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Welcome back to the podcast. Today we're talking about AI for kids. There's a new company out there called Stickerbox. They are making a AI image generation sticker printer essentially for kids. Today we're gonna talk about some of the features and why this may or may not be a good idea for kids. I think it's pretty cool, personally. But before we get into all that, Jayden, why don't you tell them about our school community?
C
Yeah. Every single week we record a bonus piece of content we don't post anywhere else. We post it on our AI Hustle school community. This week we did a whole video talking about and we and we basically share all of the analytics that we don't share publicly about our own personal projects, how we're personally using AI. This week I showed analytics from my podcast called AI Chat. I have dubbed it and translated into multiple different languages using AI where it clones my voice and has it do the dubs and I show the analytics of the streams that it's getting. I talk about how much it costs per dub. Like break down all of this different interesting information. So if that's interesting to you, you go check out the school community. But we also have over a hundred videos where every single week we come up with a new one where we're showing you the inside scoop on how we're making money with AI tools. So there's a link in the description and we have a Black Friday discount right now where it is $19 a month. Or you could get an annual plan for 30% off of the Black Friday deal. It is our biggest deal we have ever done. So if you want to go check it out, our Black Friday deal, there is a link in the description to the AI Hustle school community. All right, let's talk about what's going on with this sticker, the sticker company. I'll give you a couple thoughts that I think is interesting about this and kick it over back over to you, Jamie. But the thing that I'm interested in here is it's actually a voice activated tool so you'll be able to talk to it, describe what kind of sticker you want it to make, it will listen and then it will use AI and it's going to generate these stickers. This is. I actually have an interesting prediction that maybe is contrary to a lot of people. I think a lot of people might see this and say this sounds dumb, like this isn't gonna be a huge smash, you know, hit product. But I actually think it's gonna. It is a very niche product. It's very interesting. I think a lot of parents might buy something like this for their kids for Christmas, like myself included. I think my kids would absolutely love this. And I actually think this is the right way to integrate AI into technology. It's such a random use case. But, like, when we talk about AI hardware, you think about like the rabbit R1 or the humane Pen, which for some reason I did a podcast recently and completely forgot the name of the Humane pin. So I'm happy I've remembered. But there's the Humane Pin, there's the BE wearable wristwatch, there's the friendship necklace. And Sam Altman is building his new company with Johnny. I've the IO, whatever the heck. Whatever the heck that's going to be. There's all of these different devices which basically are some variation of just like a phone that. It's basically like a phone. And so. And it has like chatgpt built in. I like this because this is creating a physical product which is generated by AI. It's an interesting use case. Kids would love just talking to it and making a sticker. And so it's just a product. Like, that's all. That's all. It. It. It does. It does a. It does one thing and you're not going to complain that, like, you know, for example, the rabbit R1, I think they way oversold it. Like, this is the new AI device that's going to help you think better and be smarter and do all this stuff. And at the end of the day, it's like, it's just an. It was just an Android phone basically, that had a camera on it and it's like everything. Like, it should have just been an app on the. On the iPhone is basically the big criticism it had. Like, why do I have this whole device that's a camera and I have to get a subscription for it? This should just be an app on my iPhone. This is the first time I'm like, okay, this is not trying to replace Chat GPT or your phone. Just one simple, interesting use case that I think people will pay for.
B
Yeah, I actually think this is a really cool idea as well. If you are watching this, you know, video, you can see what it looks like, but it actually is very reminiscent of a, of an old Etch A Sketch from back in the day. So it's, yeah, red and boxy and it has just a black and white screen on it, which is really cool. So it kind of has a retro feel to it. But what's cool about it is it's actually a thermal printer, so you don't need to put ink in it. Which is another huge headache with a lot of like the kids toys or like home printers is replacing ink. It's just a thermal printer. So think of like a label printer for shipping and packaging. It does the same thing. So you never have to put ink in it. You have to get new sheet rolls of paper, but that's quite inexpensive. And then it just has a screen on it and it will listen to your voice prompt for whatever you want it to generate. And then if you like it, it'll show it on the screen. If you like it, you just hit the button and it will print it out. So I think it's a really cool concept. I think kids will love, in my opinion, would help or at least foster creativity, which is always a good thing in kids, whether or not, you know, even though they're not necessarily drawing it out themselves on a piece of paper. It's, you know, just getting to think in different ways and come up with their own ideas. I think it's really cool. $9, honestly, pretty cheap. So I think this is cool. I think, you know, they did. It looks like they did put some safety guards on it as far as.
C
Yeah, I was wondering about content.
B
So like they, someone said they put it to the test to see if they could come up with like something gross or whatever and it wouldn't do it. So it really seems like they thought through a lot of different, a lot of different angles with this. And I think it's. I think it's pretty cool.
C
The one thing that I wonder about is it's almost like, hear me out on this. It's kind of like a pyramid scheme with these kind of products where it has to be successful for it to continue to work because it does cost money to generate these images. Unless they're running an open source model locally on the device, which I don't think that for an image generation model, I don't think that they have one all. Although if you're doing stickers, it is sort of possible that that would be the future of this device because it's not like you have to generate these colored images. It's just kind of like black and white images. What's interesting in their, their concept here is that it, it generates the sticker. You print it out and then you color it in. So it's like coloring page stickers for kids. I know for a fact my kids would love this. Like, if I had this, they would love it. Kids like, like a hard like piece of hardware, a tactile toy where. And I like not having to give them my phone for stuff. There's another device which maybe people judge me and think it's stupid, but we have the, the yodos. Have you seen those things, Jamie? Like the yodo audiobook players?
B
No, I haven't.
C
It looks basically exactly like this, except you stick like a, a audiobook card in the top of it and it will play an audiobook. My kids love them. And yes, I could just get audiobooks on my phone and play it for them, but I don't want to have to give them my phone anytime they want to listen to an audiobook. So they have like a book full of these little audiobook cards and they can stick them into this little speaker player thing and they could push, push play and pause. And I love it because it's a device I can give them. It feels like they're listening to an audiobook and I can choose what audiobooks they listen to. So I'm like, all right, enjoy Anne of Green Gables, right? Like, it's like it feels very not brain rot. And I think that people like those kind of experiences for the children. And this is just another one of those where it's like they, it's. I know people are like, well, you're outsourcing your kids creativity to AI. But it's like, no, you're not. Like the kid can still color it. They're being creative, thinking about the idea. The chances of them like sitting there and doodling any of these things as a two, as like a four year old or a six year old are, I think very slim. And maybe they'll do one and get sick of it and move on because it takes so long. So I think being able to think of an idea, have it, create it, color it out. Honestly, like, if you want your kid to be more artistic, it's probably going to push them in the right direction. Maybe they'll start trying to draw their own at some point. But like, you gotta start at some level. So I think this is a really great thing. I like the guardrails, but as far as my giant pyramid scheme goes, you know, in the least offensive way possible, the problem with this tool is that if everyone stopped buying them and they sold like, they sold like a thousand of them for $100. Well, it does cost you some money in API credits to generate the stickers. And I think they probably find that people generate maybe like a hundred pictures and the novelty of the toy wears off. They're hoping that, or they're hoping that more new users will be coming in fast enough to pay for the API credits of the old people. Because, like, you can spend 5 cents for, for a token or for like an image or sometimes $0.50 an image, depending on what AI image generation model you're using. So like, it can be expensive. Now the one caveat that I will put on here to say that this isn't a pyramid scheme is the fact that you have to rebuy the printer paper and I, the sticker paper. And I think if you have to buy it from them, they could technically jack up the price of that to like, whatever. Like they could just say in one, in one roll of sticker paper, you could print 100 stickers. So if we spend 10 cents per each sticker, we're going to charge, you know, make it so it's 20 cents for the, for the roll. So basically maybe, maybe the, the sticker roll is the secret to making this thing, not a, a giant pyramid scheme.
B
That's, that's interesting thought. I'm actually looking at their website right now, but they have the paper refills, so three rolls is $6. So for 180 stickers, it's only $6. So that's, I mean, that's cheap. That's real cheap. That's really cheap. Yeah. Right now I don't think the cost of the image generation is baked in, but yeah, that's interesting though.
C
So right now it is a pyramid scheme, but they could very easily, I think, get it out of pyramid scheme mode. And I'm also sure that people would do things where they're like, they'll figure out how to like get your own printer paper, basically. Like if they jacked up the price a ton. Like how, you know, inkjet printers are super expensive to buy. Replace the ink. Like the printer's like 50 bucks, but the ink is like 120. And, and then people just figure out how to like do their own ink refills from China. So I think people would figure that out too. So yeah, it is a tricky situation where they are possibly paying for ongoing costs with this thing, but I think kids will love it. And at the end of the day, I mean, if it all went bankrupt for $100, I'm sure your kid can get a few months of good use out of it. And I don't think it's going to go bankrupt. I think it's a good idea. I think over Christmas, this thing is going to sell. Like, I might actually buy one of these, if I'm being honest.
B
So, yeah, I'm into it as well. I think it's a cool idea, especially for the cost. I mean, you look at those, I think what you described earlier is similar to those Tony's things, where you put, like, the character on the box. It's like Disney and then it does this Disney story.
C
Yes. Yep, yep.
B
Those are super expensive, but people sell them like hotcakes, so.
C
Yes, exactly. Anyway, so this thing's gonna sell good. I guarantee it.
B
Yeah. Well, hey, if you enjoyed this podcast at all or got any value out of it, please be sure to leave us a review wherever you like. Listen, a rating review. It really helps us out. And then again, check out the AI Hustle School community. If you want to learn how to grow your business and take it to the next level using AI or even just make money on the side, we'd love to have you be a part of that community. So thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.
Podcast: AI Hustle: Make Money from AI and ChatGPT, Midjourney, NVIDIA, Anthropic, OpenAI
Hosts: Jaeden Schafer and Jamie McCauley
Date: November 27, 2025
This episode explores the launch of Stickerbox, an innovative AI-powered sticker printer designed for children. The hosts dig into its features, creative impact, market potential, safety mechanisms, and the broader trend of tactile AI gadgets for kids. They consider whether such tech truly fosters creativity, whether it could be sustainable, and if it's a smart purchase for families.
"This is creating a physical product which is generated by AI. It's an interesting use case. Kids would love just talking to it and making a sticker... It's just a product. That's all. It does one thing..."
— Jaeden Schafer [02:16]
"This is the first time I'm like, okay, this is not trying to replace ChatGPT or your phone—just one simple, interesting use case that I think people will pay for."
— Jaeden Schafer [02:56]
"It actually is very reminiscent of, of an old Etch A Sketch... just a black and white screen on it, which is really cool... you never have to put ink in it."
— Jamie McCauley [03:59]
"...would help or at least foster creativity, which is always a good thing in kids, whether or not, you know, even though they're not necessarily drawing it out themselves... just getting to think in different ways and come up with their own ideas."
— Jamie McCauley [04:36]
"They put it to the test to see if they could come up with like something gross or whatever and it wouldn't do it. So it really seems like they thought through a lot of different, a lot of different angles..."
— Jamie McCauley [05:27]
"The problem with this tool is that if everyone stopped buying them... it does cost you some money in API credits to generate the stickers... they’re hoping that more new users will be coming in fast enough to pay for the API credits of the old people..."
— Jaeden Schafer [06:12]
"I like not having to give them my phone for stuff... It feels like they're listening to an audiobook and I can choose what audiobooks they listen to..."
— Jaeden Schafer [06:52]
"Anyway, so this thing's gonna sell good. I guarantee it."
— Jaeden Schafer [10:35]
On AI hardware trends:
"You think about like the rabbit R1 or the humane Pin... there's all of these different devices which basically are some variation of just like a phone..."
— Jaeden Schafer [01:58]
On the dangers of novelty-wear-off:
"...maybe like a hundred pictures and the novelty of the toy wears off. They're hoping that... new users will be coming in fast enough to pay for the API credits..."
— Jaeden Schafer [06:20]
On the business model:
"Now the one caveat... is the fact that you have to rebuy the printer paper and... they could technically jack up the price of that to like, whatever."
— Jaeden Schafer [07:22]
The episode is informal, lively, and practical—typical of two tech-savvy parents and entrepreneurs weighing innovation, fun, and the realities of running an AI-powered product for kids.
Summary Takeaway:
Stickerbox is an imaginative convergence of AI and tactile play aimed at kids, generating personalized stickers through voice prompts. The hosts are bullish on its potential for creativity cultivation and hands-on fun—tempered by real-world questions about business sustainability. They conclude that, for the price, Stickerbox could be a holiday hit, opening up a new era of tangible AI experiences for families.