Full original interview → https://valiantceo.com/brea-brand-connetix/
Brea Brand’s journey from teacher and mother to co-founder of a global toy company offers a thoughtful lesson in relationship-driven growth. CONNETIX emerged from shared purpose; her educational expertise joined Dave’s engineering and entrepreneurial strengths. The result is a brand connecting families; educators; retailers and allied health professionals through open-ended play.
Brea Brand is the CEO and Co-Founder of CONNETIX, the award-winning Australian brand bringing to market high-quality magnetic tiles that inspire learning through play. Driven by a passion for open-ended play and a commitment to quality, Brea is one half of the dynamic duo driving CONNETIX from an idea to an international success story. With extensive experience and a master’s qualification in early childhood education, Brea understands the critical role of play in development, ensuring CONNETIX products are not only fun but also foster essential skills. Her leadership emphasizes innovation, thoughtful design, and building a community of empowered learners. Brea is a sought-after voice on the power of play and entrepreneurship, regularly sharing insights on creating educational toys that resonate with children, parents, educators and allied health professionals around the world.
What inspired you, as an educator and mother, to co-found CONNETIX?
Brea Brand: Several years ago, I was on maternity leave from teaching and completing my Master’s in Early Childhood Education. At that stage of my life, I was deeply immersed in the world of play and learning not just professionally, but as a mum to three girls. I was creating learning activities at home, connecting with other parents online, and sharing the importance of play-based education. When my Co-Founder Dave and I met at our children’s school, we quickly realized we both saw an opportunity to create a high-quality, open-ended toy that would truly nurture a child’s development through creative play. CONNETIX was born out of that shared vision by combining my passion for education with Dave’s engineering background and entrepreneurial drive.
How did your background in early childhood education shape the design and development of CONNETIX magnetic tiles?
Brea Brand: My teaching background really grounded the philosophy behind every CONNETIX pack. I’ve seen firsthand how children learn best through hands-on, open-ended experiences, where they can explore, imagine, and problem-solve at their own pace. That understanding has influenced everything at CONNETIX, from the colors we choose and the versatility of each piece, to how our sets can grow with a child’s development. We designed CONNETIX to be a long-term learning resource, encouraging skills like spatial reasoning, fine motor coordination, and creativity, all through play. These packs don’t stop inspiring after a certain age, they continue to grow with children through each age and stage of their lives.
As a mom of three, how do your children inspire or influence your work with CONNETIX?
Brea Brand: They inspire me every single day! My girls are my greatest product testers and my constant reminder of why we do what we do. Watching how they have used CONNETIX differently as they grow, whether it’s building simple towers as toddlers or designing elaborate architectural builds, gives me invaluable insight into how children play, problem-solve, and evolve. They often bring new perspectives or creative ideas that spark conversations within our product development team. As any parent can attest, it’s truly incredible to see what children can come up with and create when given open-ended tools to play with. Seeing their joy and pride in “Mum’s work” is also a beautiful motivation to keep innovating.
CONNETIX is more than a toy: it’s an educational tool. How do you define “learning through play” in today’s fast-paced, digital world?
Brea Brand: In today’s world, where screens are everywhere and are very enticing, play has never been more important. “Learning through play” means allowing children to be curious, to experiment, to fail and try again all in a joyful, unstructured way. It’s not about outcomes or achievements when children play. It’s about exploration and imagination. With CONNETIX, children are in control of their own learning journey. They make connections, both literally and figuratively, as they build, imagine, and discover new concepts. Play is the most natural form of learning. It offers its own supportive space for children to feel the freedom of exploration without the expectation of a “correct” outcome. There is no wrong or right answer. It’s where creativity, problem-solving, and resilience really take shape. In the enjoyment of it, they are learning so many crucial skills without even realizing they’re doing so, which is an incredibly powerful thing.
The bevel design is a distinctive feature of CONNETIX. Talk us through the thinking behind that innovation.
Brea Brand: The bevelled design was developed intentionally to create tiles that not only look beautiful but also offer a functional advantage in play. The bevel creates a clearer tile that enhances light refraction so when children build, their creations catch and reflect light in the most stunning way. It’s visually captivating and adds another sensory dimension to play. From a practical perspective, the bevel also contributes to durability and strength, allowing for taller, more stable builds. It’s a design choice that merges aesthetics, safety, and functionality, values that are really important at CONNETIX.
What has surprised you the most on your journey from teacher to entrepreneur and founder of a global brand?
Brea Brand: Honestly, the sheer scale of growth and the global community that’s formed around our brand has been beyond anything I could have imagined. When we started, we were packing orders from Dave’s house and juggling every role ourselves. To see CONNETIX now sold globally, including exclusive packs available at Target in the U.S., with an incredible team of more than 70 employees and a passionate network of parents, educators, and retailers advocating for us has been truly humbling. I think what’s surprised me most is how universal the language of play is. No matter where you are in the world, who you are, where you come from, the joy of creating and connecting through play resonates with everyone.
Share a story where CONNETIX has had a significant impact on a child’s learning, development, or therapy.
Brea Brand: We receive countless messages from parents and educators about the developmental impact of CONNETIX but one that has always stayed with me came from a parent of a neurodivergent child. Their child struggled with fine motor skills and focus, and they began using our packs as part of their occupational therapy sessions. Over time, not only did they see improvement in dexterity and spatial awareness, but their child’s confidence and sense of accomplishment grew, too. That story and so many others like it remind me that our packs aren’t just toys, they’re meaningful and impactful tools for growth, for inclusion and for connection.
What excites you most about the future of CONNETIX?
Brea Brand: The possibilities! We have such an exciting pipeline of new products and collaborations ahead. What excites me most is continuing to expand how families can experience magnetic tile play by introducing new ranges that spark imagination in fresh ways while staying true to our values of quality, creativity, and education. In the next few months, we are launching a charitable initiative that is very close to my heart and debuting some new packs next year. I’m also incredibly inspired by our growing community of educators, parents, and creators who share how they use CONNETIX in classrooms, at home, and in therapy settings. The idea that our products are helping shape joyful learning experiences around the world is what drives us forward every day.
Where can readers go to learn more?
Brea Brand: You can explore our full range, play ideas, and resources on our website at Connetixtiles.com. You’ll also find us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest, where our amazing community shares daily inspiration and creative builds from all around the world.
