Bobbie, an infant formula company in the U.S. founded and led by moms, recently announced a new initiative called The MotherLode. This initiative will provide the Bobbie community with an opportunity to invest in the business and to democratize the process of investing. Within a mere three hours of sharing the opportunity to empower moms to invest in Bobbie, investors had fully subscribed to The MotherLode. Now, new investors must join a waitlist.
Bobbie, a San Francisco-based company, is rewriting the investment playbook. The goal is to drive innovation and alleviate some of the burden caused by COVID-19 that has disproportionately affected mothers. Nearly 3 million U.S. women left the labor force over the last year, exposing undervalued work and a childcare crisis. In response, Bobbie is showing that it can do more for moms. Only 8 percent of investors are women and women make up only 20 percent of boards. The founders of Bobbie want to change that—starting by inviting moms to invest and get a seat at the table.
How the MotherLode can help moms
Initially, Bobbie’s founders pitched the company to mostly traditional, male-led VCs in connection with prior financing rounds. They eventually decided to create The MotherLode. The MotherLode gives moms who love Bobbie the opportunity to invest in a company that serves them.
“As we were finalizing Bobbie’s latest round of funding, we realized that the changes we want to bring to the formula industry—an industry traditionally owned and operated by men—also requires changing who gets to be involved. Mothers are our reason for being, so mothers should be part of investing in our journey,” stated co-founder and CEO Laura Modi. “We want The MotherLode to start a movement of a new kind of relationship between brands and its consumers, democratizing investing and allowing mothers to invest in brands they believe in and use. It’s time to invest like a Mother.”
The MotherLode provides women with a seat at the table
CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest, Sallie Krawcheck, stated: “We applaud The MotherLode for its goal of engaging women in investing, something that we work to do every day at Ellevest. That’s why we’re happy to offer Ellevest Executive memberships to women who join The MotherLode, to provide them with a broad set of financial solutions and guidance, to complement their investment in Bobbie. As we love to say at Ellevest: ‘Nothing bad happens when we get more money in the hands of women.’”
“We accepted $100 to $2,000 investments,” stated co-founder and COO of Bobbie, Sarah Hardy. “But this isn’t about the dollars we raise; it’s about the movement we start. We want to inspire women and moms to invest in brands they believe in, to give moms the value and impact they’re willing to create.”
“Bobbie and The MotherLode are personal to us. As such, we made it a point for moms to have a seat at the table, because we know how hard it is to get one. All too often these investment opportunities are given to those ‘in the know’. So we opened it up to those who are not usually on the inside track to invest in Bobbie—a product they know and trust,” said Modi.
Turning frustration into action
Bobbie co-founder and CEO Laura Modi’s personal struggle with breastfeeding inspired the creation of the brand. After finding herself in a store desperate for formula, each label left Modi disappointed in the options available to her. Originally from Ireland, she knew that Europeans took a different approach to formula. Modi didn’t understand why similar formulas weren’t available in America. Her frustration turned into action.
Bobbie brings a first of its kind European-Style Recipe, Organic Infant Formula to U.S. parents. Bobbie models its recipe after breast milk. It meets the most recent EU nutritional standards for critical ingredients like DHA and iron. It also complies with all FDA nutritional standards for infant formula. Bobbie provides a purposefully sourced, USDA Organic infant formula with Organic Valley milk from pasture raised cows. Bobbie believes that what you put in formula is just as important as what you leave out. The products do not include commonplace ingredients like corn syrup, palm oil or maltodextrin.
“At Google, I led Product Operations for Google Finance, a financial information platform…for the ‘institutional stock market investor’. If you didn’t understand what a P/E ratio was, you most likely steered clear from investing in the public market. Staring at the market everyday, I found myself trading, and I loved it. I appreciated the ability to play a part in companies I strongly believed in, and once I got over the learning curve, I even realized I was good. Women can invest, Moms can invest, and they are good—I want to support the next generation of women becoming investors,” said Modi.
To learn more about The MotherLode please visit https://republic.co/bobbie. Bobbie formula is available at www.hibobbie.com.
About Bobbie
Bobbie is an Organic Infant Formula company that exists to build a parenting culture of confidence, not comparison. Bobbie supports every parent in the feeding choice that is right for them and their baby. The brand will be initially selling direct-to-consumer and offering a subscription service to parents across the US. Moms founded and lead Bobbie. A 20 person “Motherboard” of advisors and a Medical Affairs Team contribute their expertise to building a next-generation formula company. The team includes doctors, lactation consultants, doulas and pediatricians. CEO Laura Modi formed the brand in 2018. For more information on Bobbie, visit www.hibobbie.com, and follow Bobbie on Instagram @bobbie.
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