Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grand Prize Winner: 9 Months Later!
Last week, my two daughters and I were sitting outside on the patio getting ready to dig into the delicious BBQ that my husband had just whipped up. Joining us was a good friend and his son. My oldest daughter, Anli, is 7 and my youngest, Tehya, is 5. My friend's son, James, is 10.
As the adults were readying dinner, the kids were chatting. James asked Anli what I did for a living. "My Mom is a CEO", she replied. He responded with a "wow" and Anli and Tehya had a reciprocal "yeah, it's cool". Then, as quick as a flash, they were contemplating who likes corn on the cob best.
It struck me then that starting a new business when my girls are just learning about jobs and the opportunities that women have available to them has a big impact on what they believe. It made me feel absolutely wonderful that "CEO" rolled off my daughter's lips as easily as "secretary" rolled off my own mom's when she was a little girl.
It started me thinking of just how I got to this place in life. It certainly has been circuitous!
Starting a crib company was the furthest thing from my mind about 3 years ago, when I and my friend and business partner, Johan Julin, received a US patent for a very different kind of baby crib. It was so frustrating to change the sheet on my baby cribs that I designed one that made it easy on Moms and Dads. Johan and I funded the patent expenses through a management consulting company that we co-ran. But, we really just thought we'd either sell or license the patent and move on with our lives as management consultants.
But, then Whirlpool came along with this contest for entrepreneurial Moms - it offered Moms who have an idea a chance to really kick start that idea into reality. In short, I applied and won the grand prize! Aside from being elated, winning that prize really started a sea change of thought for me as well as for Johan.
The prize, which consisted of start-up grant money and participation in Whirlpool Brand's "boot camp" for 3 days, made a difference with the three critical "C's" for start-ups:
Credibility
Having a company with the reputation, size and brand power of Whirlpool choose us as the grand prize winner over 1700 other applicants not only made Johan and I feel good about our efforts to date, it made our friends and family look at this crib idea as something more than a crazy idea we had. They viewed it as a potentially viable business - how could they not? Whirlpool said it could be!
This credibility was absolutely critical when we decided to create the business and needed additional start-up funds - it was these same people won over by Whirlpool's credibility who invested in our company.
Cash
I can't clearly enough state how very much money is required to bring a product from concept to market - especially one the size of a full-size baby crib! We had to cover advertising/marketing, manufacturing, prototyping, safety testing and myriad of other costs to start up.
It is hard to describe how grateful we are to Whirlpool; their award was $20,000. And, they actually increased the amount given to winners to pay the taxes on the award! That was amazing and we are very appreciative. Since money was so tight, that "tax bump" was a godsend.
Specifically, we used the grant money for:
- Travel to China to meet and negotiate a deal with the factory who would be building our cribs;
- Translation expenses associated with our trip;
- The safety testing required by the USA's JPMA organization in order to certify that the crib passes US safety codes;
- The first year's insurance premiums required for our company to do business in the US;
- Preparation for the first trade show in which we would be selling our cribs in the market;
- Part of the manufacturing costs associated with the first boatload of cribs.
What a list! When I look at this list of items and think about how the Whirlpool Company made that list happen, I am quite astounded. Literally, the Grant money brought our concept to market.
Competency Building
Having no real manufacturing knowledge under our belts, the "boot camp" aspect of the prize was invaluable. This consisted of a 3-day all-expense paid trip to Whirlpool Brand Headquarters in Michigan during which I was treated to an unbelievable array of people who freely shared their knowledge with the sole intention of helping me move forward in the process of getting the product onto the market.
The coordinator, Audrey Reed-Granger, was outstanding in gathering key talent to present and discuss critical issues that I would face in the upcoming months (and, they were right!). I have repeatedly gone back to my notes and to the people I met there to ask a question or get their opinion on something. They have been a wonderful source of support, and my business is better for having met them. Just to give a sampling, Audrey incorporated product development, PR, Marketing, Tax Law and Patent Law into the boot camp. And, as a special treat, Julie Aigner-Clark (the founder of Baby Einstein and a celebrity judge in the contest) was there and the discussion and dinner that we shared was very helpful in thinking through how I wanted to move forward strategically.
In short, Whirlpool offered us access to product experts, refined processes and entrepreneurial insights--in addition to the $20,000 development funds--to help nurture our fledgling business idea. Without Whirlpool, much of this would have been impossible!
After winning the award, Johan and I put together a business plan, raised additional funds, formed the LLC, went to China to negotiate with the factory, went again to inspect for quality, received inventory and opened for business officially on April 23, 2007.
And that is the story behind what my daughters tell their friends about what their mom does for a living.
Thank you, Whirlpool, for this terrific opportunity.
To all the Moms out there who have great ideas... go to www.Whirlpool.com/moms!