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Episode 351: Fran Maier – BabyQuip, Match.com

Fran Maier, the Founder & CEO of BabyQuip and Co-Founder of Match.com, joins the show to share her journey from starting the 1^st online dating site to creating the #1 baby gear rental service for traveling families. Hear how to keep your business simple, how to build a business powered by moms, how BabyQuip started partnering with Vrbo, how to define your ideal customer avatar, and the best things to do in Santa Fe. This episode covers everything from online dating to baby gear. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• 14.4 kbps in a 28.8 kbps environment
• How did Fran pitch moms on contributing to the BabyQuip gig economy
• What’s driven the growth of BabyQuip
• Who is the ideal customer avatar for BabyQuip
• What’s the best food dish unique to Santa Fe

Connect with Fran at BabyQuip.com and on LinkedIn.

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

Show Notes

• Intro & Match.com
  • [0:34] Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:37] Connect with Fran at BabyQuip.com and on LinkedIn
  • [2:40] How did Fran start Match.com – the 1st online dating site
  • [3:08] 14.4 kbps in a 28.8 kbps environment aka dial-up
  • [4:17] Do you have to share your weight on dating apps

• The BabyQuip Story
  • [9:18] Where did the idea for BabyQuip come from
  • [11:28] Should I watch American Idol
  • [12:35] How do you keep your business simple
  • [16:05] How did Fran pitch moms on contributing to the BabyQuip gig economy
  • [16:54] It did
  • [18:15] How did BabyQuip start partnering with Vrbo
  • [20:25] Happy Anny, Dana! I love you
  • [20:34] BabyQuip on Shark Tank
  • [20:52] How did COVID change how BabyQuip approached sanitization & cleanliness
  • [21:52] What is Apple’s Net Promoter Score (NPS)
  • [23:55] How do you navigate macro factors as an entrepreneur
  • [25:04] What’s driven the growth of BabyQuip
  • [26:08] Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
  • [26:15] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Fran
  • [26:16] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • [26:18] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23

• Inspiration & Creativity: Finding Your Target Customer
  • [26:40] Who was Match.com’s original target customer
  • [26:53] Shoutout, JoAnn!
  • [27:46] Who is the ideal customer avatar for BabyQuip
  • [28:29] How do you define your ideal customer avatar
  • [29:40] What’s the difference in working with the Match.com target customer & BabyQuip target customer
• The Unusual: Pet Peeves, Quirks, and Weird Talents
  • [32:11] What’s a Weird Talent Fran has
  • [33:28] What’s a Quirk she has
  • [34:01] Shoutout, Anne Candido & April Martini of ForthRight People, ForthRight Business, and Strategic Counsel by ForthRight Business
  • [35:08] What’s Fran’s biggest Pet Peeve
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [36:18] What’s a fun fact about Hidden Valley Ranch (HVR)
  • [37:55] What do you learn about entrepreneurship as an ABM aka Assistant Brand Manager or Associate Brand Manager
  • [38:35] Shoutout, Hippo Direct
  • [39:15] What’s the best thing to do in Santa Fe, NM
  • [40:34] What’s the best food dish unique to Santa Fe
  • [40:53] What does Fran miss most about dial-up Internet
  • [41:31] Connect with Fran at BabyQuip.com and on LinkedIn
  • [41:57] What are Fran’s Final Thoughts
  • [42:13] Follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [42:23] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Fran
  • [42:24] Check out the Wild Business Growth podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [42:25] Connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and Threads @MaxBranstetter and TikTok @WildBusinessGrowth
  • [42:27] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [42:30] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • 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, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, 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 and professional-looking 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 max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Fran Maier 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 try out BabyQuip with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!