They say that "necessity is the mother of invention.” That certainly turned out to be true for Tamar Rosenthal and Dana Rubenstein, creators of Dapple baby-friendly dishwashing products.
“We realized that we needed a better solution for washing our baby bottles and dishware. We wanted something that would be natural, mild and effective,” says Rosenthal.
Rosenthal and Rubenstein are mothers from New York City, who were busy with everyday "mom" chores and wondered why there wasn't a natural dish soap that removed the residue and odor from breast milk, formula and baby food.
That's why they hatched a plan. With the help of several experienced pediatricians and a team of seasoned chemists, Dapple dish liquid and detergent was born.
“So far I would say we have spent around $50,000 on product development, research and design,” says Rubentstein.
They had the product and faith that it would sell and that's when they heard about a new program sponsored by Yahoo, called "Seeds for Success: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs.”
Dapple sent in one of more than 5,500 grant applications and luckily they were chosen as one of three finalists awarded business grants including $25,000, mentorship and technical services.
Rosenthal and Rubenstein are mothers from New York City, who were busy with everyday "mom" chores and wondered why there wasn't a natural dish soap that removed the residue and odor from breast milk, formula and baby food. Lindley Pless has more.
Once the product had been created it was funding from the Seeds for Success program that helped them to get Dapple here on the shelves.
“Things have already picked up tremendously because of the Yahoo Small Business Grant,” says Rosenthal. “It gives us almost a level of you know, obviously confidence, but also legitimacy.
Yahoo's partner and one of the forces behind "Seeds for Success" is Carolyn Kepcher. You may recognize her from the TV show, "The Apprentice,” but Kepcher has recently launched her own web-based business, FindingWhatMatters.com, that gives information, resources and advice for women seeking career/life balance. She says they were looking for very specific businesses when they chose the finalists.
“One thing we were looking at: their passion. How much passion they actually have for the concept and how much passion they had in seeing this company through,” says Kepcher. “Also looking at their business plan, what made sense. As far as the three finalists, all three of them found a need in the marketplace, realized the need and can talk to the need.”
The program means these hard-working moms can continue to grow their brand and with any luck they say this little two-year-old company will be profitable by the end of its third year.
For more information, go to
www.DappleBaby.com and www.FindingWhatMatters.com