Founders : Consumer Products

63 Founders | Page:

Megan Fenno of FENNOfashion

Company:
FENNOfashion

College:
Savannah College of Art and Design

Robin Gentry McGee of Functional Formularies

How did you start your business?
My most recent project, Functional Formularies, is an organic, whole foods enteral (feeding tube) formula that I developed for my father after he suffered a very sudden and very severe traumatic brain injury. I could find nothing on the market that was not full of corn syrup, sugars, MSG, synthetic vitamins and loads of chemicals.

My father’s physical healing was so profound and so rapid after we began to give him the whole-foods formula that it set me on a whole new career path. I went back to school to study whole foods nutrition and started working as a health coach and health and wellness consultant. I also developed another line of both retail and “nutraceautical” organic whole foods based on a food-as-medicine model.

How did you come up the idea for your business?
My current business is nothing that I really ever sat down and thought, “Gee, I think I would like to do this as a business,” about. The idea was first born when the product that I needed wasn’t available in the marketplace, and then reinforced by vast number of people who consistently contact me looking for this kind of enteral formula for their loved ones. This business is purely a labor of love.

What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help?
I was accepted into Bad Girl Ventures’ second class, and was chosen as the winner, receiving the $25,000 interest-free loan, which has been a great help in launching the product lines. I also received a line of credit from Fifth Third Bank and a small loan from Sam Adams Brew the American Dream program. Most recently, I was one of four winners in the Innov8 for Health project and received a $5,000 prize, which will help in the test market trials of the enteral formula.

What inspires you?
My clients inspire me. One of my most favorites is former NFL linebacker Steve Smith. Steve was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) nine years ago. He has lost all central nervous function and has been on a feeding tube for about five years.

Steve’s wife, Chie, came to me a few months ago looking for our formula. Sadly, Steve had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after he had been on the commercial formula for years. He was also suffering a lot of digestive issues, which we see quite frequently with those formulas. Chie started giving him our formula and within a few months time, his docs declared him free of diabetes.

Steve, and others like him, who have all the odds stacked against them, have an incredible will to live and super-human strength to keep fighting. Those are the people who inspire me daily and give me the courage to continue on this uncharted path.

What’s next for you and your company?
I have been working diligently to bring my whole-foods feeding tube formula to mass market production due to the many requests that I get from people looking for exactly the same thing I went searching for.

My goal is, first and foremost, to get the enteral formula on shelves and to the people who want and need it. Then, we plan to expand the line of functional foods as well as add more formulas to the enteral line of products.

Interview by Robin Donovan

Questions with Robin Gentry McGee of Functional Formularies

Company:

Phil Storage of StoreFlix

How did you start your business?
I’m a 23-year veteran of consumer packaged goods industry and clearly understood the need to visually verify retail initiatives. Up until now, there has been no user-friendly and fast way to collect, manage and communicate this information to sales teams.

How did you come up the idea for your business?
We started with the vision of being able to instantly see how products are merchandised at any retail location on the planet from the StoreFlix website. To do this, we invented a patent pending tagging process that assigned tags or labels to images and videos collected at remote retail locations. Once tagged, real-time reports can be created and the visual content collected can be shared on a social network for business.

What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help?
We used several local resources, including local creative database/web developers and Fusion Alliance for mobile app development. In addition, we partnered with the city of Mason for office space and regional networking. We are providing Mason with the first social network for municipalities.

What inspires you?
We’re inspired to wow clients with our technology and to reinvent how companies manage retail execution. We invent everyday at StoreFlix and love it. 

What’s next for you and your company?
Social, photo and mobile is where the web is going. We continue to innovate around these three key areas. 

Interview by Robin Donovan
 

Questions with Phil Storage of StoreFlix

Company:

Kim Howell and Somi Javaid of Mamadoc

How did you start your business?
We started the business around the idea of a compression garment to help the pain of engorgement and weaning.  The medication once available to help with lactation cessation has been pulled from the market due to side effects, so physicians currently recommend binding with Ace bandages, using cabbage leaves for pain relief or wearing several tight sports bras—not great options. 

Our current product, Nox, provides a better option.  We covered the elastic with bamboo, a very soft fabric that also has natural wicking capabilities.  We also added pockets on the inside for customized breast icepacks.

How did you come up the idea for your business?
We came up with the idea for Mamadoc during a walk around the soccer field as our boys were practicing.  Somi was weaning her third child at the time and told me about an idea for a compression garment.  I suggested a few fun taglines, and as we laughed and joked about possible names for such a product, we realized that with our backgrounds we could make a good team.  Somi is an obstetrician and gynecologist, and Kim’s background is in retail and pharmaceutical marketing.

What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help?
Family was very involved in our start-up:  Kim’s mom sewed our first prototype. Her cousin, Susan Young (Susan Young Designs) developed our logos and branding; another cousin, Monica Scalf wrote our copy.  Somi’s brother-in-law, Jim Caruso, designed our website and helps with search engine optimization and IT.  We found a local manufacturer to refine the designs and produce the products. 

In addition, we have a SCORE mentor, and we are utilizing the great resources at Bad Girl Ventures.

What inspires you?
 We are inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of this community.  Everyone is incredibly helpful and truly wants us to succeed.  Women in business in Cincinnati are very generous with their time, and ideas, and resources.
What’s next for you and your company? 

We hope to add a few additional products to our mix this year.  We are very excited about the response to our products from one of the largest maternity and pregnancy retailers in the country.

Interview by Robin Donovan

Questions with Kim Howell and Somi Javaid of Mamadoc

Company: