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Big things ahead for Lil’ Sidekick

To say Amy Vohs is a momtrepreneur is doing her a disservice. Granted, NBC’s Today Show chose to spotlight her and her brand Lil’ Sidekick as one of five baby product highlights on their International Women’s Day “mompreneurs” segment. (She gets a little squeamish to admit they called her a “genius” on national television.)

Amy Vohs is an entrepreneur. Like any individual who sees a problem and won’t stop until they’ve solved it, or perhaps won’t ever quit solving, she’s a creator, an innovator and a fighter. She just also happens to be a mother.

860423_223585597813363_1575420134_oVohs “put a stop to the drop game” nearly six years ago when her son was only six months old and had an affinity for chucking things, like all kids that age. She recognized the limited availability of products that could tether in proximity to her son weren’t good enough. It was time to take that into her own hands.

Anyone that’s familiar with Lil’ Sidekick knows the rest is history. In 2014, her product launched at Suite Dreams and sells at several local baby boutiques, but can now be found at Babies R’ Us, buybuy Baby and as of January, a launch into one thousand Walmart locations. Add to that an international sales network and you’d be hard-pressed not to call Lil’ Sidekick a success story.

But what you might not know, unless you find yourself sitting across from Vohs with her glass of iced green tea accompanied by her true-blue transparency, is the web of midwest connections she was able to weave in order to be where she, and her brand, is today.

When she approached a manufacturer with a sketch that resembled a monkey made of noodles, they told her to come back when she had something they could work with in AutoCAD. Vohs picked up the phone and zeroed in on calls targeting Iowa State University’s College of Engineering, transferring from one department to another until she landed with David Ringholz and the Industrial Design Department within the College of Design.

“This is a classic napkin sketch story,” Ringholz said, who came to ISU in 2010 to start an Industrial Design program within the College of Design. Ringholz, who had helped create similar success as associate chair of the industrial design program within the Savannah College of Art and Design, stressed the importance of the community seeing universities as a partner in collaboration.

“My goal is to reduce the gap between students and practitioners so that those ‘real-world experiences’ people refer to are actually happening within our classroom.” He turned the project over to two ISU juniors that would be instrumental in bringing the concept to life over the course of a semester.

From there it’s like a game of startup Chutes and Ladders where Vohs is only climbing upward.

A manufacturer in Garnavillo, a tooling company in Monticello, countless meetings set up with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Small Business Development Center and Square One DSM, which would lead her to discover the angel investors available to Iowa startups, including the Plains Angels and Ankeny Seed Capital Investors. In addition, Vohs was quick to point out the dozens of family and friends that came forward to surround her in support, from early stage investing based on a belief in her, to weekend neighborhood packaging parties to save production costs, Vohs continues to keep moving forward.

“I told myself that we’d go until no more doors open,” Vohs said. “But even then, I know there’s always another way.”

Those doors will continue to open for Vohs, because she will make them open and she’s not done yet. The brand is growing, not just in retailers and shelf space, but Vohs is just one week away from pitching the brand’s second product to Wal-Mart executives. (Walmart has pledged to purchase approximately $250 billion in products that support the creation of American jobs by 2023, including a commitment to increased sourcing from women-owned businesses.) She’s eager to add to her brand, solving one unmet need at a time, and solving them with local midwest ties.

I asked her what the finish line was, wondering when she would feel successful. “The goal isn’t the product. The goal is to take care of my family in a way that they can thrive. There’s no finish line to that.”

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Vohs giving the thumbs up when Lil’ Sidekick hit Walmart.

 

Editor’s note: Vohs spent 12 years working in the mental health industry, with a focus on children. She recently left to be able to concentrate full-time on growing the Lil’ Sidekick brand. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t call-out her love of 90s rap music.

Jami Milne is the interim managing editor of Clay & Milk. Send her an email at editor@clayandmilk.com.

 

Big things ahead for Lil' Sidekick | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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