When it comes to buying baby products, most mothers are presented with a cookie-cutter solution: pink or blue, cartoons or superheroes. But what if you don’t want to be just another cookie in that jar? Founder, Tracy Heller built Brooklyn Born to cater to Millennial mothers in the nursery bedding market by providing them with modern designs. Be bold. Be daring. Be Brooklyn Born.

Let’s dive into gender for a second here. It’s a funny topic. Whenever we approach it, we receive a lot of feedback and critique. So, we like to think of it as the colors in the rainbow, sexuality on a spectrum. Forcing your child to choose between pink or blue might actually hinder their creativity and constrict them to traditional gender roles. Therefore, the colors and prints we choose for our babies should not segment them into categories, but liberate them onto blank canvases. Jumping on this bandwagon and taking inspiration from interior design, Tracy Heller reveals her journey with us and how she does not have a baby, just yet.

American by nationality and having lived in Seoul in her early life, Tracy Heller was no entrepreneur by birth. She majored in Political Science at Northwestern University and thought that she wanted to be a lawyer. After a couple of internships, she changed her mind and ended up moving to New York upon graduation to work in management consulting for two years. That didn’t seem to resonate with her either, so she enrolled at Parsons AAS Fashion program to try and land a job in merchandising. “This was a very strategic way for me to make a career transition, so I only went for one semester until I received a job at Coach as a Merchandiser.”

“I wanted to make a switch to e-commerce as the market was just starting to take off in 2010, so I joined Bonobos and after a year went to Diapers.com which is owned by Amazon.” It was during her time at Diapers.com and her experience in online retail that sparked the aha-moment for Tracy.

“I ended up loving baby products. There is something very emotional about that purchase and time in a woman's life.”

“While working in this category, I noticed that there was a big gap in the nursery market. Everything looked the same, even though people wanted to purchase something different.” Tracy felt that most of the existing product in this market looked childish. Parents of our generation could not relate to the aesthetics of crib sheets and other products offered. “After waiting a couple of years, when it didn't seem like there were a whole lot of brands popping up in this space to take advantage of the opportunity, I thought that I should do it.” With every tradeshow that passed, Tracy got more and more excited about the launch date.

“Our company is mission driven: we want to create a hospitable environment for working mothers, allowing flexible hours so that women can pursue a fulfilling career while having a family. Essentially, it’s women helping women. That’s what gets me going.”

November 2016, Brooklyn Born gives birth to a range of crib sheets, quilted blankets and stroller blankets priced between $49 - $129 and made out of organic cotton (mention promo code " radiche " for 10% off). They distribute via wholesale as well as direct-to-consumer. “As a buyer in the baby industry, I witnessed direct-to-consumer brands having a tough time getting in front of moms, especially pregnant mothers who shop via retail stores as they don't know what they need. Therefore, the wholesale route allows us to grow the business faster.”

The Inspiration

“The idea for our prints stem from trends in the interior design and fashion space. I looked at what Barneys and other high-end designers were carrying and based my inspiration on that. I liked the idea of having an abstract painting and worked with a freelance designer to create something similar. It has been one of our best sellers so far. I was very nervous to make this particular print because it was very bold and out there, but people have really loved it.” Tracy's advice: Designing around your own taste is not always the way to go when trying to launch and grow a successful business.

The Supply Chain

“I started off by exploring domestic manufacturing, but it quickly became clear that the cost involved would not be viable unless my product retailed for twice as much as that of the competitor’s. Therefore, I reached out to a product developer on LinkedIn who introduced me to factories overseas in India.” Side note: we have been seeing a steady correlation between product developers found on LinkedIn and the resources provided to help start-ups strive. Sign-up for premium now if you haven’t already (just kidding!).

The Advice:

Take it slow. Think through every piece of the process.
Create a minimum viable product.
Get a strong team together.
If you can’t get a team, think about if this is the right idea to move forward with or should you wait before executing because it is a lot of work!
The more people you have on your founding team, the better position you have to achieve success.
Pay close attention to quality in the baby space when it comes to textiles.

Tracy is currently looking for a badass co-founder. If you have a background in Marketing or Operations and go gaga over baby products, this may be a good fit. Email us and we shall put you in touch. After all, it has only been a few months since her launch.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Born.