Laine Caspi, who founded Parents of Invention about three years ago in the San Fernando Valley, is at no loss for ideas. The goal of her operation is to market all the items that she and her network of moms think up that would make their lives easier.
“I was a crisis counselor at the suicide prevention center. (Then) my husband and I found a great baby carrier in Israel. Everywhere I’d go people would ask me where I got it, but there was nowhere here to get one. So, I found someone who sold me 10 and I sold them all in one day out of the back of my car. That company was called ‘The Ultimate Baby Wrap’ and I sold to the moms I would meet between ‘Mommy and Me’ classes and the other activities you do with babies. It was a grassroots mom thing.
“One of those moms walked into Right Start, which at that time was part of FAO Schwartz, and the manager there loved it and that was the beginning. Then I was talking to moms saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if this was out there,’ and I realized there are a lot of moms out there with great ideas.
“Last year was a big year for us. We had three products up to that point and last year we brought in seven new products. We sell to Right Start, Babies R Us.com, K’s Merchandise, which is all over the Midwest, and local mom-and-pop stores.
“The Ultimate Baby Wrap is still our key product. We also have nursing pillows that vibrate, toilet-flushing handles to promote potty training, antibacterial wets for keychains, car-seat blankets, a changing pad, a baby bottle holder that acts like a third hand anything you can think of that a parent might need.
“My daughter is three now so for the last three months anytime somebody brought something on potty training I would say yes because that’s the phase I was going through.
“If someone has an idea they go to my Web site and fill out a non-disclosure agreement. Then we discuss it. If they have a prototype I show it to my major buyers and mom-and-pop stores. If they think it’s viable then I would have a test market done.
“I have three different factories in China that work for us, although most textile stuff is still done in the United States. I don’t have any employees on payroll because I outsource almost everything.
“Last year we did just over a quarter of a million dollars and this year our low estimates are that we’ll do just under $1 million. I’ll probably stick with this one (for a while) but I have a couple of other business ideas. One is a very interactive Web site and the other is for parents who can’t have nice furniture because of their kids.”
