I just returned from a two day conference at the Kimberly-Clark headquarters in Neenah, Wisconsin, where Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies® brand hosted first-ever MomInspired grant recipients in Neenah at the company’s R&D facilities. I was honored to be one of 12 MomInspired small businesses selected by Kimberly-Clark in this first-ever grant award program for creating PicPocket Books to publish children’s picture books to the iPhone and iPad.The award offers monetary support, coaching, and networking exposure for moms like me who are building their own businesses around an innovative product or idea. The grant itself is just the start – on-going support from Kimberly-Clark and their PR team, Ogilvy PR Worldwide, is included in this award. The conference in Neenah was our first chance to meet in person and to begin that mentoring process.
The program is strategically brilliant on the part of Kimberly-Clark. As a company dedicated to providing products that help moms, and specifically, their babies, Huggies® is now setting an example by reaching out and embracing moms and their inventions and business ideas. Steve Paljieg, Senior Director of Innovation for Kimberly-Clark and a key champion of the program, notes, “Women are starting businesses at three-times the rate of any other sub-segment, and yet they’re getting about three percent of venture capital. We though that was a pretty significant inequity … we can jump in there as a company and help address that for these women.”
While making an enormous difference for the first 12 MomInspired Grant Award recipients, Kimberly-Clark recognizes the dynamics of the Mom Market and the importance of getting behind it. From their innovative ideas to their influential buying power (moms control the spending decisions in 85% of American households), moms are a serious force to be reckoned with!
What does it mean for MomsWithApps?
Products developed by moms – like many MomsWithApps apps – have a special distinction. Today’s moms are a savvy bunch, and they want to make sure that they are providing their kids with the best products and opportunities. Mom inventors and developers are the ones in the trenches of daily life with kids. We know what works, what appeals to kids, and what the needs of both kids AND moms are. We are going to make sure that our products are “good for” our kids, which means that they are educational and that they support a healthy lifestyle and thoughtful values.
Huggies® plans to open a new round of funding in early 2011. I encourage other moms with an invention or unique business idea to apply once the open up submissions for the next round. The grant recipients will have the benefits of:
- Financial reward
- Access to the corporate team for general and specific coaching
- Networking & linkages with large corporations in the PR Spectrum
- Peer to peer mentoring and networking
Once again, a big shout-out to Huggies® for their vision and support, for PicPocket Books and the other MomInspired recipients specifically, and for their broader commitment to building and promote interesting, meaningful MomInspired businesses for the future. Visit the Huggies® MomInspired website for information about future submissions.
Lynette Mattke | PicPocket Books
You can also find Lynette of PicPocket Books on Facebook and Twitter.
Congrats on the award. This is a great feel good story for a Monday morning. Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations, very well deserved!
Love your site, would love to talk with you regarding your network of developers! Contact you co-founder. Amazing work, it gives me chills. g