Interview with Jennifer Clary – co founder of The Baby Box Co

We are super proud to be partners with The Baby Box Co which was founded in 2013 by two childhood friends, entrepreneurs, Jennifer Clary and Michelle Vick.

The Baby Box Co helps parents keep their children safe by offering various educational courses which they complete to receive a free Baby Box bassinet or a Safe Sleep bag reward.  We interviewed Jennifer who tells us a bit more about The Baby Box Co, her business journey and plans for the future.

Tell us about The Baby Cox Co and why you started it?

I started The Baby Box Co with my best friend Michelle Vick in 2013 because we wanted to empower parents to keep their children safe. We began this journey by launching our Safe Sleep course on babyboxco.com which parents in the UK, USA and Canada can complete to receive a free Baby Box bassinet or Safe Sleep bag reward. That program has been so well received that our company has since expanded to release additional rewarded education courses. For example, our team is so excited that the UK babyboxco.com platform will be launching a free rewarded Postpartum Mental Health course soon with expert content from the South London and Maudsley NHS trust.

What have you found the most rewarding?

I find engagement with parents to be the most rewarding aspect of my job. I love hearing that The Baby Box Co programme and products have added value to families’ daily lives; it’s affirmation that our platform is filling a much needed gap in the education space and that our team’s hard work is having positive impact.

What have you found the most challenging?

Being the founder of a scaling business is an amazing honor, but it can also be incredibly isolating. You have to do every job at the beginning and you work insane hours to realize your vision. As the business grows, you feel a personal responsibility for every team member that joins, for every partnership that on-boards, for every investor who believes in you. There is a weight attached to responsibility and time doesn’t slow. I worked constantly from 2013 until 2017 and that focus took a toll on my personal life. That was the most challenging part of the journey for me: having to make hard choices and reconfigure my priorities for The Baby Box Co to be successful. In 2018 I stepped down as CEO and commuted my role to Founder and President so that I could re-focus some energy on my personal life and well-being.

What did you do prior to launching The Baby Box Co?

I founded a media company as a college student at Vassar in 2003, which enabled me to graduate early the following year. It provided media services for businesses like Jewels by Park Lane, GE Healthcare, Dow AgroSciences, etc. In 2009, I founded the first nationwide vegan meal delivery service in the USA. That company was sold in 2012. I then took off six months from business to direct a film released by HBO before founding The Baby Box Co in 2013 with Michelle, who has been my best friend since we were 11 years old.

What is your favourite part of running the business?

My favourite part of working at The Baby Box Co is collaborating with amazing, talented people on a daily basis to make a positive difference for families. I don’t know of any other company that embodies the “do well by doing good” movement to the same extent as The Baby Box Co. When our team succeeds, parents are empowered with vital knowledge and children are consequently made safer.

Where do you see your business in 5 years’ time?

I see The Baby Box Co including many more rewarded education courses and expanding programme access to parents in territories beyond the UK, USA and Canada.

If you could change one thing on this planet what would it be?

 For every person to be exponentially kinder. Sometimes when I read the news or travel to a crisis area as part of my work for The Baby Box Co, I’m struck by the thought that there is a global empathy deficit. If there was a way to collectively dial-up kindness, I suspect our planet would be far safer and more sustainable.