Mom Invented

In 2001 Yamile Jackson gave birth to her son Zachary 12 weeks prematurely. He weighed less than 2 pounds, and when he was 3 weeks old, Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston, shutting down power and water in the hospital. The hospital staff, Yamile and her husband, Larry, had to keep Zachary alive by hand for nine hours until he could be evacuated, and at that time Yamile made a promise to do whatever she could to help all babies -- and prayed for the opportunity to do it on Zachary's behalf, not in his memory.

During the 155 nights Zachary spent in the hospital, Yamile spent at least 10 hours a day with him in the neonatal intensive care unit, but she hated leaving him at night. She had learned from the nurses how to use her hands to comfort him -- how to hold him and how to touch him to give him boundaries, but she wanted something to continue to comfort Zachary in her absence. So she sewed hand-shaped pillows, which she slept with to give her scent, that she could leave with her son to keep him feeling warm and secure.

She could see a difference in Zachary’s monitors when he was being cradled by the pillows, and seeing that he was at ease helped Yamile feel more relaxed. Two weeks after she finally brought Zachary home, Yamile got a call from the development director at the NICU to see if she could make her "little hands" for the other premature babies, and she knew this was how she could keep her promise to help babies and their parents.

Yamile spent the next three years refining her hand-sewn design and bringing The Zaky to market. It’s now available in many retail and online stores, is used in hospitals nationwide, and has won numerous product awards.

Yamile shares with us how she went from working in construction to infant products, how her product has affected other mothers, and where her business is headed now.

Mom Invented®: What were your initial goals for your product and company?

The Zaky hand-shaped pillows

Yamile Jackson: I invented the first Zaky for my son when I had to leave the hospital without him. I wanted to decrease the association of touch with pain, and of movement with stress of babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I also had two distinct goals: that I offered a product that fit everyone -- no "small/medium/large" or "light/medium/heavy"; and that the product could be used with the sickest of the sickest of the babies in the NICU, so the specs were very strict.

I created Zakeez Inc. to use ergonomics and human factors to develop products that help babies and parents feel closer to each other. Our products also help by providing neurological, sensory, and developmental stimulation for babies.

What is your background and how does it relate to your company?

I am a very lucky woman. I have a wonderful husband for 13 years, and we have Zachary, who is healthy, smart, and very loving 8-year-old. I am a native of Colombia and came to the USA when I was 21 pursuing my dream of earning a PhD. I have 4 degrees in engineering, including the PhD in ergonomics and human factors engineering. I worked for the engineering and construction industry for over a decade and taught engineering management and MBA courses in different countries and universities.

What process did you follow to develop a prototype?

I spent 3 years on the research and development of The Zaky, testing prototypes in the NICU where Zachary was born, and with focus groups that included neonatologists, therapists, nurses, parents and babies.

What was the biggest learning curve in terms of developing your product?

My personal shift from offering services to engineers to goods to the medical industry, and going from the most professional type of work environment to dealing with the most personal and probably the most traumatic time in a mom's life -- when she delivers a sick baby.

What secrets have you learned in terms of publicity and marketing your product?

The best marketing is word of mouth. We spend very little money on advertising because we choose to use that money to donate items to sick babies.

What was the biggest learning curve in terms of marketing your product?

We had to start with education. We are overturning methods that, in my view, are sometimes cruel practices, such as leaving a baby to go to sleep from exhaustion from crying. We are also helping parents help their babies by providing a non-medicinal alternative to colic and not being able to sleep that has not been offered before. What is nice is that mothers get the purpose of the products after the first night of not being able to sleep because their baby feels unprotected or scared in the new environment.

How did you finance your business?

The company is self-financed. We used personal resources to pay for the research, and by continuing to work as a consultant and trainer until I could devote all my time to Zakeez in 2007.

I have spent a lot of money, and a big part of the proceeds are donated to help sick babies around the world. My business is not about money -- my business comes from the heart -- and the emails and stories I hear about how we are helping families of healthy, sick and special needs children are more than a reward.

What is your company's current financial picture and what are your projections?

The Kangaroo Zak skin-to-skin contact top

We are very healthy and stable financially. Our projections are to continue developing more products. We recently introduced the Kangaroo Zak, a top that facilitates "Kangaroo Mother Care," also called skin-to-skin contact, for the first couple of weeks for a full-term baby, and for preemies until their due date. We are also developing and starting to market a clothing line for preemies size 3-7 in the NICU, and for the sensitive subject of bereavements of babies 1-7 lbs.

What has been your greatest success or high point with your business?

Every day brings a big success -- emails from moms and medical professionals that write to me telling me how our products help them. One email that still makes me emotional is one of a mom that told me that the Zakys were what allowed her to bond with her baby that only lived for 3 weeks, and she buried the baby with one Zaky and kept the other. Moms of healthy babies also write thanking me for allowing them to comfort their babies and help them sleep.

Businesswise, a high point in 2009 was when our company brought home our 11th award, "2009 Outstanding Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year" from the SCORE Foundation sponsored by Constant Contact in Washington DC.

Who has been your biggest source of inspiration? What keeps you going?

My son. He was born to save my life and for that I will be forever grateful to him. To me, he suffered the most incredible pain, he survived the unimaginable, and still he never gave up. He is an example of perseverance and love. He went through so much, and he held in there. He is a miracle, and he is my son, my teacher, and my loving inspiration. He is the reason I have my company, and he is our CIO -- Chief Inspirational Officer.

What keeps me going is thinking that he never gave up, so why should I? I'm also touched by the thousands of emails and conversations that I have around the country and internationally with families, medical professionals, and child-care providers that have been touched by our products.

Is there a resource that proved to be invaluable to you?

I believe SCORE is the best kept secret. They are "America's small business mentors" -- they give counseling to small business owners at no cost, and their intentions are to help you succeed. The SCORE's Houston District has been my "fee-free consultants" that continue to help me in my journey.

What advice would you offer other moms developing their ideas?

First, follow your heart and be passionate about what you are doing. Then do your homework. Prepare, prepare and prepare, and test before presenting a product to market. Learn about the process of developing a product, and don’t cut corners.

Thank you for sharing you story, Yamile! If you want to learn more about Zakeez, visit Zakeez.com. And if you have a great story about your product or business, we'd love to hear it!

Tagged as: baby product, featured mom, kid-inspired, product business