Building hardware is hard and breaking into entrenched markets is even harder. However, the founders of 4Moms, Rob Daley and Henry Thorne, managed to do both. 4Moms is a baby products company that aims to change the way we think about traditional products like play yards, strollers, and sleepy-time swings. Their products are beautifully-engineered pieces of machinery and the company recently closed on $20 million in funding from Bain Capital.
I’ve tested most of the 4Moms products but I was lucky enough to sit down with Daley and Thorne to talk about the company and how they’ve managed to stay ahead of the baby products curve.
The Pittsburgh-based firm builds their products by figuring out the pain points for the average parent. While many of us would find the Origami to be a silly bit of overkill, it’s a godsend for harried parents. The Breeze play yard – which opens and closes with one pull – is just about the best thing ever and the Mamaroo baby nappy-time thing is equally cool. In short, this gear is changing the way we coddle our wee ones.
Daley and Thorne discuss the future of the company, their funding, and how to build cool hardware. The best comes near the end when we discuss future endeavors, but I won’t spoil it.