Your host, Henrik Johansson, talks with the CEO and Founder of The Ollie World, Hindi Zeidman. Hindi's path to entrepreneurship was unconventional. As a single mom by choice living in Southern California, she faced the daunting task of balancing her personal life with her entrepreneurial ambitions. Hindi grew up in an entrepreneurial family, which laid the groundwork for her business ventures. However, her initial career in social work, while fulfilling, took an emotional toll on her. It was through her work with drug-exposed infants in the foster care system that she found the inspiration for her groundbreaking product, the Ollie Swaddle.
The story of Oliver, a drug-exposed infant, was the catalyst for the Ollie Swaddle. Witnessing the struggles of these vulnerable babies, Hindi was moved to create a product that could make a real difference in their lives. Despite her lack of experience in crafting and sewing, she embarked on the prototyping stage, facing the challenges of sourcing materials and production head-on.
Starting a business is never easy, and Hindi's journey was no exception. She candidly shared the struggles of placing a large purchase order without a full grasp of manufacturing and distribution complexities. Rejection from larger retailers was disheartening, but Hindi found a silver lining through social media, which allowed her to connect with her community and find success through e-commerce.
Scaling the business brought its own set of challenges, including issues with manufacturers and supply chain disruptions. Hindi recounted the difficult period when Ollie World was out of stock for an entire year, affecting her team and the business profoundly. The shipping and freight crisis added another layer of complexity to restocking inventory.
Learn more about Hindi's work HERE and HERE.
Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.
To learn more about Henrik Johansson's work at Gembah, check out his website at https://gembah.com/.
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