reaching $5 million in revenue by 2024.
How Carinne Meyrignac started her children’s book company with $30,000
Meyrignac said she wanted her daughter to develop a love of reading, but found that a baby focused on a conventional book could be difficult.
The musical books she encountered in France offered a different experience by combining reading with sounds and music. She described them as “magical” because of how they captured her daughter's attention.After moving back to Los Angeles, Meyrignac noticed that the products available to her were different from what she had seen in France. She recalled finding mainly bulky plastic books with buttons on the side.
That gap led her to develop books designed to be interactive for both children and parents. According to Cali’s Books official website, the products are interactive books to encourage children's interest in books and music, with sound and music built into the reading experience.
PC: Cali's Books
Meyrignac travelled to China to produce the first lot of Cali’s Books
The first major step was turning the concept into a physical product. Meyrignac travelled to China to meet manufacturers and placed an initial order of 6,000 books, investing approximately $30,000.
She kept the operation deliberately small in its early stages. Rather than building a large team immediately, Meyrignac worked with freelancers found through Fiverr and relied on friends and family for help. The approach was “scrappy”, reflecting how she used outside help and personal networks while testing and developing the business.The company initially invested considerable effort in selling through physical shops.
Meyrignac later said that the strategy created challenges, including lower margins and difficult payment terms. More importantly, she felt it reduced her ability to communicate directly with the parents and grandparents buying the books. The shift towards direct-to-consumer sales became an important stage in Cali’s Books' development.
Selling online allowed the company to communicate directly with families, collect feedback and better understand how customers were using the books.
Meyrignac told Entrepreneur that “everything unlocked” after moving towards direct-to-consumer, while the company has since returned to retail, including selling through Nordstrom.
Cali’s Books reaches $1 million in revenue in 2020
Cali’s Books did not immediately generate predictable revenue. Meyrignac said it took roughly three years for the company to achieve consistent monthly revenue. The turning point came as the business concentrated more heavily on direct-to-consumer sales.
In 2020, Cali’s Books crossed the $1 million revenue mark.The company continued expanding after that milestone. Meyrignac told Entrepreneur that Cali’s Books reached $5 million in revenue in 2024 and continued growing at a double-digit pace. Reportedly, the company had sold around 700,000 books in the US alone, while its broader company profile describes more than 50 titles selling over 500,000 copies worldwide.
