How She Did It: Julie Clark, on Founding Baby Einstein and Selling to Disney

Julie Clark

By Tiffany Pham

Previously a high school English teacher, Julie Clark eventually resigned in order to become a full-time mother.  Upon giving birth, she desired to teach her baby all of the things she most loved — including music and literature — yet she realized that there was no product on the market that did just that. She thus began creating videos in her basement in her free time, editing the videos and recording the music herself.

By the end of this year-long project, Clark had invested $15,000 into the initiative, and thereafter decided to market it by sending to publications for reviews and meeting retailers at trade shows. A retailer decided to test her concept, purchasing 100 videos, and subsequently sold out in 2 days. The combination of having a great product that worked as well as word-of-mouth from parents and teachers catapulted Baby Einstein’s success. Clark then began a relationship with Disney, signing a book deal wherein she would write books on behalf of Baby Einstein, which Disney would then publish. After 5 years, with 5 employees and $25 million in revenue, Julie Clark successfully sold her company to Disney.

Clark thereafter took a break for 2 years, traveling with her family. By then, her kids were in elementary school, and she felt they needed to be further educated about the Internet and other safety issues – but in a fun way.  As before, she realized that there was no such product, and she went on to create The Safe Side with John  Walsh. The Safe Side created videos that could be used in classrooms and beyond to creatively teach kids about safety. Sales proceeds went to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

Being subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer twice, Clark wrote a book for children called You Are the Best Medicine, guiding them on the realities of cancer, with sales proceeds going towards breast cancer research. She is currently working on 2 startups: Baby Bytes, which uses mobile technology along with interactive props to teach pre-schoolers, and The Soft Skin Company, a maternity wear line which reduces chances of stretch marks post-pregnancy.

We spoke with Julie Clark recently, in order to learn more about her inspirational journey.

Tiffany Pham: What inspired you to make videos for babies?

Julie Clark:I left the teaching profession to stay home with my new baby; I had taught high school English and art. As a stay-at-home mom, I was struck by the fact that there was absolutely no compelling, enriching visual entertainment made specifically for babies, whose needs were unique. I wanted to expose my new baby to the kinds of things that I loved and appreciated, like music, art, and poetry. And I knew what babies liked, because I spent all of my time with one. It didn’t feel like it would be all that difficult to make something that combined baby-friendly images with compelling auditory content, like classical music.

Culled from: http://www.forbes.com