About this episode
Elizabeth Grojean is the Founder and CEO of Baloo.
Elizabeth bounced around several different industries before getting to where she is today. After graduating from University of Texas with a marketing degree, she held roles in politics, advertising, and finance before working for a startup tequila brand and ultimately in children’s book publishing at Scholastic. Throughout all her experiences, she still felt like she had a lot of untapped energy, drive and ambition to give that wasn’t being utilized. So she quit. She said she felt like a huge failure and decided to go to the one place in the world that she felt really good – Bali. When she got there, it was an unlock. She was able to get out of the typical corporate grind for productivity and reconnect with what made her joyful. That’s where she got the idea to start Baloo.
At Baloo, Elizabeth and her team sell weighted blankets, a proven remedy to help people that suffer from poor sleep and anxiety. While it remains unclear exactly why weighted blankets cause better and deeper sleep, it’s believed that weighted blankets mimic the memory of being bundled up in our mother’s arms, a comforting feeling that promotes relaxation. Baloo makes their blankets with glass microbeads and has rave reviews from their customers.
This was an inspiring interview that really highlighted how we don’t all have a straight line path to get to where we want to go and how passion and energy for great products that solve a real need can take you far.
Tune in to hear Elizabeth's story!
As a special offer, this founder is giving our listeners 10% off all weighted blankets. Use code “Founder” when checking out at balooliving.com to take advantage of the offer!
EPISODE TOPICS:
- (2:30) Baloo snapshot today
- (3:31) Background
- (8:40) Spark for idea
- (10:21) Weighted blanket benefits
- (11:16) Prototype creation
- (13:14) Product testing
- (17:12) Key customer segments
- (18:15) Long-term growth
- (19:19) Outside the box marketing tactics
- (20:53) Competition
- (22:20) Covid Impact
- (24:15) Manifesting the future
- (26:12) Health and wellness space
- (29:12) Bali living
- (32:33) Hiring
- (33:42) Mentor advice
- (36:47) Frustrating/validating moment
- (39:22) Advice to younger self
- (40:06) Biggest challenge today
- (43:50) Exciting trends
- (45:40) Morning routine
- (48:36) Favorite brands/products
- (50:52) Learning & resources
- (51:44) Elizabeth's startup manifesto
- (54:20) Elizabeth's founder nomination
Baloo - www.balooliving.com
- Follow Baloo (@balooliving) on Instagram
- Follow Elizabeth (@elizabethmanette) on Instagram // LinkedIn
- Elizabeth's learning and resource recommendations
The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com
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