The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Jun. 21, 2004

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Home Team: Couple Leaves the Corporate World to Help Operate a Fledgling Magazine
By Larry Aylward

Toby and Melanie Maloney ditched their prestigious titles and six-figure salaries to invest in a quirky magazine started by two recent college graduates.

More than two years later, Toby, known by his peers for his perpetual optimism, chuckles when asked if close friends thought he and Melanie were foolish to abandon corporate careers for mental_floss. "Not at all," Toby answers with his toothy smile. The people who really know the Maloneys understand their passion for entrepreneurialism.

Toby and Melanie say they've never felt more content in their professional lives as the primary investors in the witty and entertaining publication, which has a national circulation of about 55,000 and is growing.

mental_floss, called "a delightfully eccentric and eclectic new magazine" by The Washington Post, is in its third year. The bimonthly is geared toward 20- to 50-year-old professionals and bills itself as a vehicle that "makes knowledge accessible."

mental_floss is filled with peculiar but entertaining and educational information. Past cover stories include "Lies Your Mother Told You" and "History's Greatest Hoaxes Exposed!" It's a quick read that targets people on the run.

The Maloneys were attracted to the magazine's offbeatness and uncomplicated content.

"When we saw the magazine and its quality, I said to Melanie, 'I think this is worth making the leap,' " says the 55-year-old Toby.

"I've got to tell you, I'm having a ball," exclaims Melanie, 49. "This is a chance to learn and build something. I was happy at Eaton, but I really wanted a new challenge."

A no-brainer for former executives

Toby and Melanie sit in the living room of their spacious Geauga County home dressed comfortably in sweaters and slacks. Melanie sits on an ottoman, clutching a cup of steaming tea. Toby relaxes with his legs crossed on the couch, a glass of pink lemonade in front of him.

Leaving the corporate world for mental_floss was a no-brainer, they say. Melanie was vice president of organization development at Eaton Corp., Toby was vice president of internal communications at KeyCorp. Both were ready for career changes after working nearly 20 years each for large companies.

Nobody at the company raised an eyebrow when Toby left for mental_floss, says Patricia Vossler, a KeyCorp employee who reported to Toby for two years.

"Of course, we wouldn't have been surprised if he told us he was a launching a tanning-bed franchise in Alaska, either," says Vossler. "Toby is an entrepreneur at heart, and he applied that spirit to big business with great success."

Rebecca Schmale, who worked with Melanie for three years at Eaton, says, "Her work [at Eaton] didn't define her. She's a very eclectic person. You'd always want to stop by her office and talk because she always had something interesting to say."

Toby's title at mental_floss is vice president of business development; Melanie is vice president of planning and administration.

mental_floss was founded by Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur, who conceived the magazine in the late 1990s while attending Duke University. The two drummed up the idea for mental_floss during late-night bull sessions with friends in their dorm rooms.

Toby and Melanie discovered mental_floss through an old friend, Barbara Roewe, from his days as a high school journalism teacher. Roewe had been one of Hattikudur's high school teachers.

"I thought Toby would give him a little money," Roewe says, noting Toby's passion for journalism and eagerness to help young people in their careers. "He had the resources to do it."

Roewe didn't expect Toby to quit his job to join mental_floss, but she wasn't surprised he did. "Toby was always ready for a new adventure," says Roewe. "He only knows one gear, and that's full-throttle ahead."

Pearson and Hattikudur didn't want to forsake editorial control of the magazine to strangers, and they envisioned any investors as control freaks.

"But Toby and Melanie couldn't have been more different from that," says Pearson. "It was clear they were passionate about the start-up phase of a business and helping young entrepreneurs follow their dreams. . . . They just wanted to bring their expertise to the table."

Toby, a self-described media junky, says he has always possessed a fiery entrepreneurial spirit. While in his 20s and living in Delaware, he began a city/regional magazine called Delaware Monthly. The magazine had only two issues before folding, but Toby says it was a wonderful learning experience. mental_floss, however, was much larger in scale, grandeur and investment.

"It's risky business," says Toby, who earned a bachelor's degree in English from John Carroll University, a master's degree in English from Case Western Reserve University and a master's degree in teaching from Miami of Ohio. "It can all fall into Lake Erie, and we knew that going in. But it's the lure of the challenge, and the chance to build and shape something."

A good match starts on a blind date

Toby grew up in Natrona Heights, Pa., a small town northeast of Pittsburgh. His father owned two Isaly's dairy franchises, and Toby worked at the stores.

"I learned a lot through my dad's business, like taking care of your customers and meeting their needs," Toby says.

Toby reads four newspapers a day. A good time for him is going to Borders Books and Music and coming home with a stack of magazines.

Melanie, who holds a bachelor's degree in education from State University of New York and a master's degree in industrial psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, grew up in Auburn, N.Y., a small town near Syracuse. Her father owned a construction company, and she was one of his six daughters.

"He desperately wanted a son, and I was his only son," Melanie says with a laugh. "I liked being on his job sites, and I've always like to build things."

Toby and Melanie both worked as executives at SmithKline Beecham in Philadelphia in the late 1980s when they met. It was a blind date set up by co-workers. Melanie was 36; Toby was 41 and divorced.

Their first date was a long dinner at a Philadelphia restaurant. They talked more than they ate, and they discovered they shared similar values and attitudes about their approach to work as well as a love for bike riding.

Toby is in charge of marketing, public relations and business development for mental_floss. In addition to getting the word out about mental_floss through other mediums, he's trying to create peripheral business. Recently, he worked with Pearson on a deal with America Online for mental_floss to provide content to the online giant. Toby also helped finalize a deal with Pressman Toy to market a Mental_floss board game in 2005. Harper Collins released a book, Condensed Knowledge, in April under the mental_floss umbrella.

Melanie is known as "the mechanic" among mental_floss staffers. She's in charge of all operations involving subscriptions, distribution and customer service.

No regrets about career change

The Maloneys don't miss much about their former corporate lives except the people. They like being homebodies. Their five-acre, wooded property is a tranquil setting. Despite its size, their 5,700-square-foot home feels cozy. Exercise equipment, including a Nautilus machine, a treadmill and a Stairmaster, is scattered throughout the basement. Shelves in the family room are packed with books, including every work by John Updike. Both are huge fans of the author.

Most days, Toby and Melanie stay close to home. They don't go out much to dinner or the movies. They do, however, get outdoors often to walk their dog Murphy and take bike rides.

"We try to get a bike ride in every day," Melanie says. "Last summer, we rode 2,300 miles. We're shooting for 3,000 miles this summer."

Toby and Melanie work 12- to 14-hour days. The couple rise daily about 6 a.m. Melanie says they're usually at their respective computers and checking e-mail by 6:08 a.m.

"Some people think we just goof around because we work out of our home," Toby says. "But I'm probably working every bit as hard or harder as I've ever worked in my life."

Toby and Melanie say they are a good match, but they are different. Toby talks slow and softly. Melanie speaks much faster and louder. Toby likes music by the Pretenders and the Beatles. Melanie prefers Gary Puckett and Barry Manilow.

While they love riding their bikes together, Toby says they're both too independent to share a tandem. "Melanie is the captain of her ship, and I'm the captain of my ship," Toby says, only half-joking.

They might get on each other's nerves from time to time, but Toby and Melanie say they love working together.

"The good news, it's very easy to work together," Melanie says.

"What makes it work is that we have a fundamental respect for each other's capabilities," Toby adds.

Melanie says mental_floss has helped strengthened their marriage.

"We spend an enormous amount of time together," she says. "We've found that, yes, we do like each other. We're best friends."

Toby and Melanie feel it's important to help others, and they've taken up a few causes. They're involved in an endowment campaign at Toby's high school. Toby has funded an annual journalism scholarship at Northwestern University's National High School Institute for 20 years. Toby and Melanie also try to help local entrepreneurs by evaluating their business plans and offering advice.

The Maloneys don't worry about what might become of mental_floss. Sure, they would like to make some money from their investment, and mental_floss posted a small profit last year. But both vow they didn't get involved with the magazine to become publishing magnates.

What if mental_floss does fall into Lake Erie?

Toby crosses his arms, squints his eyes and stares at the wall as he ponders the question.

"I regret not a minute if this doesn't work," he says poignantly. "It has been such an exhilarating and intellectually stimulating opportunity."

Melanie, who turns 50 in September, says she doesn't think twice about the risk they took.

"Life passes so quickly," she adds. "I don't want to be asking myself 20 years from now, 'Why didn't I do that?' "

Copyright © 2004 Cleveland Plain Dealer.