Revolutionizing Infant Feeding Gear with ezpz Founder & CEO Lindsey Laurain

Lindsey Laurain (0s):

I don't spend a lot of time looking externally. Really. I want to look internally like value based company. What are we doing? I don't really care about the competitors, believe in yourself. And if you believe in yourself, go for it. I believed in it so long. I mean, my friends were probably like good luck with that.

Katie Ferraro (15s):

Hey, there I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietitian, college nutrition professor and mom seven specializing in baby led weaning. Here on the baby led weaning made easy podcast, I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, leaving you with the confidence and knowledge you need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby led weaning. Hey guys, welcome back. So I'm going to mix it up a little bit with the interview episodes this month on the podcast. So I do two new episodes a week on Monday. It's always a solo episode. Just me doing a mini baby led weaning training for you guys.

Katie Ferraro (56s):

But on Thursday's episode, I always interview a guest expert or a person of interest in the feeding world. And I've been trying to chunk it out so month by month, there's like a different theme. So, so last month for national nutrition month, I interviewed four different registered dietitians working in and around the areas of infant and pediatric feeding. This month, I'm going to go a different direction and I want to highlight some fabulous women who run female led feeding companies. So I know a lot of times you're out there, you know, buying new stuff for your babies or trying out new stuff where you'll see stuff on Instagram and check it out. And if you're like me, I always wonder like, who is the person behind that brand? Like I like to invest my money in brands that are aligned with my beliefs and what I value.

Katie Ferraro (1m 39s):

And so this month I'm going to be sharing five different female led feeding companies run by women who I really admire. And I think like, gosh, other parents might be interested in knowing about the people behind the brands that many of us are using day to day, or maybe to discover some new brands and new people working in feeding that you weren't previously aware of. So it made perfect sense to start out this series of female led feeding company interviews with Lindsey Laurain, and she's the founder and CEO of EzPz. So EzPz makes the original silicone suction mats and bowls. They make a, the revolutionary tiny cup and tiny spoons. I know a lot of you guys use those for baby led weaning. They're the products that I not only use exclusively in my house for my kids, but that I also use for all of the families that I work with as well.

Katie Ferraro (2m 24s):

And so Lindsey story is really inspiring. She is going to take us from the beginning where she got the idea to start the company, the challenges that she encountered as she tried to bring it to market some of the setbacks, as well as the successes that EzPz has had as a company. But again, I wanted to start this series of interviews with Lindsey, because I think there's no other company that has done more to revolutionize the world of infant feeding in the last five years than EzPz has. So she's going to talk about her team. She's going to talk very openly about some of the challenges they've had with people knocking off their products in the litigation that they've had to go through and the negative feedback that you get, not just professionally, but personally, she was on shark tank and had a really bad experience, which she shares very openly.

Katie Ferraro (3m 5s):

So this interview is a little bit longer than a lot of my interview episodes, but if you guys use EzPz products, if you're looking for feeding gear and you want to know more about the people behind the brands, I think you'll love this interview with Lindsey Laurain. I personally know that I like to align my purchases with people and brands that value the same things that I do, and also brands that you can trust. And so I hope that by hearing Lindsey story and learning more about EzPz, we'll give you guys insight into a little bit more about their brand, but certainly also, I know for me, I only recommend those products because I do trust so much in the brand and also in the process that they have for developing products, which she'll share inside of this episode. So with no further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Lindsey Laurain, the founder, and CEO of EzPz.

Katie Ferraro (3m 52s):

Well, hi Lindsey, thank you so much for being on the podcast with me.

Lindsey Laurain (3m 55s):

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Katie Ferraro (3m 58s):

Okay. I want to start with a confessional. We're doing a month long feature of female run feeding companies. And I wanted to start with you because I know you already know this, but I'm like one of your biggest fans, like I think you're amazing. You started EzPz by yourself. When you already had three kids, you put your job, you went on shark tank. Your products are like revolutionizing infant feeding. I mean serious goals. Lindsay. So sorry for making you blush, but tell us your backstory. Like how did you come to create this amazing company? EzPz.

Lindsey Laurain (4m 23s):

That is so nice. So you're my hero. You have way more kids and do a lot more, but yeah, so I never thought I would be an entrepreneur. I spent my career in corporate America. I was in the medical field, had a great job, never also thought we would have identical twins. And so we had three boys under the age of three and they were really messy kids eating. Like, I'm sure you can imagine every night in your household. And at that time six years ago. So we launched in 2014. The market was a lot different than it is now, but there was nothing available on the market. Really all the suction bulls didn't work and came off. And so one night at dinner, my husband literally was like, ah, there's gotta be a better way.

Lindsey Laurain (5m 4s):

And so I got online and I started looking and I realized nothing did exist. And so I taped a bowl to a piece of paper and I told my husband, I literally came home from work and said, if anyone can start a company, I can, I'm very driven. So I always say it's a blessing and a curse, right? I'm all or nothing. And so really I taped a bowl to a piece of paper. I ordered a book, the mom inventors handbook on how to start your own company, which is so cliche. And then everything went so fast after that. So we had the idea in March of 2014 and then we launched in August of 2014 with a product at a trade show. And we also launched on Kickstarter. And that was launching with our happy mat, which is our flagship product.

Lindsey Laurain (5m 45s):

So this is what we launched and we had toddlers at the time. And so at that time it was all about just less mess, right? I was in survival mode. And so I wanted a product that would catch the mess on the outside. So I love the placemat feature. It has three compartments. So it kind of forced me to serve three foods. And all of a sudden I was a Pinterest mom at the time. Right? Cause I could put like blueberries in the yogurt eyes and all of a sudden I was cool and I loved we could stack and serve everyone at the same time and then take all of the mess to the kitchen. And back at this time, there was it's so crazy. Again, six years ago, there was no pastel color feeding products. There was no gray feeding products, everything was primary colors and, you know, ABCs, it's hard to believe now because things have shifted so much, but we were really kind of the first, really not only creating feeding products that are appropriate, but beautiful feeding products.

Katie Ferraro (6m 37s):

We'll have to tell you last night I was, my sister loves visiting from LA and she was helping me feed my kids. And I, all my kids are six and under, but they still eat out of mini mats. Cause that's like, just so you guys know, like the happy mat is like the bigger size for kind of older kids. So at the age, when she invented the product, like they were kind of moving out of toddlerhood the mini mat. It's kinda like in the middle, you can use it for babies or toddlers. I still use it for my big kids. I had the marble ones, which I love, I have a marble table in the marble mats. And my sister-in-law's like, Ooh, fancy, you guys are having the marble mats nights. Like, yeah, they actually like look nice. Like things don't have to be pink and blue and red and yellow for kids, you know?

Lindsey Laurain (7m 9s):

And so I'd gotten a lot less anxious as I've gotten older, but I would, mealtime was so stressful because it was so messy. And so I would use like a regular placement, like a cars or something with a different bowl that different colors, spoon and fork. And so food was everywhere and it was just a very like anxiety driven time when you're a little OCD. So this too was beautiful and it was all contained in one place. And I could keep the gray place mat out on my counter because my whole house is gray. And so that was, I mean, a big part. Again, our mission from our company has changed so much and we'll talk about the team a little bit, but at the beginning it was right. All about making less mess. And then the suction feature, the self-sealing, I mean, there was nothing like it on the market. So there was this huge wow factor at the beginning to, you know, that just stop people in their tracks, whether you see a person lifting a table or a kid can't pull it off the table

Katie Ferraro (7m 59s):

Suction is real. I know is

Lindsey Laurain (8m 0s):

Suction is real. And so, you know, and that was kind of a happy accident, which is crazy. I wanted something that was all in one. And when it slide around and people couldn't toss the bowl or the kids could possible, but I actually found a local manufacturer in Colorado phenomenal gentleman that he made me the first prototype in his garage and he put in a mold and poured liquid silicone around it. And when he pulled it out, put it on a table and we couldn't get off the table, literally we were lifting and all freaking out. And so it was kind of, we never thought the suction would be that real.

Katie Ferraro (8m 33s):

So did you quit your job right then? Or like, how did you come to do this full-time?

Lindsey Laurain (8m 37s):

So I had the idea. So then I got obsessed and started doing it at night. And I mean, eventually I was just doing it a lot whenever I had breaks. So I kept my other job. I'm a pretty responsible person and for six months. And so I did both of them. And then when we launched our on Kickstarter and then we went to the trade show and we got funded on Kickstarter. I quit my job right after that, I came home after actually the ABC kids expo that trade show and resigned on the Monday after the show.

Katie Ferraro (9m 4s):

Was it always called EzPz or why did you name it that ?

Lindsey Laurain (9m 8s):

Yes. So EzPz. It's always been called EzPz and it was just one of those things. Again, our mission at the beginning was making everything easy peasy, less mess. Let's make it EzPz for parents. The only thing was we spelled it a different way. So originally, which was so dumb, it was felled EA Z Y dash peasy, excuse me. And someone gave me feedback, like, no, one's going to know how to spell your name. Everyone's going to spell that website wrong. And so we switched it to the four of the letters.

Katie Ferraro (9m 35s):

I never spell it wrong. It was a good move.

Lindsey Laurain (9m 38s):

Well, E Z Y dash peasy. So our LLC is titled that. So because we had an everyone's spells at ESY just naturally. So, but yes, EzPz, it's just, and it's sticks and there's, it's a little catchy phrase.

Katie Ferraro (9m 52s):

Cool. So tell us a little bit about your team. I know Dawn Winkleman, you're feeding expert really well. You're actually the one who introduced us like a long time ago. So I want to say thank you for that. Cause she's become a great friend and colleague, I love working with her, but EzPz is a totally female run team. Is that correct? First of all. And did you guys like set out to elevate other women through your business or did it just end up that way?

Lindsey Laurain (10m 10s):

Yeah, so not necessarily. I didn't, when I quit corporate America, I knew I wanted to work with people. I enjoyed. I mean, that was a big thing coming out of corporate America is, and that's just one of my best learnings is if you enjoy the people you work with, it doesn't matter if you love the work. If you hate the work, if it's fun, work, if it's not fun work, if you love the people, it's all fun. That was really important to me at the beginning, not if there was male or female, because we had men on our team originally. So Don specifically reached out actually to us. We were on Kickstarter with these, the happy mat and reached out and said, I've been doing this for 20 plus years

Katie Ferraro (10m 45s):

She was like duck taping bowls onto the table. Cause they would move around when she was working with children with disabilities.

Lindsey Laurain (10m 50s):

Yes. And so she's like, you're going to change so many lives. I've been, duct-taped being, you know, plates to tables we need to meet. And so, and at that time, and it's so gratifying, you know, we created the boys for our three neuro-typical boys, not thinking it would have any impacts within the special needs community. It just wasn't even on our radar. And then we started getting feedback. So I reached out to Don and we instantly connected. I mean she joined the team very early on and so much of a big focus at the beginning of EzPz was within the special needs community. I mean, it was just a really fun time. We were using kiddos with down syndrome in our advertising when no one was doing that. And just, we had a lot of really beautiful experiences at the beginning when Dawn would come here and we'd meet kiddos with cerebral palsy.

Lindsey Laurain (11m 33s):

And so a huge part of what we were doing at the beginning. And it still is, but as our products have evolved, I mean, there's less of a need with the suction. And so that's how I met Dawn. Then the other folks on the team are the kind of core team of EzPz are my two best friends from growing up.

Katie Ferraro (11m 51s):

Love it. It's just part about running your own business. You can pick the people you work with

Lindsey Laurain (11m 56s):

Yeah and we'd like proven, you know, when I think I hate to about so many people have opinions when you're starting your own business, I'm sure you get this all or motherhood. Like don't work with people. You like every business ends in, you know, failed partnerships cause a lot too, or you're going to need money. You're never going to make it unless you get fun. I mean, just so many things where it's like, people are already telling you, you're going to fail before you start. It's kind of crazy.

Katie Ferraro (12m 17s):

Thanks for your support

Lindsey Laurain (12m 19s):

Yeah and just like do what you want to do. And so they've been really part of the team since the beginning. And so we know each other from elementary and middle school, they're both in Colorado now and Dawn's in Colorado. So that's the other cool thing. When we started were we all still work virtually, but Dawn was in California. Christie was in London. Tammy was in California. Kara is still in New York, our creative lead. And so now we're all women and it's awesome being all women. I mean, there's just, although we've had some great men that have come in and out, I would say our team is in the best position. We're small and nimble and it goes.

Katie Ferraro (12m 53s):

I know. And it was actually like your women's day Instagram posts was like, all of you guys, I'd never, like i know Kara, I worked with her for other stuff, but like I'd never seen you guys all together. And that was what actually was like inspired me to be like, wait a minute. A lot of these feeding brands that I work with are run by women and then to do this whole series of interviews for this month school, because that was a great post. I think people do want to know more about the people behind the brands that they're supporting, because it's not just a big faceless behemoth, which we're going to talk about in a second. Most of your products are super they're the original silicone suction bowls and mats your brand super unique because you actually employ a feeding expert. Like the fact that that even matters to you. I know, you know how unique it is, but there are so many developmentally appropriate design features for both neurotypical children and children with disabilities, but it literally blows my mind how quickly your guys' stuff gets ripped off.

Katie Ferraro (13m 41s):

So could you just talk a little bit about counterfeit products and how do you deal with this? Cause I know it's a real pain point for a small, but burgeoning company like yourself.

Lindsey Laurain (13m 50s):

Yeah. Gosh, it has been crazy over the last six years just with copies and we're starting to see so many more now with the cups and it's like almost re surfaced again. So when we launched EzPz we had the mats and they went, it went crazy and it was just, you know, timing is everything too. At that time, six years ago, or five years ago, Facebook viral videos were really big. Like you could get a viral video and now there's just, you know, it's harder to do that. And so we just had all this momentum, grassroots, viral videos of people sharing. I had made a video, we had made a video in my, the kids are really messy in it and aggressively messy. There's another story about this behind the scenes. We're like making them throw their bowls. Like, do you see if you could hear us? We're like throwing a ball and the kids are literally like

Katie Ferraro (14m 32s):

We are going to get in trouble

Lindsey Laurain (14m 35s):

Yes. This was our initial video. And I mean, it's, it's hilarious, the behind the scenes. So we have this video and a hundred million views, you know, shared 50,000 times a hundred thousand. I mean, viral, viral sold out of all of our units, but it also spurred so many counterfeits of everyday. There were fake that were voiceovers going to fake sites counter every single day. My kids were sent to me in a picture or, you know, being used all over. So that was very emotional, just going through all of that. And we kind of talked a little bit about that before is I just spent all my time, like looking for all the copies and it consumed me in this like negative energy fields that I hate, but it was really important at that time we had a lawyer full time and we had an enforcement team and we were filing intellectual property.

Lindsey Laurain (15m 20s):

And I mean, we were looking at factories and trying to stop it, but it was important to build that foundation, like protection mode. I want to protect what I've built because if I don't protect what I've built, then EzPz

Katie Ferraro (15m 30s):

But it's like all consuming. I remember there were times it was like, I couldn't, you couldn't talk to you because you were like, oh, just really pretty much. I just do legal stuff a hundred percent of the time right now.

Lindsey Laurain (15m 36s):

Yeah, totally. And I've gotten things I've gotten so much better. I'm still, I'm meeting with lawyers all tomorrow, all day, but we're in the litigation and we're going to trial. And so that's a different story. So the copy's really emotional at the beginning. I mean, devastating and more just the pictures of kids because then our kids weren't being used. It was my friend's kids that I would see, you know, and I just, I there's an emotional component to that.

Katie Ferraro (15m 58s):

They're like super imposing your kids on their products?

Lindsey Laurain (16m 2s):

Yes. All over

Katie Ferraro (16m 3s):

Weird. Oh, so just trying to capitalize on that viral video, like making people think that that was the product you were using. Got it. Okay. Sorry.

Lindsey Laurain (16m 9s):

Or just like, if I get on a listing right now and I went on Alibaba, I could find our kids pictured advertising product every day. I mean, it's, we get them every day still

Katie Ferraro (16m 17s):

My kids are basically like, anytime you type a meme for too many kids or lots of kids, it's like my quadruplets show up. So I kind of feel you it's like, wait a minute. Like that's not the intention of that cute video that I made, but you know, whatever you want to play the game, it's like part, part and parcel. Like

Lindsey Laurain (16m 31s):

So that was all really emotional. We went into kind of protection mode, got the IP and then it kind of just got better. And I don't know if I wasn't forward facing or a lot of those companies go away too. They like, everyone wants the quick buck and the fidget spinner or whatever it is. And they come up and they go away.

Katie Ferraro (16m 48s):

Yeah. They are not invested in like creating developmentally appropriate products that work

Lindsey Laurain (16m 51s):

Yes. And we'll talk about that too. Cause I haven't really gotten even into that, but so a lot of that fizzled out, but then recently I've seen. And so I don't spend a lot of time looking externally. Really. I want to look internally like value-based company, what are we doing? I don't really care about the competitors, you know, within reason, but recently, so now we have the cups in the straw cup and the utensils. There's been another resurgence of copies now with cups and utensils because the mats are kind of, it's been five years. I can still see copies all the time. I still see them in pictures, even that not you post, but like people posted, it kills me because I know they're using cheap product and unsafe product. That's the other thing, just make sure it's safe. But the copies are coming back with the cups and the utensils.

Lindsey Laurain (17m 32s):

And so it has been a little bit emotional, even Dawn, our feeding specialists who designed them, I'm sure it's emotional for her. Seeing her tiny cup ripped off.

Katie Ferraro (17m 39s):

Like sometimes before it even comes out a new thing, I'm like, that's insane.

Lindsey Laurain (17m 42s):

So yes. So what's, I've realized now, and this is within the last two months, I've realized it's a different surgeons, have stuff coming out. It's, it's so easy to start a company. And I hate to say that, but like anyone listening can go to Shopify, get a website, get pictures and find a manufacturer in China that can send you some sort of product and you can find it anywhere. And so the ability, which is great, I'm not discounting that up for like anyone to start their own business. It's really easy. And it's a great opportunity. But what that's doing is it's creating this market. That there's just a lot of copy products, a lot of silicone utensils and a lot of Silicon bowls that all look the same and they all suck in the same. And there's so many that. So I've had the tiny cops, a few, which I feel like our other moms, you know, we send them a note saying we have a design pad on this.

Lindsey Laurain (18m 26s):

And they're like, oh my God, I didn't even know. Our manufacturer just sent us this and said, do you want to make this product? I mean, that's how, and that's how this works. I get emails all the time of my product asking if they can manufacture. Like, and I'm like, you're not our manufacturer. So you're stealing from me with my product, asking if you can like make something else.

Katie Ferraro (18m 44s):

But thanks for asking

Lindsey Laurain (18m 45s):

Like, I mean, there's in there pretty comical some of the emails, but still there is this weird thing. Now that's going on of just a lot of competitors that aren't really huge brands. They don't have the feeding expert, but they're just kind of creating copy products. And so again, I'm aware of it now that it exists because I spent some time looking over the last few months, but it's like, okay, it's exists now. We're going to turn internally and keep innovating and you know, trailblazing where we can, which is really fun. But it's also exhausting because you know, sometimes they just want to take a break and be like,

Katie Ferraro (19m 13s):

Honestly, I can't even imagine. Can you talk for a second about shark tank? Cause I know like at least in my experience, okay. So primarily my audience is moms like 99.5% moms, but they're the primary feeding providers. Right? So they're the ones who are interested. They're the ones that, that are buying digital products that are buying physical products. I swear dads like immediately care about feeding when they heard that you're on shark tank. Like for whatever reason. I mean, women love shark tank, but I like, my husband was like, oh, oh they went to shark tank. I totally know who you're talking about. Like for everything. So talk about your shark ticket experience. Cause I know there is a subset of the listening audience who's like, yep. I definitely saw you guys on shark tank. What's the story there?

Lindsey Laurain (19m 51s):

Yeah. So it's been so long now, five years, time flies. So going on shark tank, the crazy part is I didn't necessarily want to go on shark tank because I was the risk of going on shark tank is you lose your narrative. They, it is a TV show and they are going to edit what happens in that hour or however long you're on stage to what they want and make the narrative. And so I knew going on that, that's the risk and that's what I was willing to give up. We went on and we really didn't need funding at that time, cash money per se, we needed like licensing opportunities. I thought it'd be a great, we never pet line yet. So now we have our pet line, but I was like, so like a license. It didn't just make it. That's not really how it works, but you know, or that, that was really my intent.

Lindsey Laurain (20m 31s):

And so I'll say I'm always myself. I just that's who I am. I never thought about going on. And this is so dumb, but what am I going to look like on TV? Or I'm really expression it. You can probably tell if you're watching this live. So I go out there, I do my thing and I thought it was going to be a lot different. So at the time too, we were so much smaller than we are now, but I had the same like swagger and belief that I do now. And I don't know how I had it that like I looked back and I'm like, go Lindsey. I, you were doing a million dollars and you thought you were, you know, we're doing 10 times that are more than that. But I still, I felt no difference. So I got out there and nothing I said just was like, right. That's how I felt. You know?

Lindsey Laurain (21m 11s):

And there, it was just a weird experience being out there, but it wasn't right culturally. I mean, just from like, and you know, the energy, you can feel people, is this going to work or not? We talked about my team earlier. It's my best friends. We sleep together. When we go to trade shows, we want to stay in hotels together. That's our team. And so for me, culturally, to bring someone in it would change the entire dynamic. I mean, I'm so grateful. We didn't get an investor. Our whole journey would be different, you know, from five, it would be crazy. Yeah. I can't even imagine it. So I refused the offers. We got two offers, which was great. Got went off stage, like walked off stage, literally started crying. The second I like took off my shoes. You open the doors and there's like producers out there.

Lindsey Laurain (21m 52s):

And the producer was awesome. I was like, oh, I'm so glad you didn't take a deal. Like, you're just, he was great. So you get a call two weeks before it says your episode's airing. So we had a party and it was really fun. And we watched the episode. So this is when it got not fun. You know, we had like a hundred people or something. There was a huge party at our warehouse. We're watching the episode live with everyone. I mean, I haven't seen it and I'm actually, oh, before it errors, people are starting to tweet in. Cause it was on the east coast and they're like, this person forgot her pants. Dress is so short. That's all that I'm seeing. So I'm like, oh my gosh, that's what people are saying. You know? And kind of at that point too, thinking, it's funny like, well, you know, Brad, you got a hotline life I'm in a cute dress.

Lindsey Laurain (22m 34s):

Like thinking it's funny, not funny because, and I didn't even think the episode was that bad, but then it just got destroyed online. Like I, I went to bed that night being like, oh, people think my dress is too short. And then I woke up the next morning and you know, I do have thick skin, but it doesn't feel good to just be told like, you look like a man or you're a w h o r e. I mean the meanest things you could ever say ever, and it was everywhere. It was comments and people, and there was just like, so it didn't feel very good for a few days. I like cried and just felt bad for myself. I mean, I made a funny video, you know, a tweet video and it was a really good learning. I mean, the learning, I just wasn't prepared for that.

Lindsey Laurain (23m 14s):

I've never been bullied, you know, I wasn't bullied in school. So you have an appreciation for what other people go through, you know, to our kids to not treat people like that.

Katie Ferraro (23m 22s):

It's amazing that you can find the positive and I love how openly I know you tell, like you've told me this story before, but I'm still like, I can't believe she's like, can tell the story because most people wouldn't ever even be able to recover from that. But like again, just the whole narrative of like, you're there to talk about your business and people are there to talk about your appearance. Like, you know?

Lindsey Laurain (23m 39s):

Yeah. Or everyone has an opinion. I mean, that's today and it's, you know, it's interesting. I've never even really thought about the parallel, but I see like, that's like a sliver of what's going on today and just like the media and, and people are, they question your intense and why you're doing it. I'm like, no one knows my intense and you can't really say anything about shark tank. So you're kind of getting a tech, not attack, but like you should have done a deal and you're so dumb and you went on for whatever. And no one knows, I mean, besides really me. Right. And so it's a weird place to be and not to be defensive because you're just wasting your time. Like

Katie Ferraro (24m 9s):

Yeah, exactly. You just gotta keep your head down and keep going. Sometimes I know.

Lindsey Laurain (24m 12s):

Yeah. And then the, the silver lining of all of it, someone had tweeted and I'll spell the word. So I don't say swear words, this dumb f-ing like w h o r e, but they spelled dumb D U M N. And I was like, I'm done. I'm done with you And so I tried, you know, I'm so grateful that we went on, it's part of our journey. It is what it is. People remember, you know, when I see people at trade shows, but it is a pretty small part of the

Katie Ferraro (24m 36s):

I think the longer you've been in business and the more you guys are innovating, it becomes part of your history of part of the story. You're not going to like erase it, but

Lindsey Laurain (24m 44s):

Yes. But that gave some to some publicity of like the copies and stuff. And going back a little bit about EzPz's journey is just so when we started, right, it was all about the mess and the happy mat. And what I quickly realized as being a mom, going to the store. I thought that every company, if you're buying a spoon or a fork or a plate, and it's sold at a big box store, boutique, everyone has a feeding specialist. Like we do. That's what I assumed as a mom, right? Everyone cares about the size of a spoon head because why wouldn't you like, I actually get the chills of like, how are you not focusing on this stuff? And there was none of that. Literally not only there's no innovation, people are just making coffee products and the spoon heads are huge.

Lindsey Laurain (25m 24s):

And the cups are designed for like a ten-year-old.

Katie Ferraro (25m 26s):

And that promotes over-drinking like, it's all like, actually not only is it, they didn't even take into consideration what it should be. They actually make it unsafe.

Lindsey Laurain (25m 33s):

Unsafe. And so I was just shocked and appalled. Like there has to be better. There's better for our babies and for our parents. And so that's why such a huge part of what we're doing now as a company is having a feeding, specially get feedback from you and other parents to how to make our products. So they are not only innovative, but developmentally appropriate to get these kiddos to meet developmental milestones, which are feeding milestones. I've learned so much as a mom and I did not do all of the stuff with our kids. I mean, I I'm glad they didn't choke and they're still here, you know? And so it is a learning, but there was also just a disappointment of innovation and caring in the market that is really wide. I'm proud of, you know, as an owner now.

Katie Ferraro (26m 12s):

So let's talk about the innovation, because I know when parents, like, can you read the original happy mat, which is like a rectangular footprint with the smiley face, which part of, I like your whole mission is about making feeding fun? Because you said it like, this is a very anxiety, inducing period for parents. And like, we can help them get to a point where they actually enjoy feeding their kids and they don't dread feeding it. And to be honest, I think your products are there. There is nothing even else like it on the market, because your products are designed for different ages and stages that babies are going through. They're not all created the same. So you've got the tiny line, the six to 12 months old, the mini line for the 12. And up as a mom, my kids are starting to size out of the mini line. I'm selfishly hoping that you guys keep expanding further up the age chain for feeding gear.

Katie Ferraro (26m 54s):

Is there anything you can share about the product line and where you're going in the future with? EzPz like, what do you have on the horizon?

Lindsey Laurain (27m 2s):

So to your point, there's really, we want to make products for every stage of feeding. Not only to make it fine, but also developmentally appropriate. And feeding is so stressful though, as a mom. And I mean, it's your job, right? And so we had, gosh, our kids had RSV and they were in the hospital and fought every bottle and was, oh, it was such a, I just, just, it was a really hard time. And so giving parents the tools to be more successful and just to learn and to do your best, right. If you can do your best. And so our line, we are expanding. So you asked earlier about older kids. So obviously we have the happy mats, which I know even for you, seven is a lot of happy mats, but at least you can stack them all.

Katie Ferraro (27m 39s):

I love it, they can stack. They are big. Like we have to eat on our real dining room table with them, but they work. I like them for bigger kids. For sure. Yes.

Lindsey Laurain (27m 48s):

So now our kids right now, we started these BZ. They were two and three. Now they're nine are twins are nine and 10. And

Katie Ferraro (27m 54s):

I just want to clarify her twins are not nine and 10. She has a ten-year-old and nine-year-old twins. Okay.

Lindsey Laurain (27m 58s):

I would get that. I was like the person that would ask a twin mom and be like, oh, your son and daughter identical. Like I say, with every cause you don't have identical

Katie Ferraro (28m 8s):

No, but my quadruplets and twins do multiple runs in your family, like, well, why don't you just ask me if I did fertility? Like, I'm happy to talk about it. Like, let's ask the real question.

Lindsey Laurain (28m 16s):

I say everyone with identical twins, if you're listening to this, hopefully you'll laugh and not be offended. But I always say people that identical twins are the people who like mother F twins the most like, oh, I could never have twins. I mean, they don't even run a family. I'll never, that's not my life. You got it. I got it. Like you put it out there

Katie Ferraro (28m 33s):

Are your boys identical?

Lindsey Laurain (28m 35s):

Yeah

Katie Ferraro (28m 35s):

Oh, I didn't know that

Lindsey Laurain (28m 36s):

Yeah. Total surprise. I mean, I didn't, I had daycare plans, college plan. I mean, when I was doing my ultrasound and she goes, there's two heartbeats. I was like, no, I just saw the other one up for daycare. And the college we're gonna have to move in the doctor's literally like, why don't you call your husband first? Don't worry about college here. You know? Cause we had to move and stuff, but I never, and now, I mean, just like our life is crazy and chaos. I want to change it at all.

Katie Ferraro (28m 59s):

Yeah. But I wouldn't go in like start it over again and do it like one more time. No, thank you

Lindsey Laurain (29m 5s):

So, for older kids. There's not a lot of feeding gear for older kids. So we're really trying to maximize every stage of feeding from four months old to six months old, all the way up to older kids. So we are coming out with feeding gear for older kids. I'm trying not to give too much away. So there'll be products for every stage of feeding from four months, all the way up to 10 years old. And then we're also doing some other cleaning supplies. So this, we just launched our mushroom sponge, which is for cleaning EzPz gear. But also I'll be honest. We don't use silicone gear anymore because our kids are now using just regular plates. So this is awesome for vegetables. I mean, I use it for scrubbing vegetables, for barbecue in the crockpot, getting it out.

Lindsey Laurain (29m 47s):

I mean, it works. It's so cute. Silicone is a nerd, so there's not going to be mold or bacteria or fungus. And it will last, I mean, it's durable. So it won't wear fade.

Katie Ferraro (29m 55s):

I was really surprised when I saw it. Cause it's like the first thing you guys have that you can't eat off of, or you don't eat off of basically.

Lindsey Laurain (30m 3s):

Yes. And we have something else coming. That's going to be coming out soon. That goes with the cleaning and more, more actually another product later this year as well that I won't give away that you don't necessarily eat off

Katie Ferraro (30m 15s):

But happy mat, you guys have changed. There's now a smaller footprint.

Lindsey Laurain (30m 18s):

Yes.

Katie Ferraro (30m 18s):

Why did you make that change?

Lindsey Laurain (30m 19s):

Yeah. So for a few different reasons, we had gotten feedback that it would be great to have a little bit of a smaller footprint because I actually have the original here and the new ones underneath my computer. So I won't disrupt a again. So the newer size, it's not a lot smaller. It just, I mean, literally a half an inch in less room here or less material here. So it's less material and the new one matches the same as the mini mat. So there's more uniformity and it's a little bit lighter. This is a pound and a half, which is pretty heavy of material. And so it's just a little bit lighter that if you want to take it on the go, you can, you can fit more around the table. And it's a cheaper price point. So it used to be $24.99 and the new price is $22.50, which is exciting if you're looking to save some money

Katie Ferraro (31m 3s):

And those are available now at EzPzfun.com, right?

Lindsey Laurain (31m 4s):

Yes

Katie Ferraro (31m 4s):

Okay. That's right.

Lindsey Laurain (31m 5s):

Yes, Absolutely. And so, yeah, we've got a lot of fun stuff in the works, which is just really exciting. It's a very fun time at EzPz.

Katie Ferraro (31m 12s):

I think your story is so inspiring. I love like I love products that were created that solve a very real problem. Yours was your kids making a mess at mealtime, but I think we have to address that like this inadvertent side effect, if you're running his business, is that your products really have revolutionized infant feeding. Like you were dealing with three-year-old at the time. But these products for six months old that promote independent feeding with a spoon that's developmentally appropriate, like a speech language pathologist who works for you as the guts to talk about why sippy cups, we should totally skip them. Like all of this stuff, you probably never envisioned. And I know you guys are thinking like up the feeding chain, but as someone who works exclusively in baby led weaning was six and 12 months old. I just can't reiterate enough.

Katie Ferraro (31m 53s):

Like it's so unique. You don't find it anywhere else. So even though they're all like all these knockoff products, the actual design behind them is not the same. And I don't know that parents always recognize that. That's why I love having Dawn on the podcast. Like some of the most downloaded episodes are interviews with her where like, let's talk about the six reasons why we want to skip the sippy cup because yes, the cup is cute, but parents are concerned about the spills and we get wait. So sippy cups were invented by parents for parents and they actually can delay speech and feeding milestones. And here's why. And then rather than just telling you all the bad things, here's the solution for the product that you actually, you know, you guys are like making it come full circle because you don't want to be the one to just tell you, like, don't do that. Don't do sippy cups. Okay, fine. I won't do a sippy cup. Show me what cup to use.

Katie Ferraro (32m 34s):

Well, until the tiny cup there wasn't one, they're all plastic and knock a baby's teeth out.

Lindsey Laurain (32m 38s):

I know. And now there's going to be so many cops available in two years. It's crazy. So everyone remember the tiny cup, but you know, I think when you're in it, you're running a business just like you every day, you don't take a step back and you're like, oh my gosh, like what have we done? And so at the beginning of EzPz, there was a lot of that. Cause I would get emails of, you know, my five-year-old who is blind has never been able to eat and they can eat independently. So there was this very gratifying feeling of kind of making a difference and it starting to happen all over again. And so with Dawn, you know, on our team and I give Dawn a hard time

Katie Ferraro (33m 8s):

I love working with her.

Lindsey Laurain (33m 10s):

Like I give her this passive aggressive thing. Well like if it wasn't for Dawn making our utensils perfect and having to have a thing, we can make them faster, you know, joking because she's so rigorous on the quality testing and the development and the size and the testing. And that's changing in the, that it's great from the product standpoint, but it takes longer to create products. And so I think that there's well actually I lost my train of thought, but I got it back is so when Dawn joined the team, Dawn's philosophy is always bad. Like sippy cups are bad, you know that. And I'm like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you hear enough

Katie Ferraro (33m 40s):

Where you secretly like, oh, we're going make a sippy cup someday. Just don't tell her.

Lindsey Laurain (33m 44s):

I mean, I'm sure we thought about it or like, cause I'm the convenience mom of like, even just having these tools is great, but there's also a thing. Like you need to give your kids something cause you're going out the door. So I'm not, I don't want to ignore that. And just be like, you always have to have an open cup because it's not re you know, like I'm a realist. So with Dawn, but you hear it enough for medical professionals. I mean, we've gone to Ashleigh and OT connections, like where they're all saying this

Katie Ferraro (34m 4s):

Slowly, but she's definitely a transcender. Like there's still a lot of SLPs who don't think like she does because they don't specialize in feeding.

Lindsey Laurain (34m 10s):

Yes. So I guess at the, that was at the beginning, this is five years ago when Dawn's saying it. Right. And so now seeing pictures and SLPs and I was taking screenshots last night of kids drinking, I get the chills of like, and it's so much, I attribute so much of it to Dawn because she is the medical professional that saw that there is an issue. Doctors are promoting this stuff. So she is the leader. I mean, we're the company to help her. Right. But that is really kind of her mission. So it's absolutely gratifying to really like, we're making a difference. I mean, I, the chill, I it's just so it's little things and you know, sometimes I question if I'm doing enough in the world, right. And then I'm like, okay, at least I'm doing this.

Katie Ferraro (34m 45s):

Yeah. And I don't know if you know this, but like on the other end of the spectrum, most of my mom is also a dietitian she's has a long-term care consulting business. Like I used to work with her a while before I got into pediatrics. And the same thing, like the handyman, basically at the nursing home would make implements for the patients that had Parkinson's. And like, and now my mom says she's they use EzPz at all of her nursing homes because it's so much more affordable. It's so much more accessible and it helps, you know, even older people that need these products as well. And I would think what's great is that Dawn does also work with children with special needs. So having the background in autism, and I know in the programs we teach together, we've had children with down syndrome who succeeded with self-feeding.

Katie Ferraro (35m 27s):

What other parents have been told like, oh, your baby has a cleft palate. They'll never be able to do X, Y or Z. It's like, well, just because you've never seen it done doesn't mean it can't be done, but you have to have the right tools. And that's what you guys are providing.

Lindsey Laurain (35m 38s):

I mean, so much stuff about, I always say like textures, I just, I was get a robot when I was a new mom too. I was just like how many ounces of strawberries and full fruit. And I liked, wasn't even thinking logically literally like just take a step back about kind of introducing textures. And like it's not even as much about getting the food in the kid's mouth, which is all I cared about. Like how many ounces of milk are they getting? How many? I mean, I was a psycho now that I'm thinking of it, but textures and I was giving saying this story of like, I can't eat oranges now. Like literally my kids can eat oranges and they can drink pulp. I would throw, I can't, I physically couldn't if you paid me a lot of money, but I'm like, my mom was not giving me oranges when I was a baby. You know? So there's just, I've learned so much, not only about the feeding products, but the importance of just like feeding development and how all of those things through your courses, I mean, and what you guys do.

Lindsey Laurain (36m 25s):

And so that's a huge compliment to you guys of giving good information as well.

Katie Ferraro (36m 27s):

Well thank you. And you can't like, all the information in the world means nothing if you don't have the right products to put it into practice.

Lindsey Laurain (36m 33s):

Well, if you can't trust the people that's like, and I would say, you know, if I could give some feedback to a consumer is just trust where you're buying any product, not feeding products, because there are, we talked about the copies. There's so many copies and counterfeits that go to the company where you're buying from, read their stories,

Katie Ferraro (36m 48s):

I always say, turn over your mat when you're complaining that your EzPz mini-map doesn't stick, turn it over. Does it say EzPz on it? No, because you bought it from a knock off site, which is fine. That's your prerogative. But then don't complain that it, the suction doesn't work because if your flat surface is dry and clean, which I know is hard to do, but if it's flat, dry and clean, the EzPz products will stick. Now, your baby will get to the age where they can physically remove it. And then we are dealing with other issues there. But the product as it's made and as it's marketed does work

Lindsey Laurain (37m 17s):

Yes. Absolutely. And it's just crazy how many non-safe products are not even feeding.

Katie Ferraro (37m 20s):

Like high chairs, parents were like, why does my hydro not have a foot rest? Because it costs more to make an adjustable footrest for the hydro that you just bought, even in food parents, like why is there an entire aisle of baby food yogurt. It all has added sugar in it. You shouldn't give any fruits with added sugar into your baby. You don't need to eat baby food yogurt. I can't believe a company would manufacture something that has something in it that babies shouldn't have. Like that's what the entire industry is predicated on is like, do it for the cheapest and sell it for the highest markup. Like

Lindsey Laurain (37m 46s):

No one is doing anything bad in the scenes. That's the thing of like, as a consumer, too, like if you have an idea, wake up, like do it, like you can do it. Cause there's so much, oh my gosh, I laugh at my old self of like, I literally thought like every good idea is taken and do it to do. And I'm like, no, it's not, no one, everyone is just figuring it out. Really. And the people at the, especially in the baby industry, it was such a male dominated steel industry with no innovation. And these people just, you know, selling tons of plastic junk. And so just being aware of consumer take time

Katie Ferraro (38m 19s):

For sure. And that's why I appreciate you coming on to talk about the people behind the products that we make. And thank you for being so accessible to our moms too, because they are interested in this and they do care about the products that they're buying for their family. So you kind of touched on it a little bit, but what other advice do you have for parents in particular moms out there say they have an idea for a business based on a problem they're experiencing in parenting. What advice you give to them?

Lindsey Laurain (38m 42s):

Yeah, I would say believe in yourself. And if you believe in yourself, go for it. I think the power of belief is everything. Like I was saying, when I was on shark tank five years ago, I saw myself sitting here. Right. And I knew that we were going to be successful and I just believed in it from the plastic prototype. I wish I had the prototype to show you. So when I start this EzPz I have the idea, I get the book and I buy it's like a bag of rice and you boil it in the rice. It's like plastic walls turns into clear plastic moldable things. You can buy it for. It's good for kids projects. I mean, my son, since, since doing this, so I buy this, I get a safe, rolling pin and I roll it all out. And then I get just a plastic bowl, you know, I make a bowl around the plastic bowl and then I have a mat and it's like, I didn't cut it or anything.

Lindsey Laurain (39m 27s):

So it's just like, and then it turns hard. So it's a hard piece of plastic that is just terrible. But I would show it to a few people like moms when I want to go to lunch. Cause this was, yeah, the twins were just, I mean, everyone was young. And so I'd be like, you have to sign an NDA. I don't want anyone to see it and showing everyone this piece of garbage, you know, but like I believed in it so much. I mean, my friends were probably like, good luck with that. I mean, just I'm embarrassed that I was doing that. But he was like, at that, you know, and same thing. I was going into retail stores with our original prototypes and Tammy who works with us now is like, you know, you just don't go into a store like giggle and just get your product in there. And I'm like, well you do, if you're me, you know? And then when giggle and it just like, you do it

Katie Ferraro (40m 7s):

And I think everybody like knows this bank story, right? Like you just, she just went to freaking the department stores and was like here, go in the dressing room and try this on. Like, seeing really is believing in once someone else gets it. Oh, I have that same problem. And you just solved it with this product. And people don't want to admit, they're like, my kids are super messy and it's really annoying. And I have a lot of anxiety about it meal time, but you're so open about saying that's kind of part of your story. I think of why you guys have been so successful because you solved a real life problem.

Lindsey Laurain (40m 32s):

And I'm like authentic too. I just I've realized too. A lot of like Julie Clark, the founder of baby Einstein who had become good friends with her story, same thing. I mean, she went to a trade show and was giving DVDs to people at the very beginning. I mean, it's now 20, 30 years ago. But so I think if you believe in you're passionate. I mean, I I'm passionate about, but I've always been that. So I do have some innate qualities that work well for entrepreneurship. Right. I'm passionate, I'm driven, I'm determined. I'm disciplined. Those are all like who I was growing up from. I could tell you, you know, we could do a psychology course on why I'm like that. That won't be fun. Just kidding. But so I have all those qualities, but I think, you know, if you believe in yourself, surround yourself with good people, we've got a great team, which I talked about Dawn on my team makes me way better and nothing would be possible without them.

Lindsey Laurain (41m 17s):

And then trust your gut. I say to everything. And that's not only in starting your own business, that's in parenting too. You know, when we had all those issues at the beginning with feeding, trust your gut, if you think something's wrong with your baby or they're not right. I mean, we had tongue ties that people just were not handling well. And I'm like, I know I have twins and they're talking different, you know? And so always trust your guts and fight for what you believe. Right.

Katie Ferraro (41m 39s):

Cool. Well, thank you so much for sharing your time and your story. This has been so interesting to get to chat with you about like the whole journey.

Lindsey Laurain (41m 47s):

Oh, it's so fine. Well, I appreciate this opportunity. I appreciate all of your support.

Katie Ferraro (41m 50s):

Thank you so much for all of your products. And I'm going to link up a lot of the different items that she was talking about on the show notes for this episode. So if you guys go to be BLWpodcast.com, you can find Lindsey's interview the whole history of EzPz.

Lindsey Laurain (42m 3s):

Yeah. And the discount code.

Katie Ferraro (42m 4s):

That's right. Thank you. If someone said the other day, God, I have your discount code emblazoned in my head, but it's Katie10 for 10% off at EzPz. You know, I think also, I just want to say thank you for supporting medical professionals and recognizing the importance of credentialed professionals in feeding. Because to be honest, there are way too many, you know, self everyone who eats food is a feeding expert and that's not actually true. And that you employ that you elevate that you support credential feeding experts really means the world to people like myself, who, who are, who do do this for a living.

Lindsey Laurain (42m 34s):

Absolutely. Well, and I can trust you and find like to anyone listening, find people you trust, surround yourself with good people like yourself and will make the world a better place together

Katie Ferraro (42m 45s):

Bye. Thanks

Lindsey Laurain (42m 46s):

Thank you. Have a great day.

Katie Ferraro (42m 46s):

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that interview with Lindsey Laurain, the founder and CEO of EzPz. I just absolutely love her. I think she's so real. She's so down to earth, very impressive, but like very, very open about sharing some of those vulnerable moments, right? Like the shark tank story, like hurts my heart every time I hear it, but I know that she's a strong person and I think she's a good representative of her company and her brand and the values that they stand for with regards to integrity, just can't say enough about the fact that they even have an infant feeding expert involved in the design of their products with literally no other brand does. If you guys want to check out any of the resources that Lindsey mentioned, all of the EzPz links will be up on the show notes for this episode, which is at blwpodcasts.com forward slash one one four.

Katie Ferraro (43m 33s):

And if you want to check out any of the products that they have for babies, it's the tiny line, six to 12 month old that most parents doing baby led weaning are looking at. But if you're getting to this information a little bit later, once your baby's 12 months or above, we move up to the mini line again, I'll link all that out at the show notes for this episode. And my code, Katie10 is good for 10% off at their website, which is EzPzfun.com. So thanks so much for listening and I'll be back next week, doing another interview with a female led feeding team. Thanks for being here and we'll see you next time.