Former Amazon Kids+ content executive Sarah Maizes has launched her own consulting firm to help others develop and produce new content. 

LA-based Cheeky Squirrel Productions, which opened its doors this month, is primed to create and collaborate with partners on shows, games, books and toys. Maizes plans to use her 20-plus years of experience in kids entertainment industry—as well as the bleeding-edge knowledge of Alexa Skills, apps and artificial intelligence she picked up at Amazon Kids—to help producers build new content and innovate their businesses, she says. 

While she previously launched Cheeky Squirrel back in 2021, Maizes didn’t have a chance to do much with it before she joined Herschend Entertainment in October 2021, and then Amazon in 2022 as senior creative executive of original content for Amazon Kids+, leading a team that developed games, videos, podcasts and Alexa Skills. 

Now, she’s eager to work with clients to meet kids not just where they are now, but where they’re going to be next. And that’s where her recent experience with Amazon’s technology should be a boon to independent producers, she says.

Maizes began her career in publishing at William Morris Endeavor, representing kids book brands such as Captain Underpants and titles from Judy Blume. She has served in executive positions at major kidcos such as Nelvana (VP of development), Mattel (producer) and The Jim Henson Company (VP of television), where she developed and produced Duff’s Happy Fun Bake Time for Discovery+ and Harriet the Spy for Apple TV+. 

“I’m excited by the limitlessness that comes from having my own company,” says Maizes, who feels that her strength as a consulting partner is tied to her dual skillsets in creative development and tech-driven business strategy. “I can show companies how to work with new tech, and I can make stuff that brings joy and laughter.”