Shadi Toloui-Wallace: Cultivating Values and Creativity at Tiny Souls Media

When Shadi Toloui-Wallace, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Tiny Souls Media, reflects on her journey, it’s clear that her path is defined by a commitment to values-driven leadership and a deep sense of purpose. From pivoting her artistic career to creating content that builds emotional and social capacities in children, her story is a testament to the power of aligning creativity with service and mission-driven business.

A Pivotal Moment: From Performance to Purpose

“I don’t want my art to just serve me,” Shadi explains, reflecting on the moments that shaped her career. Her journey began in the world of music, performing in a band, but she quickly realized something vital was missing. “I loved music, but it didn’t feel fulfilling anymore. It didn’t connect me to something higher — it wasn’t serving others.”

This realization sparked a profound pivot in her life. Shadi turned her focus toward a population she saw as underserved: children. “I began to see the incredible potential in children — not just as consumers of media but as individuals with their own unique qualities and capacities that need to be nurtured. When I became a parent, that understanding deepened. I saw a clear opportunity, not just to contribute to society but to create something meaningful and sustainable.”

This shift wasn’t just about creating media but about founding a company that could support her family while embodying her values. From this vision, Tiny Souls Media was born — a creative venture that places service to humanity and the development of children’s capacities at its core.

The Intersection of Values and Business

Balancing values with financial sustainability is one of the greatest challenges faced by mission-driven businesses, but Shadi approaches it with clarity and purpose. “Parents invest in their children. That’s a universal truth. But so much of what’s currently available for young kids focuses on immediate, practical needs — like sleep training or potty training. While these are important, I noticed a glaring gap: there was almost nothing addressing children’s social and emotional well-being.”

Tiny Souls Media is designed to fill that gap by offering meaningful content that parents and educators can trust. “We’re not just creating entertainment; we’re creating tools that help parents navigate the challenges of raising socially and emotionally aware children. It’s about building skills, not just for kids but for families as a whole.”

For Shadi, this balance is also deeply personal. “I’m always thinking, ‘Would I be comfortable putting my own children in front of this?’ That question guides every decision we make, from the content we produce to the partnerships we pursue.”

Embedding Values in Every Frame

Every piece of content produced by Tiny Souls Media is carefully crafted to teach values in a way that resonates with children. This is no easy task, requiring hours of work and deep collaboration. Shadi describes her current work on the second season of a flagship series: “In the beginning of each season, we spend six or seven hours a day with our writers, asking questions like, ‘What are children going to learn from this? How can we teach a value like integrity in a way they can understand and apply?’”

This process often involves balancing creativity with intentionality. “Writers get excited about all the fun twists and turns a story can take, but I always try to bring it back to the core mission. How is this building capacity in children? How is it helping them regulate their emotions or understand the values we’re trying to nurture/foster?”

It’s a demanding process, but one that Shadi finds deeply fulfilling. “At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility to make sure our work stays aligned with our mission. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to.”

The Challenges and Joys of Staying Aligned

Running a startup is no small feat, and staying true to one’s values in the process can be even harder. Shadi acknowledges the challenges but is quick to credit her team for making the work feel lighter. “We’ve been incredibly intentional about hiring people who share our vision and values. That alignment means we don’t have to spend as much time redirecting or managing misalignment. Everyone is more or less on the same page.”

However, challenges do arise, particularly in the fast-paced world of media. “There are moments when we feel the pressure to create content that drives subscriptions or appeals to broader markets. But we always come back to the question: How can we elevate this? How can we make it better than what’s out there already, while staying true to our mission?”

Shadi also emphasizes the importance of consultation and reflection. “One of our core values as a company is consultation. When conflicts arise, we approach them with a spirit of collaboration, assuming the best in each other.”

Fostering Joy and Connection

Despite the challenges, Shadi believes that fostering joy and connection is critical to the company’s culture. “In our team meetings, we always make space for laughter and lightness. Sometimes, we go off on tangents because someone needs to share something personal or what’s on their heart. Those moments are important. They remind us that we’re not just colleagues — we’re people working together toward a shared purpose.”

Shadi also values one-on-one connections, often relying on department heads to create touchpoints with their teams. “It’s not just about ticking items off a to-do list. It’s about asking, ‘How are you? What’s going on in your life outside of work? How can we support you?’ Those conversations build trust and strengthen our sense of community.”

A Mission to Inspire

For Shadi, the ultimate joy comes from knowing that her work has meaning. “I can’t believe I get to do what I do. It’s the coolest thing in the world to serve humanity in this capacity — to elevate the station of art for children and create something with substance.”

Her children remain her greatest source of inspiration. “Every time we create something, I ask myself, ‘What will Ezra take away from this? What will he learn?’ That’s the heart of what we do at Tiny Souls Media. We’re not just entertaining kids; we’re shaping the next generation.”

An Invitation to Reflect

Shadi’s story challenges us to think deeply about our own work. How do we align our creativity and business pursuits with the needs of society? How do we ensure the content we produce builds capacity in the next generation?

We invite you to reflect and share: What steps are you taking to ensure your work serves humanity’s higher purpose? How do you inspire meaningful change in your industry? Share your thoughts below and let’s drive change together.

More about Tiny Souls Media here: https://www.tinysoulsmedia.com/

About Shadi Toloui-Wallace:
Shadi Toloui-Wallace is the founder of Tiny Souls Media, a values-based children’s media and parent resource company, empowering little ones to reach their full social and emotional potential.
She’s also an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and producer, who’s been performing to large and small crowds around the world, for almost two decades.
Born and raised in the Middle East and Australia, Shadi relocated to Vancouver in 2011.
She’s independently recorded 4 solo records; performed as lead vocalist of Vancouver based neo-soul band, Tiny Havoc; co-founded a social action initiative called, Media for Transformation; has been the producer and host of Cloud9, a BahaiTeachings.org podcast. She is a wife and mother to two young children.