Mommy Inventor: Julie Jumonville

Julie Jumonville is doing what many of us moms wish we could do, she’s making products that are safe for our children. Not only that but she’s making her thoughts become a reality. At Upspring.com, Julie’s site, she has created Milkscreen tests and is now coming out with the Night Knight and Walking Wings. Lets get to know the creator of these wonderful products just a little and see what type of inspiration she can give the rest of us.

What is your name and how many children do you have? Any babies, if so what ages?Julie Jumonville and I have two children.  Grace (daughter) is 8 years oldand Reece (Son) is 6 years old.

Milkscreen.com

What is it you created and why?
I created a suite of products called Milkscreen which are products designed to extend the life of breastfeeding.  The first product in the suite, which is currently on the market, is an enzymatic test for testing for alcohol in breastmilk.  Mom, is pregnant for nine months and then typically will nurse baby for 6-9 months.  We feel it is unrealistic that a holiday, wedding or night with the girls or a husband will not happen during this time period.  We created Milkscreen so mom could have a glass of wine and based on her metabolism and body know for sure when her breastmilk is alcohol free.

How did you create it?
I was the matron of honor in my sister-in-laws wedding and was responsible for giving the toast and participating in the wedding.  I was nursing my first child and I wanted to be able to enjoy this amazing celebration and have some wine for this event.  I used to think that I could pump and dump my breastmilk to eliminate the alcohol but actually I found out that this was not true.  Time and metabolism are the only way alcohol leaves our system and it is different for every mother.

This basically means that mom’s are pumping and dumping precious milk that is going down the drain for no reason.  I believe in leading a balanced life and I feel like Milkscreen is a part of this formula for making nursing a pleasurable experience.

What is your schedule like now?
My schedule is still somewhat hectic but more calm.  I think the reason for this is that we have an excellent team that is helping execute all the moving parts to get our products on the shelf.  I used to be the salesperson, shipper, packer, receptionist and accountant so now I am able to focus on innovation and sale-thru of our products.

What was your schedule like while you were making your product?
Whew!  This was challenging.  I was working another full-time job to help my husband support our family so nights and weekends were my time to work on the Milkscreen Suite.  Many sleepless hours and stress with two jobs but we made it through this time and are now enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Milkscreen.com

What did you do to MAKE this happen?
I was able to realize that I needed to ask for help.  I found a company in Austin that had national distribution and sales and operations.  I had the product roadmap and after a merger in April 2007 this is when things started to happen.

I hear stories sometimes that there may have been struggles to get the product noticed or on shelves. Did this happen? Could you share your experience with us?
The biggest challenge for us was the positioning of the product, high cost of goods out the gate and the need to shift the package to a more clinical and credible package.

How is your product different from others like it?
Milkscreen is really the first diagnostic for breastfeeding mothers in the world to provide them with information about levels of alcohol that are passing through their breastmilk and ultimately to baby.

What would you tell moms that are sitting at home with ideas in their head?
If you have a great idea check to see if you are able to first secure Intellectual Property around your product idea then use an on-line survey or focus group to validate your target market.  If your idea passes through  these two initial gates then it means the idea is worth spending time on developing.

What advice do you have for moms that just got a product out there? (tips for them on promotions, marketing, etc)
Use the blogoshpere and viral channels to market to your moms is my first and favorite tip for new momprenuers.  My second piece of advice or tip is to network with other mom-owned baby product companies to share information and lessons learned when launching a new baby product.

What would you like to say at this time?
I was scared to death to bring an idea from a piece of paper to the market because of how it was going to impact my family financially, emotionally and even our special time together.  So, I called a family meeting and asked for the support of my husband, Jeff and my kiddos Grace and Reece and they surprised me.  They all said let’s do this together and I can remember Reece carrying boxes from the Yellow Freight Truck to my dining room and Grace packaging the Milkscreen boxes for on-line sales and my husband setting up our entire operations back in 2006.  We made it a family project and because we did this I have zero regrets and I am the happiest I have ever been because I love what I do.
www.UpSpringbaby.com

Thank you for this amazing opportunity.  It is because of folks like you that UpSpring Baby is successful!