Helping new mamas with baby’s feeding challenges, one bottle at a time

  When asked why they decided to work on their idea, Katie and Melonie both said that it was a result of frustration. They felt like there were no solution for their problem and after in depth research, the idea seemed too good an opportunity miss out on! Read their experience during the Product Discovery Journey.

Q1 | When you approached companies with your idea, what did you know about new product development process? Did you have a clear picture of what it is and who needs it?

A1 | Melani Ritchie   I’ll just touch start. Katie and I had a very good idea of our actual product and what it should do and how it should act. And we did a lot of that research ourselves. But in terms of getting it made, it took a few conversations, right, Katie? with different firms and companies to get a rough idea of what are the processes. How many people do we speak to you, Katie? Katty Nagji    Um, well, I know that we, I’m thinking of the last three was three, but I think probably more like four or five, because we kind of narrowed it down to three and then two, and then you guys. always probably spoke most extensively, a little more extensively with, like, extensively with two of you. And then yeah, some others. But I mean, I think the part about us having a clear idea of what we wanted, and what we wanted the product to do was actually like, something that really helped us a lot, because, you know, we kept learning of what we could and couldn’t do, or, you know, Konstantine was guiding us and the way that it worked. And like, we were able to have something to come back to constantly, which really helped, I think, rather than just like, get confused, and like, just totally changed paths, we always had something that we’re like, okay, but this was what we originally wanted. So like we were able to kind of reference back to that and the decisions that we made. So I think that was like, hugely helpful.  Melanie Ritchi  And I think what was really helpful for us is, you know, because we did speak to, you know, quite a number of different firms, and the process seemed to be generally be the same. But I think what really cemented us into to working with you guys is Konstantine was the first person to say, well, that defies the laws of physics. He was very realistic about it. And I think that, for us, that was the first time where we sort of had to think oh, okay, so these are some of the things that we need to be aware about, is that some things we may need to compromise on. And I think that in terms of the most important part for us, when we were trying to figure out what the journey was, is to have somebody explained to us what would be some of the hills that we’d have to climb instead of saying, you know, yes to everything that we wanted. Katie Nagji   And I think that the way you guys since, you know, sort of back to answering your question, as far as what we expected, we didn’t really know what to expect as far as how long the different processes would take. And all the people we spoke to priced things a little bit differently, and in a different way, and like groups, different things together. And we really liked since we are on, you know, a pretty tight budget, knowing that you guys were giving us these pricing structure. And a lot of other companies weren’t able to guarantee the pricing structure. So they would say like, this is the price, but like, there’s all these factors that could change it, which we know that may happen in the final stage, but we liked knowing what to expect from you guys, that was really comforting to know, because because we didn’t know how long things were taking, we’re going to take like it was a little bit of a scary step to imagine that we were told this price, but then it could really actually be double in order and we would be put in a tight spot, you know, potentially halfway through the process. So since we didn’t know any Well,  Melanie Ritchi  I could see your explanation of wherever Our investment was going, you know, in, I guess, in the sense that, you know, I guess creating a prototype is is way more than what we initially anticipated. And it was one of the things that we realized that it was going to be a really investment as we went into it. And again, I think you guys did really well was to be able to break it down for us to understand where our investment was going, and what would be our priorities, you know, in terms of the product development phase, in the design phase, and help us to kind of manage our investment and be involved in that sense as well.

Q2 | In what ways you benefited from our Product Discovery Stage? Was it helpful for you during your product development journey?

A1 | Katie Nagji  I think we were more interested to start with the technology side, because we felt pretty confident with our idea and the research and other products out there that we’d seen that we didn’t want to spend our money, at least at that point on researching the market, because like I said, we did have, we do have a very tight budget and the technology something is something technology part is what we like physic we just can’t mentally do. And so we felt like that was something that we wanted to pay for versus the research part of it, like you said, we felt really comfortable with our own skills, and that part of it. So we wanted that money to go into the part that we knew that we weren’t able to do.  Melani Ritchi Yeah. And again, I think that’s something that we appreciated in the sense that, you know, we had clear priorities in our project and in our prototype, and you guys were able to work with, you know, what resources we had, and what we already had on hand. And you were happy to kind of like go with that. I think we really appreciated that.

Q3 | How did it feel when there was an idea to move away from your original idea?

A3 | Melani Ritchie   Katie and I had so much prepared, you know, up front, and, you know, we did talk about them in depth, but then, you know, we would sort of run into a question.   It’s not, it was nice to have a third brain in the mix Constantine’s brain, where he would ask, well, you know, what, if you did it this way, or, you know, do you actually need this? So, what’s the importance of that? And though those questions can be frustrating, because you think, no, this is the way that we want to do it, you know, several times k, you know, went away, you know, had a discussion with like, actually makes total sense to do it this way. Or, you know, actually an even better way would be to do this. So, it’s definitely frustrating, but I think that you know, when you’ve got your own products in your head, you can kind of have rose colored glasses on about it and, and only see, you know, it as faultless, so it’s good to have somebody who thinks in a different way to question why you need specific things or to give us an even better solution to that. So yeah, definitely frustrating but you need I think you need to be prepared for that.  Katie Nagji   I think the fact that we had a pretty clear idea coming back to that again, was really helpful to us because when sorry, when we were frustrated at you know, from a question you know, we were or you know, a lot of times Constantine provided alternate solutions or suggestions. And we were able to kind of make decisions based on the fact that that didn’t fall in line with what we originally had planned to do. And so we could kind of come back to what our original plan was, with all of these suggestions that he gave and realize that some of them weren’t in line at all, we could just like cross them off. And then some of them were able to like pivot a little bit and like Mel said, kind of make the improvements. And so I think the suggestions were good overall. But I just feel very strongly about the fact that we had an idea in mind already, because it could have gotten very, totally confusing. And you know, having somebody else come in and make their suggestions is helpful, but also to stay on track with what you originally hoped for, was helpful to make was helpful and making decisions based on his suggestions that that makes sense.

Q4 | Upon completion of the Product Discovery, was it an easy decision for your to further proceed with your project?

A4 | Katie Nagji   So now I like always wanted to move forward, like we’re always proud of I know very, like, straight. Melani Ritchie  But glad that we went through this journey.  Katie Nagji   Yeah. I mean, we were, we feel it’s an easy decision, because we feel like the product is exactly like, we’re really excited about it. I think if we were like not, then we wouldn’t be going forward with this part. We kept working on it, I guess.  Melani Ritchie Yeah. Trading, right. We’re really happy with how it’s come out. Like it’s come out exactly, exactly how we wanted it, but with more like, finesse to it. So I think, you know, that whole journey, even though it took a while and you know, frustrating at times to question yourself and your product has ended up in a better design at the end. So yeah, prototyping is gonna be very, very exciting.

Q5 | How do you manage your fulltime jobs and being full time moms plus having a new product under development?

A5 | Katie Nagji  Well, I will say when we first started this, I was not. I have an almost two year old and I was still off. And she had just started to go back to her. She had just started going to daycare. And I didn’t I wasn’t working it. So it’s actually like really nice, because I feel like I had time. And Mel and I could like set up times, either. Before she was in daycare during her nap time. Or when she was in daycare, I was obviously more flexible. But like at that point, it was really nice to like, the I feel like the heavy stage of communicating between her and I was really at the the first you know, part of it. And now it’s kind of like, we’re paused and not paused. But like we’re not having to talk as often. While it gets made. We still have other stuff going on. But like there was a time at the beginning when we were we really had a lot to go through. And I feel like for me, yeah, it was just like really good time because I had a little bit more flexibility. And then I started my job. And now I don’t know Mel and I are talking like when I’m driving or like all kinds of random. But it’s hard. It’s definitely like it’s hard. We’re in different time zones. We have different. Yeah, we have different things going on. So it’s nice to work too with somebody that also has a child because we understand like, things change a lot. Melanie Ritchie   Yeah, I mean, it was the opposite. So I was living and Katie and I first started talking about this, I was living in the Virgin Islands. And we didn’t have my daughter in childcare. So I was full time parenting with her. And it was it was hard. But I think you know, we’re so passionate about what we’re doing that you kind of make the time. And I’m glad that we invested all of that time in the beginning because it’s set up now so that We know exactly what we’re doing. And the work is being done even if Katie and I need to take a few days off to look after, you know, sick children, this whole winter is like really, like made me feel like I’ve had like both hands behind my back. But it’s been good to know that the work is still progressing forward, even though I’m not as to be able to be as active in it as I would like to be. But I think in terms of, you know, when we first started this discussion through their product, for their product discovery phase, I didn’t find that we wasted any time, like, I didn’t think that any of the conversations that we had, or discussions that we had, or the work that we sort of had to do behind the scenes was, you know, anything beyond what we should have done. I think that, you know, we had a commitment to at least jump on the phone with Constantine once a week, to sort of go through everything that we needed to do. And, you know, Katie, and I being able to connect, you know, offline, and, and making sure that we will feeding the information that Constantine needed, in, I guess, like, the most efficient way possible, rather than what he might not see it this way. But rather than peppering him with you know, 1000 different things, making sure that we, you know, we’re prepared for our next conversation with everything, all of our thoughts from the past week. So yeah, I mean, it’s very, definitely very time consuming, especially with kids. But you know, we do as much as we can. And again, like, Katie beam mom as well, it’s good, because it’s not ideal to, I need to like reschedule this call. Or, you know, she totally understands. And I understand when she’s got stuff going on, too.  Katie Nagji   Yeah, yeah, I would say that the, like, weekly, or, you know, however, often the call with Constantine really helped us like, stay on track, too, because we would try and set up the next one, so that we didn’t just like, let it go for too long. And then that would force Mel on AI to be like, Okay, we have this call it Wednesday. So we have to talk before then to get stuff worked out. So that definitely helped us keep things on a tight timeline as we possibly could.

Q6 | What are your thoughts about overall experience with Product Discovery Process?

A6 | We always had a really positive experience. I mean, we felt like it moved along, like as fast as it possibly could. There was no like, annoying delays or, you know, ever the communication was good. Like we’ve had a really positive experience overall with you guys for sure.