We recently connected with Addie Gundry and have shared our conversation below.
Addie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.
I invented Pluie, the world’s first and only self-sanitizing diaper changing table for public restrooms. Powered by UV-C light, Pluie sanitizes the comfortable changing table within 60 seconds after every use.
Pluie’s patent-protected UV-C light system is what sanitizes the table. Triggered automatically, the light system turns on to sanitize the entire changing surface once the table is closed after use. This means, the table is sanitized after each use instead of waiting for janitorial staff to sanitize it by hand at the end of a shift! Not only does Pluie’s UV-C light system provide a more frequent sanitization, it is more effective, quicker and repeatable without the impact of human error. With Pluie’s UV-C light system facility managers no longer need to sanitize the surface with harsh chemicals, which eliminates waste and is a more sustainable approach to keeping changing tables safe and clean.
Pluie is women owned and operated, WBENC certified.
Pluie is a sustainable product – Pluie’s UV-C technology removes the need for harsh chemicals, therefore reducing the amount of chemicals potentially left behind to cause irritation to a child’s skin. It also reduces staff cleaning time.
Pluie talked to over 650 parents nationwide and found that 93% of parents say cleanliness of the changing table is overwhelmingly the top factor to use or not use the changing table available (Pluie 2020 consumer research)
Diaper changing tables are often an after-thought for many businesses. Federal legislation (BABIES Act) requires changing tables in public federal buildings, but it is left up to states and municipalities to make other public buildings safe and accommodating to caregivers. Currently, less than 10 states require changing tables to be available in public buildings (Pluie Legislation.)
Pluie is made in the USA and was recently named a TIME Best Invention of 2021 and Fast Company 2021 World Changing Idea. Addie Gundry was also named to Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Female Founders 100 list of trailblazing women.
Addie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Addie and I am the founder of Pluie, the world’s first and only self-sanitizing diaper changing table for public restrooms. Powered by UV-C light, Pluie sanitizes the comfortable changing table within 60 seconds after every use.
Well, you could say I took a bit of a non-traditional career path. I was a physics major and dropped out of college to attend culinary school which really surprised everyone because I was incredibly academic. This was a big risk to take as a 19 year old especially because I had to self-fund this decision, but I knew with hard work it would pay-off. I had some not-so-glamorous roles working in three Michelin star restaurants and after a lot of hustle I started training under Daniel Boulud and then Thomas Keller. I left fine dining to work for Martha Stewart and while working for her I went back to school at NYU in the evenings to finish my bachelor’s degree. My entrepreneurial journey really began while working at an innovation consulting firm where I designed food and beverage products for large CPG companies. I then competed on Cutthroat Kitchen, which I won, and was a finalist on The Next Food Network Star (while pregnant).
I started working as a test kitchen chef, authoring eleven cookbooks and even appearing on QVC, breaking a cookbook sales per minute record! My son Cooper was born and I became incredibly interested in public changing tables after I had that ah-ha moment changing his blowout at a restaurant. I knew this was a big opportunity. I continued to work full time in the kitchen while creating Pluie on my nights and weekends. I filed a utility patent in 2019, raised capital through friends and family on maternity leave with my daughter, Claire, (yes throughout this I had another baby!) and quit my job in early 2020 to focus all my attention on Pluie!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Pluie was a capital intensive business to launch, as most hardware companies are. Prior to even validating the market or testing our product on consumers we had to invest upwards of $250,000 in tooling, prototyping, and going through an extensive safety and certification process. This is challenging when you need a significant amount of money before you even have a product to then show potential investors there is a need in the market. In this first round of funding through friends and family you must focus on market size – over 4 million public restrooms in the United States and the founder or founders. Do they believe in the need for your product or service, that it is a big enough market and that you are the right person to build the business!
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I knew nothing about manufacturing a product and this was my biggest concern! I was fortunate to work with very talented designers and engineers to help bring Pluie to life. I worked with an industrial designer and engineer out of mHub in Chicago and a fantastic consulting firm, Mitul Patel Consulting. Knowing I had little expertise in this space it was critical to hire people that did. Not only did we work with these contractors but this was important as I found my Co-Founder. I wanted to bring on someone who had a very different skill-set than my own. I was introduced to Brittany Hizer in early 2020 and knew she was the perfect person to join me with her extensive background in product development! She had 2 decades of product development experience – from commercial fitness equipment to fishing boats. She landed her dream job in Chicago right out of college working in product development for the largest fitness equipment manufacturer in the world. After 15 years in various leadership roles she pivoted from fitness to fishing and became the first female President of an $80M fishing boat business. I am so proud to have Brittany part of the Pluie family!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hellopluie.com
- Instagram: @hello_pluie
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellopluie
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hellopluie
- Twitter: @hellopluie
Image Credits
Ashley Wittmer