On this edition of StartupNation Radio, Jeff interviews Shauna and Matt Damman from Walkie Chalk and City Girls Soap owner Amy McIntire.
One day, while recovering from the arrival of their third child, Shauna was outside with her daughter, who was drawing with sidewalk chalk. Of course her daughter wanted her to play, too, but that was not what the doctor ordered.
So, Shauna took a broken handle from a rake and two zip strips and viola, the Walkie Chalk was invented. Shauna and Matt were surprised when they went online looking for a similar product and did not find anyone selling them anywhere, as the product simply was not invented yet. Matt and Shauna put together a business plan and a prototype and took it to market. They are now pitching their product to Toys “R” Us and Meijer.
She and her family considered making a dairy, but it was cost-prohibitive. What to do with the extra milk being produced? They consulted with an MSU Product Advisor from the agricultural division to find out what their options were. They began making their City Girls Soap and headed up to Making It In Michigan held in Lansing each November to start selling their product and, more importantly, gaining market feedback.
They’ve also gone one step further by following their philosophy of using the whole goat, as these goats are available for rent to clean up vacant fields. Amy was able to develop a great new revenue stream that she never anticipated when she started.
Stay tuned for next week’s edition of StartupNation Radio!
