We were lucky to catch up with Courtney Boylan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea for Le Lolo after giving birth to my son. I was breastfeeding and needed a nipple shield to help improve his latch. The problem was… I kept losing it. Every nipple shield on the market was clear, and I felt like I spent half my day searching under couch cushions, crib sheets, and in every corner of the house. I remember thinking, Why isn’t there a colored option? So I searched online… and found nothing.

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spark, so I told my husband, “I’m going to make one.”

Fast forward two years later when my daughter was born, and I was struggling with the exact same issue. That was the moment I knew it wasn’t just my problem. Moms everywhere were dealing with this frustration, and it was time to actually create the solution.

Once I started designing the shield, another thought hit me: if I’m recreating this product from scratch, why not make it beautiful? Why not give moms something they’d feel good looking at during such an emotional, vulnerable time? That spark opened a floodgate. I went right back to how I felt during postpartum—the identity shift, the overwhelm, the hormones, trying to feel like myself again while caring for a tiny new human.

I kept thinking: If I had products that reminded me I was strong, worthy, and capable… maybe postpartum wouldn’t have felt so heavy.

That was the beginning of Le Lolo. For so long, everything in postpartum has centered on the baby, and of course our babies are everything, but moms deserve care, beauty, and intention too. They deserve products that make them feel supported, seen, and uplifted, not clinical items that make them feel like an afterthought.

With Le Lolo, we’re changing that. We’re creating beautiful, functional postpartum accessories because moms deserve just as much beauty as their babies. And the tools we rely on during postpartum should make us feel empowered, because that’s exactly what every mom deserves.

Courtney, 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?

I’m Courtney, the founder of Le Lolo, a modern postpartum essentials brand turning stale and sterile postpartum products into beautiful, functional accessories that remind every mom of her beauty, strength, and worth during one of the most transformative seasons of their lives. I got into this industry not because I planned to, but because motherhood showed me a gap in the market that desperately needed to be filled.

After having my son, I found myself breastfeeding with a nipple shield… and constantly losing it. Every shield on the market was clear, sterile-looking, and impossible to find. I searched everywhere for a colored option and came up empty. Years later, when my daughter was born and I struggled with the same issue again, I had this moment of clarity: If no one has solved this yet, maybe I’m meant to.

That spark grew into a much bigger vision. The more I explored postpartum products, the more I realized how clinical, outdated, and uninspiring they were. Moms are walking through enormous physical, emotional, and hormonal changes, yet they’re handed accessories that make them feel like patients instead of the extraordinary women they are. I wanted to change that.

So I created Le Lolo, a collection of beautiful, functional, mom-centered postpartum accessories designed to lift women up instead of weigh them down. Our product line now includes colored nipple shields, our first-of-its-kind nipple shield sticker, organic balms, breast therapy packs, lactation tools, silver nursing cups, hydrogel pads, and more, each item intentionally designed to blend beauty, comfort, and real function.

The problem we solve is simple but powerful:
Moms deserve beautiful, supportive tools during postpartum. Not clinical products that make them feel disconnected from themselves. Not cheap items that add stress instead of relieving it. We design accessories that help moms feel more confident, calm, and cared for while also making breastfeeding and early postpartum easier.

What sets Le Lolo apart is our philosophy:
We put mom at the center.
Not as an afterthought, not as an add-on

Every color, every material, every curve of each product is created to help a mom feel seen. Beautiful postpartum products matter because how a mom feels matters. And when she feels supported, she feels stronger.

I’m most proud of the fact that Le Lolo was built from real motherhood, built by real moms who have experienced postpartum. Not corporate guesswork. It was born from my own sleepless nights, my own breast-feeding struggles, and my own longing to feel like myself again. And now, it’s helping moms across the country feel empowered during one of the most vulnerable times in their lives.

If there’s one thing I want potential customers or followers to know, it’s this:
Le Lolo isn’t just a brand. It’s a movement to bring beauty, dignity, and emotional support back into postpartum care. You deserve products that remind you that you are extraordinary, because you are.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

Le Lolo is a fully self-funded business, just my husband and me believing deeply in a mission that felt bigger than us. Once I made the decision to go for it, I knew I needed to build the financial foundation first. So I went back to work for a year and gave it everything I had. I woke up at 4 a.m., drove an hour and a half each way, worked full days, and repeated it again and again. Every penny I made that year was saved and poured directly into bringing Le Lolo to life.

Because of that sacrifice, I run the business incredibly lean and very intentionally. I handle the majority of the work myself, from product development to marketing to fulfillment. I have one incredible employee, Shyanne, who runs Social Media, as it is not my strength! Every contractor I’ve brought in has been a woman—mostly mothers—because supporting other women is part of our DNA. I’m thoughtful with every dollar spent. I use 0% APR business credit cards strategically for inventory, and I invest only where I know it will make the biggest impact on sales and long-term growth.

As we continue to grow, I look forward to expanding the team. But I’m genuinely grateful for this season of doing it all. Being deep in the business has given me a full understanding of every moving part, and that knowledge will guide smarter, more confident decisions as we scale. Every step, every late night, every dollar saved has shaped Le Lolo into the brand it is today, which is purposeful, resilient, and built with a whole lot of heart.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

When I started Le Lolo, I knew absolutely nothing about creating a physical product. My entire career had been spent in leadership roles at Target and Amazon—Store Director, HR Manager, operations, people management—but none of that prepared me for product development. So I did the only thing I knew to do: I opened my laptop and literally Googled how to make a product.

That search led me to the basics. I needed a 3D model, which I could then share with a manufacturer who could bring it to life. My budget was tiny, so I turned to Fiverr and found my incredible 3D designer, Anny, a mom from Spain. I sent her the world’s worst sketch of what I wanted my nipple shield to look like, and she transformed it into a beautiful, functional design that exceeded anything I had imagined.

Next came manufacturing. I used Alibaba to find factories that specialized in baby-safe silicone products. A lot of people have negative experiences with Alibaba, but I’ve had nothing but positive ones. Almost every product I’ve developed has been sourced through there. (Shipping Yeti is another great tool I now use to find manufacturers, too.)

As I searched, I had a few core non-negotiables:

Proper certifications: I needed factories that used certified, BPA-free, food-grade silicone and followed strict safety standards for mom and baby.

Pricing: I didn’t know my exact budget yet, but I gathered quotes from multiple manufacturers to understand the true cost landscape.

Communication + trust: This was a big one. I wanted to work with someone who was responsive, patient, and willing to educate me through the process.

Eventually, I found an amazing manufacturing partner who answered every question and guided me through the steps. I paid a little more for that relationship, but I know it’s one of the reasons my products are as high quality and consistent as they are.

As Le Lolo grew, so did my manufacturing needs. Because my line spans multiple materials—silicone, vegan leather, silver, paper goods, hydrogel, supplements—I now work with about seven different manufacturers. I use the exact same model with each one: safety first, clear communication, and thoughtful budgeting. It’s worked incredibly well.

What started with a Google search, a bad sketch, and a dream has evolved into a beautiful, intentional product line built for moms—proof that you don’t have to know everything when you start. You just need heart, grit, and the willingness to figure it out step by step.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wearelelolo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearelelolo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563060912745