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The Modern Mompreneur: Mission Success!

When Mackenzie Wright Sullivan joined forces with her mom, Sandra Wright to found I'mStillMe!, she was simply in search of a more sophisticated diaper bag she could call her own.

Little did she know her child gear company responsible for such fanciful, but highly practical creations as PiggyBack Diaper Bags, LilyPad, DadPad and the super popular Oopc!, an all-in-one bib and burp cloth, would become a huge hit with A-List Hollywood moms such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Liv Tyler. Mackenzie, who lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut with her husband and two young daughters, has since left her job in human resources now runs her thriving business full time.

Modern Mom's Sophfronia Scott talked to her about the highs and lows of being a successful Mompreneur.

1. What were you doing before you started I'mStillMe?

I was working in human resources at Tufts University. I graduated from college with an Art History/Anthropology degree and ended up in HR, which needless to say was not my first love. My mom, Sannie, had her own antique business for over 20 years prior to starting I'mStillME!

2. Why did you start I'mStillMe?

My mom and I are in business together and started the company by accident. We did not intend to start our own company, but lucky for us it ended up that way!  After I had my first daughter, Casey, in November 2002 I couldn't find a diaper bag that didn't scream diaper bag, i.e., Winnie the Pooh, so my Mom made me one for Christmas. It was a simple tote on the outside with all of the necessary pockets on the inside. It had a poem that she wrote attached that said:

"Awake at four

No time anymore

Then a baby smiles

and I remember

HEY, I'm still ME!"

People liked the bag and she started sewing more and we sold them on eBay very successfully for about one-and-a-half years. I then started a very simple website for people to see our other fabrics and designs and from there our company was born. Our name came from the original poem and the fact that we wanted new moms to feel like themselves, not just a mom. After my Mom sewed the first 1000 bags by hand we outsourced the sewing overseas. After the bags came changing stations, called DadPads and LilyPads, and clutches. Once my second daughter, Addie, was born in 2005 we invented our OOPC!, a burp cloth that converts into a bib. The Oopc! has been a huge success for us and it is now patent pending. As my kids grow so does out business. Our new Let's Play Mail set debuted to rave reviews and we quickly sold out of our first shipment. This has been our best seller and we hope in 2008 to expand the series with new toys and games.

3. What was the inspiration for your earliest products? My kids/my mom's grandkids are the inspiration behind every product. Addie was the messiest baby ever, thus the invention of the OOPC! Casey loves the mail, thus Let's Play Mail

4. How did you finance the start up?

HAH! You quickly realize that even after five years in business you still need to find ways to pay for things! Our costs were minimal to start. They have grown incrementally as we have grown. We have sold stock, scrounged savings, etc., to finance our business. We also bought another company, Toddler Treads in 2007. We knew this was a great business that had great potential so we again scrounged some cash together knowing that it would pay off in the long run and luckily it has already. We are now the US/Canada distributors for Gucio Shoes, an amazing toddler shoe, handmade in Poland.

Votes: 8

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