A hand-drawn dog became the start of a travel brand for curious kids
A new business bringing children into adventure travel through Topper the dog: books, videos, trips and local meet ups, from a hand-drawn logo.
This founder believes travel shapes kids into open-minded, curious people, and decided to build something around that belief. Starting from a marker sketch of a small dog on a globe, they shaped Toppers Travels into a brand with a homepage, a logo system and a picture book series in progress. It shows how a personal conviction can become a real project during the program.
Before
They had a conviction drawn from life: kids who travel grow up more open and less judgemental. What they had was a belief, a dog called Topper and a hand-drawn sketch in orange and teal marker. The bigger idea of a business for children was still waiting to take shape.
“Ive found in life that kids who travel are open minded, positive thinkers, have .diverse friend groups and curiosity vs judgement about the world .”
In their own words
The turning point
During the program they turned that sketch into a working brand. They iterated on a digital logo with a palette of coral, teal, sandy coat, ink and cream, tried a watercolor picture book look, and refined a homepage step by step, even swapping teal for a deep navy throughout.
After
Toppers Travels now has a homepage with sections for books, meet ups, travel and an about page that begins with one dog, one backpack and a well-worn passport. A watercolor picture book series featuring Topper is underway. The brand's tagline sets the tone: adventures worth wagging for.
What it lets people do
Toppers Travels invites children to see the world through Topper and friends, through books, videos, travel adventures and local meet ups. It gives families a playful way to spark curiosity about places and people beyond their own.
What they learned
Their guiding idea is simple: travel builds curiosity rather than judgement. Building this project showed that a belief held for years can be given a face, a name and a place for others to gather around.
“Toppers Travels will bring books, videos , travel adventures and local meet ups to kids .”
In their own words
See the work
Toppers Travels was built during AI Mastery.
Read Michelle’s story: Turned a 10-year book idea into videos, wearables, and travel adventures
Read the full submission
Written 9 August 2026 Submitted by the storyteller
Every story is written by a Mindvalley student or by someone our teachers have worked with. How we collect and check stories
More from AI Mastery
