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FEATURED MOM INVENTORS > LAURA UDALL
Laura Udall of San Jose, CA, is the inventor of the ZÜCA - a funky and functional way to carry gear, designed for school children, business travelers and more. Mother of Rachel, age 19, and Steven and John, age 17, her idea was born of necessity eight years ago- her kids needed bags big enough (and cool enough) to carry all their stuff- but without the backaches that often went along with traditional backpacks. Over the next few years she developed the ZÜCA and has since launched it into a successful business.
How did you get started? ZÜCA, and my passion "to lighten the load of the world, one back at a time," evolved out of my concern for the health risks my children faced from carrying heavy backpacks. In 1998, when my daughter was in fourth grade, she complained daily that her back was hurting. At the time, there was little information available about the health risks of heavy backpacks. Now there is recognition worldwide that this is a serious problem... and the rate of back pain and injury in children has reached that of adults. My fear is we are creating an entire generation of children who may suffer lifelong injuries from carrying excessive weight almost every day. After much research and feedback from student focus groups, I knew I had to create a healthy alternative. I then recruited the most creative person I know, my husband Nick, who headed to the garage to build the first prototypes. 
What process did you follow to determine your product's marketability?I went directly to kids in grades 4-12 to test the viability of my ideas via focus groups. We got great insight into what the students wanted and what they didn't like about the available products on the market. Many of their ideas are incorporated in our product today. The issues at the top of their list were "coolness" and functionality. At the top of my list were durability, health and safety. With three children, I was tired of contributing to the landfill every year with cheap products that were not meant to survive the daily wear and tear from kids. The kids, unsurprisingly, wanted to maintain a hip, contemporary look...but they also wanted to be able to organize the stuff needed for their day, which they couldn't do with a backpack. The first prototypes my husband built went to school with our twin sons. When I picked them up from school, students asked daily when they were getting their ZÜCAs...and I knew we were on to something. From there we set up a table outside our local Farmers Market on Sunday mornings, drawing a diverse crowd of people. Our big "aha" moment there came when we learned that adults were just as crazy about ZÜCA for their own use. We began to realize that just about everyone needs a ZÜCA... and today our customers range in age from 8 to 80! Also, although it is typically women who buy bags and backpacks for themselves or their families, we also discovered men were drawn to ZÜCA because of its honest design and functionality. (As a writer for Business Week Magazine so nicely put it, the ZÜCA Sport is "one tough tote.") The next step was to attend our first trade show where we became the most talked about product of the show. What process did you follow to manufacture your product? Our first small run was manufactured by a local machine shop. The insert bags were made by a tailor. It was a great way to verify that the design worked, but it was much too costly. Fortunately, one of our advisory board members introduced us to her manufacturer in China, and he agreed to make our first run of samples to help us get started. Today, we have excellent relationships with several Asian manufacturers. What secrets have you learned in terms of publicity and marketing your product? As they say, pictures speak a thousand words and we have found that the more unique product aspects we can show through pictures, the better. People quickly grasp the idea that it is a strong and durable product when we show a 300 lb. person or a Mini Cooper sitting on top of it. Advertising is very expensive for a small company, but we found that PR is much more cost effective. I highly recommend using a good PR service. Every time an article is published, we see an increase in sales. I also recommend, if you have a unique product, to get it placed as a prop in movies and on TV programs. We used a firm that specializes in this service and one of the unexpected benefits was that the people working on the movie sets (production assistants, cameramen, hair and makeup people) started calling to buy our products because they can use the ZÜCA to haul their stuff around. We are now sold at the most prominent beauty supply store in Hollywood! Of course the best exposure, if you can accomplish it, is to have a photo published of a celebrity using your product. 
What kind of support system do you have in place personally and professionally?The company has a board of directors, but I have also created a wonderful board of volunteer advisors that has been very helpful with tactical and strategic decisions. The advisory board has evolved over many years as a result of my network. I asked each of the members to join as a result of their specific expertise. It now includes: a CFO/COO of a prominent corporation, an executive in the luggage industry, a mom inventor who has founded several successful companies, a product designer, and manufacturing expert. At times I have also used consultants for specific tasks. In the early stages of building the business, another entrepreneur told me that it can get very lonely at times and he advised creating a support network of other entrepreneurs. Sometimes you just need to talk with some one else who has faced similar challenges and to hear them say you are doing a good job, or that you are facing a common problem. Some of my greatest business support has come from other women business owners. We need to stick together! Also, making time for yourself is difficult, but very important. I make sure to attend my monthly book club meetings and take time to exercise each day. Juggling work and family life, especially with children still at home, is also very difficult. As mothers, we are constantly feeling torn between work and family, no matter what job we do, but the balance is even harder to find when the entire business is on your shoulders. I know there have been some very positive things my children have learned from our experience, but I often wonder if they resent the time I spend working and the sometimes-chaotic life we live because of the business. I also love working with my husband. In the beginning, I wasn't sure if we could survive spending every day together, but because we bring such different skills to the table our styles complement each other. Over time we have learned that we need to consciously turn off the business to focus on our personal lives, otherwise it consumes our every waking hour! Have you experienced a "low point"? Yes, like all early stage businesses, critical resources such as money, inventory and people are difficult to balance and maintain in adequate supply. The highs from building your own business are incredible, but there have also been many days where my husband and I have looked at each other and asked, "Are we crazy?" Starting your own business is risky and requires passion and perseverance, especially when your personal savings is on the line. Raising money can be a humiliating process and always takes longer than people tell you. We have had more than our share of obstacles: from manufacturing problems to employee turnover (which can have a serious impact on a small company) to selling out of inventory right before Christmas! It's a lot like motherhood: you have to trust your instincts, stay true to your values, believe you are going to be successful and continue to surround yourself with great people. We have learned that it is so important to acknowledge and celebrate each small accomplishment. As difficult as it has been at times, I have never considered giving up. How have you dealt with the competition? I don't spend my time worrying about the competition. Our goal is to be the innovative leader in the market and we are focused on building a world-class brand and providing the best products and experience for our customers. If we continue to do that, I am confident the customers will be there. What differentiates you? ZÜCA has created a whole new category of products in the Travel Goods Industry. We take the old adage of "form follows function" to heart, and our core principles are function, quality and design. The ZÜCA Sport is the only rolling product on the market with an integrated seat. The product's exoskeleton frame with removable bag is also a novel concept. The interchangeable inserts allow an endless array of possibilities for fashion, personalization, and functionality. While the initial investment may be higher than a typical rolling backpack, the product's lifespan is much longer because of the quality and durability. You invest in the foundation of the system and then only need to replace the insert. Also, our unique dual wheel system makes climbing stairs and curbs a breeze. How have you financed your company? Initially we self-funded, using savings and mortgaging our home to finance the company. Then we closed our first round of outside investors in May of 2004. Raising money for a consumer products company in Silicon Valley is about next to impossible. Not only are the investors focused on high tech and biotechnology, but I also found it very difficult to raise money for a company that is founded and managed by a female. 
How did you overcome this hurdle?The three P's: passion, persistence and people. You have to have passion in the belief and conviction of your goal, persistence in the face of what at times seem to be insurmountable obstacles, and the ability to build and use an effective support network. I think more businesses are started by women than men today in the U.S., but it would be interesting to see the statistics on what percentage of angel or venture funding goes to female-headed companies. We are now gearing up to raise another larger round of capital later this year to launch our next product lines, one focused on the traveling professional and the other for the pre-school through early elementary school child. How has the business grown since its inception? We shipped our first products in the summer of 2004, initially selling our products on our web site and through a few small local retailers. Now our largest retail partner is Nordstrom, and we also sell in over 300 U.S. retail locations. We also have distributors in Canada, Japan and Australia/New Zealand. In our second year, our revenue grew 217%, and this year we expect it to increase another 410%. Today ZÜCA is a C-Corportation with a 5-member board of directors, 4 full-time employees and several part time consultants. We manage direct sales and also use outside sales reps. We outsource our manufacturing and distribution. What defines success for you? Obviously success from a business and shareholders' standpoint is defined in financial terms. Are we making our numbers, are we managing expenses and focused on the ROI? We never take our eye off those milestones. At the end of the day for me, though, success is knowing that we're making a difference in the lives of our customers. My heart sings when I hear individual stories... from the teacher at a local school whose students pooled their money to buy a ZÜCA for a classmate who had a leg amputated from cancer and is having difficulty adjusting to his prosthetic leg, to the mom who is progressively going blind who likes the ZÜCA because it can maneuver so easily with her seeing eye dog, to the 80 year old World War II vet who can now leave his apartment for long walks because he can sit on his ZÜCA when he gets tired, to the mother whose 10-year-old son saved his allowance money for 6 months to buy a ZÜCA, and to the female executive who loves going to work with her rhinestone ZÜCA because it's easier to schlep her stuff and puts a smile on her face! I also look forward to the day when we can launch the ZÜCA Foundation to focus on children's health issues. What advice would you offer other moms developing their products/ideas? Write everything down, date it and file it. Always make sure that those you talk to sign non-disclosure agreements to protect your ideas and designs. And if you are serious about starting a business, get the patent process started. From there, talk to your target market to test your ideas - and then start building a network of advisors, resources and support. I wish Mom Inventors had been around when I first started pursuing my idea in 1998! If you are going to raise money through outside investors, make sure you do the same due diligence on them that they will do on you. I have learned that it is very important to choose investors that have real life experience in a similar business. Intellectual capital is just as vital as financial capital, and they should be willing to use their networks and personal experience to help grow the business. | ||||||
