Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Beth Fynbo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Beth, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
As an older first-time mom with a little disposable income, I was always looking for easier ways to take care of my baby. When my girlfriends took me out to lunch after maternity leave I noticed a problem that I would need to solve when my son was a little bigger. They brought their one-year-old daughters to that lunch and the entire meal, the girls constantly dropped or threw whatever was in front of them. I immediately went onto Amazon to see what I could buy for my son to keep him entertained at mealtime. One of my friends was a germaphobe and told me all the dangers of public germs so I knew the solution had to include a safe, clean place for my son’s food. At the end of my search, there was nothing that provided a clean place for food AND kept toys off the ground. The next day I had an idea for the solution. I started by cutting and gluing things together. I found other new moms and showed them my prototype and asked them if it was something they would ever buy. They wanted to buy that junky prototype right out of my hands! So, I took an entrepreneurship course, started finding mentors and resources who could help, won business competitions, and found loans in order to take my idea to market 18 months later!
Beth, 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?
After having her first baby, Beth Fynbo, was navigating her new normal and how to live everyday life with her new sidekick. She and her friends, also new moms, made the “brave” decision to go out to lunch with babies in tow. They were excited to catch up, but found that babies and toddlers made for really distracting, and often unhappy, tablemates. From dropping (or throwing) their cups, pacifiers, and toys on the floor to constantly reaching for things to play with, it took a lot of attention to keep them engaged and contained. Not quite the friend reunion these moms had in mind.
Beth believed that it shouldn’t have to be that way for parents. That they deserved to enjoy a meal, a conversation, or an outing without constant hassles or interruptions while also enjoying their baby’s company. She was determined to create a solution. The Idea was born in 2017 and has become a game changer for parents across the country. The actual product was developed and first sold in 2019. Since then, Beth has created a whole system of baby-safe solutions that make it easier for parents to get things done and enjoy life together with their babies. The Busy Baby line of products work together to keep all of your little’s things in reach and off the floor during mealtime, playtime and go time, keeping them engaged and content.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The pandemic of 2020 probably caused every human on the planet to pivot in one way or another, I had just had a baby in January of that year and was awaiting my first shipment of retail packaged products to sell to stores. I was also ready to hit 15 expos in that year to get my product out in front of new and expecting parents. Well, there was no travel that year so the expos were canceled, the retail stores shut down for months, and I was marketing a product to be used in restaurants and they were closed too! All of my plans were crushed and sales completely stopped coming in.
Then I started to get feedback from customers who were using their Busy Baby Mats at home. They were thrilled that it kept baby busy while they did a Zoom call for work or helped homeschool one of their other children. I instantly pivoted everything about my business. I switched to all social media marketing and started showing off all the great ways Busy Baby could help at home. We grew 800% that year!
Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?
Shortly after I appeared on Shark Tank, a couple from Florida reached out to tell me that their invention would really complement and work well with the Busy Baby Mat. I told them to send me a sample and if it worked out, I’d happily sell their product for them on my website. It turns out the product was a perfect accessory for my mat, however, the company, which was made up of 2 moms who happened to have a great idea after their twins were born, wasn’t following all of the US regulations for safety and compliance. There were also a few small design flaws in the product. I tried to mentor them through the steps to correct everything but ended up deciding it would make more sense to do it myself if they were willing to sell me the patent. They took me up on my offer and I transformed their “Bungee Gripp” product into our Bottle Bungee and Toy Bungee products. It was a fairly straightforward Asset Sale transaction. We agreed upon a fair value and our patent attorneys worked together to draw up the contract. I reached out to a local organization that supports small business growth in the area and was able to secure an SBA-backed small business loan to pay for the patent.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://busybabymat.com
- Instagram: @busybabymat
- Facebook: @busybabymat
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/busy-baby-llc/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@busybabyrocks