We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Garrett Wood Kusmierz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Garrett Wood below.
Garrett Wood, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
After a traumatic hospital birth of my son in 2021, (TLDR: It took 4 days, every intervention, a failed epidural, an infection, 4 hours of pushing and no sleep), I came home with a new baby and another challenge – extreme breast engorgement and breastmilk leakage.
Leaking all over my sheets (and having to wash them daily!), leaking through my shirts and bras, and trying to squeeze my engorged breasts into bras that felt painfully tight were personal hygiene issues that threatened my ability to bond with my baby. I was constantly frustrated with the leakage, the pain, and the lack of solution. “I wish I had a diaper for my boobs!” I yelled one day.
18 months later, I set off to invent “The Nipple Diaper,” the world’s first, absorbent, disposable bra for breastmilk leakage and engorgement, made of biodegradable materials. But bigger than that, the team I recruited had the vision to create a suite of perinatal personal hygiene products that reduce mess and stress so mama can better bond with baby.
Not only are we in a mental health crisis as a country, but matresence, (the shift from maiden to mother), is a shift many women are going through alone, without support, amidst the cascade of shifting hormones that can cause even more mental health challenges like postpartum depression, anxiety and more….
To us, reducing mess and stress in personal hygiene through our non-toxic, mess-reducing, sustainably sourced products can take one major stressor off mama’s plate, allowing her to focus on what matters in the time she has at home, postpartum, with baby.
Garrett Wood, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My background was in coaching, podcasting and writing, (and prior to all of that, commercial real estate). I never planned on launching a CPG company, however, I couldn’t figure out why a product like “The Nipple Diaper” hadn’t existed yet. After my traumatic entrance to motherhood, I knew I wanted to contribute to the maternal health space. The day we set off to invent the hero product, we changed the name of my podcast which was formerly known as the “Dare To Move Podcast,” to “The kozēkozē Podcast,” in efforts to have meaningful conversations around maternal health topics, as well as conversations with other mom-preneurs who are making the maternal healthcare space a better place!
Our podcast and content in general is one of our favorite things. As moms ourselves, we know the breadth of what the perinatal journey can mean for women, and what it can look and feel like. Our COO, Lili, gave birth at 24 weeks of pregnancy and spent 203 days in the NICU during the R&D of The Nipple Diaper and Nip Gloss (our mess-free nipple balm). Our CMO, Courtney, joined us after the stillbirth of her daughter Mayla, and suffered two miscarriages during the building of kozēkozē. I personally found myself on a 3-year secondary infertility journey, which informed our mess-free peecup, the kozēpee peecup. The pain, the joy, the challenge, and the grief is all a part of the ecology of motherhood and we feel it’s important to shed light on it all, often!
How’d you meet your business partner?
Lili Helmuth and I were college roommates who happened to run the Alpha Phi Sorority together at Miami University in Ohio. It was a hard role to have as 20 year-olds, but I learned without a shadow of a doubt that I could trust Lili, and I also learned through living and working with her that she is not only a jack of all trades who can solve any problem, but that whatever she commits herself to, she does full-out. I knew someday I’d want to work with her, and she was my first call when I had the idea.
Similarly, I knew Courtney from college. We had a class together and kept in touch post-grad. In 2018, she actually helped me launch my podcast, and thus we had an experience of working together, remotely, on a content-based project, prior to kozēkozē.
I come from a family business that my grandfather started. When my dad took over, I noticed that he hired his friends – people he trusted, which is not always the mainstream advice. Thus, I didn’t think anything of it, or look outside of my inner circle when choosing who I’d want by my side to build kozēkozē.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Given my coaching background and experience with self-development, I think getting as clear on who you are: from your limiting beliefs, to your ego, to the stories you tell yourself, to healing your trauma, etc. If you don’t know the ins and outs of yourself, I believe you will work it all out, so to speak, in your business. Businesses are a karmic contract for self-growth, undoubtedly. Thus, whether it’s knowing your enneagram, your astrology chart, or reading books on money mindset, it’s all so important because in the early days it’s you and yourself, working together, and many times it can be hard to get out of our own way.
Some of my favorite books and teachers:
Happy Pocket Full of Money by David Cameron Gikandi
Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza
Mental and Emotional Release by Dr. Matt James
New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Inspired Destiny by Dr. John F. Demartini
More than any “how to” courses, I believe we all have our own destiny and it’s ours to unlock– to the extent that we can grow into our own unique full potential. Investing time in knowing yourself is the most important thing, in my opinion. Why? Because everything in entrepreneurship is going to be a new adventure.
In my case, I’d never manufactured something before, or managed logistics, etc, however, knowing *how* I learn, *how* I mange stress, and my belief in my own ability to learn something new and execute is better than trying to spend time learning “how to manufacture something.” I believe in knowing thyself and then getting out on the field and practicing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kozekoze.com
- Instagram: @kozekozemama @garrettnwood
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092243940269. and personal: https://www.facebook.com/garrett.n.wood/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrett-nicole-wood-148446116/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kozekoze
- Other: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-koz%C4%93koz%C4%93-podcast/id1445840057
Image Credits
Headshot of me (Garrett): Jess McDougall Photography
All brand/product images: Dinna Gonzalez
Photo from booth of team (my personal iphone photo)