Lindsey Fleischhauer – Wild Business Growth Podcast #225: Car Seat Carrier, Co-Founder of Totes Babies

Shopping with a baby is not the easiest thing to do in the world. This week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Lindsey Fleischhauer, is here to change that. Lindsey is the Co-Founder of Totes Babies. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 225: Lindsey Fleischhauer – Car Seat Carrier, Co-Founder of Totes Babies

Lindsey Fleischhauer, the Co-Founder of Totes Babies, joins the show to share her journey from growing up in a family business to making it simple to shop with babies. Hear how to gather valuable feedback early on, gain insights from trade shows, make note of new product ideas, beat the claw machine, and raise child inventors. This episode covers everything from customer feedback to the Chicago Accent. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What lessons from the theatre world apply to entrepreneurship
• Where did the Totes Babies idea come from
• What went into product development
• How did Lindsey start getting the product out to the public
• “We need babies”
• How often do Lindsey and her dad communicate about the business
• The Clawwwwww from Toy Story
• What was Lindsey’s reaction when she found out her son was 10 lbs at birth

Connect with Lindsey at TotesBabies.com and social media @TotesBabies.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Theatre Arts
  • [0:31] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:41] Connect with Lindsey at TotesBabies.com and social media @TotesBabies
  • [2:11] Totes
  • [2:30] Where did Lindsey’s interest in theatre come from
  • [2:48] NIU (Northern Illinois University)
  • [2:53] UCLA (University of California Los Angeles)
  • [3:19] What lessons from the theatre world apply to entrepreneurship
  • [4:08] That too
  • [4:23] Did Lindsey say “Break a leg” before launching her business
  • [4:45] What pulled her into the business world
  • [4:53] Southern Imperial
  • [5:40] Patents
  • [5:51] What’s Lindsey’s favorite entrepreneurship lesson from her father

• The Totes Babies Story
  • [6:55] Where did the Totes Babies idea come from
  • [8:03] WHOA
  • [9:38] What went into the product development of Totes Babies
  • [10:12] Engineer, Prototype
  • [10:22] The Home Depot
  • [10:32] Trader Joe’s
  • [10:55] What helpful feedback did Lindsey hear early on
  • [11:58] How did she start getting the product out to the public
  • [12:35] 99designs, VistaPrint
  • [13:08] Facebook Ads
  • [13:20] Baby Expo Chicago
  • [13:39] What a month!
  • [13:54] The Tim Ferriss Show
  • [14:13] Kevin Lane – Wild Business Growth Podcast #45: Inventor of Create A Castle, Sandcastle Genius, Jonathan Katz – Wild Business Growth Podcast #104: Inventor of BLENDi, College Entrepreneur
  • [14:34] What are the best insights from attending trade shows
  • [14:56] Networking
  • [15:02] Shark Tank
  • [15:35] Totes
  • [15:45] What’s the biggest area of entrepreneurship Lindsey has learned the most about
  • [16:22] Social Media
  • [16:36] Instagram Ads, TikTok Ads
  • [16:45] Sara Blakely, SPANX
  • [17:42] Budget
  • [18:07] “We need babies”
  • [18:54] What other products is Totes Babies diving into
  • [19:08] Phone and Table Mounts, Boogie Bracelet
  • [20:38] How do you make note of new product ideas
  • [20:50] Notes App
  • [21:29] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
• Inspiration & Creativity: People, Hobbies, and Resources
  • [22:15] Whaaaaaat
  • [22:37] Hippo Direct, our family business
  • [22:43] What are the pros and cons of family business
  • [23:07] Perfection
  • [24:01] How often do Lindsey and her dad communicate about the business
  • [24:22] What’s the biggest difference between working with him in their previous business vs. Totes Babies
  • [24:37] Target, Walmart
  • [25:12] 50-50, both
  • [25:12] When does Lindsey think of the most business ideas

• The Unusual: Pet Peeves, Quirks, and Weird Talents
  • [26:34] What’s a pet peeve Lindsey has
  • [26:50] Gee, I don’t know
  • [27:01] What’s a quirk Lindsey has
  • [27:15] Amazing
  • [27:44] Brand Management
  • [27:54] Shoutout, Shannon!
  • [28:14] What’s a weird talent Lindsey has
  • [28:31] Claw Machines
  • [29:18] The Clawwwwww from Toy Story
  • [29:23] Ancient memories
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [30:38] What’s an invention Lindsey’s son thought of
  • [31:08] Triscuit
  • [31:17] Nature Valley, Crumbs Everywhere
  • [31:36] What was Lindsey’s reaction when she found out her son was 10 lbs at birth
  • [32:18] World’s Strongest Man (WSM)
  • [32:34] How do you beat the claw machine
  • [33:24] What’s the biggest difference between living in Illinois in Chicago
  • [33:47] University of Iowa
  • [33:52] Loooots of corn
  • [34:03] Naperville, IL
  • [34:28] Chicago Accent
  • [34:42] IU (Indiana University)
  • [35:31] Mentor, OH
  • [35:38] Shoutout, Solon beating Mentor!
  • [36:08] Connect with Lindsey at TotesBabies.com and social media @TotesBabies
  • [36:43] What are Lindsey’s Final Thoughts
  • [37:43] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And 5 stars on Apple Podcasts & Spotify if you’re feeling super nice
  • [37:59] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [38:03] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [38:05] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [38:09] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Lindsey Fleischhauer on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And go Totes Babies with them. Totes. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!