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Episode 237: Beth Fynbo – Baby Toy Tamer, Founder of Busy Baby

Beth Fynbo, the President and Founder of Busy Baby, joins the show to share her journey from 10 years in the Army to inventing the silicone placemat that keeps your baby’s toys off the floor. Hear how to move quickly on your idea, get feedback from strangers, the pros and cons of patents, best and worst parts of family business, and a lesson in cryptologic linguistics. This episode covers everything from baby toys to boot camp. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• Was Beth a big fan of Betty Boop growing up
• How do you learn multiple new languages
• Where did the idea for Busy Baby come from
• How did Beth get moving on the Busy Baby idea so quickly
• What’s something surprising about patents
• Was Beth intimidated by the Sharks
• What’s a Weird Talent she has
• How is the Four Seasons in Minnesota

Connect with Beth at BusyBaby.com and social media @BusyBabyMat.

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

Show Notes

• Intro & Army
  • [0:27] 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 Beth at BusyBaby.com and social media @BusyBabyMat
  • [1:57] Hot start
  • [2:29] Was Beth a big fan of Betty Boop growing up
  • [2:36] Geeeez
  • [3:01] What is a Cryptologic Linguist
  • [3:16] Military Intelligence
  • [3:33] How do you learn multiple new languages
  • [4:08] Editing
  • [5:07] Sneaky Tongue Pun
  • [5:08] What inspired Beth to join the military
  • [5:35] Student Loans
  • [6:13] How did Beth find out her role in the Army
  • [6:31] Parachute Rigger, Heavy Wheel Mechanic
  • [6:59] Monterey, CA (shoutout Big Little Lies)
  • [7:18] How many places did Beth live in while in the military
  • [7:26] Sales
  • [7:33] How do you get yourself to stay used to change

• The Busy Baby Story
  • [8:32] Did Beth know she’d start a business and a baby business one day
  • [9:44] Marketing
  • [9:56] Nice teaser
  • [10:02] Where did the idea for Busy Baby come from
  • [10:11] Maternity Leave
  • [10:40] Mental Health
  • [11:11] Amazon
  • [11:38] Jurassic Park
  • [11:55] How did Beth get moving on the Busy Baby idea so quickly
  • [12:24] Prototype
  • [12:59] How did Beth create the Busy Baby Mat for real
  • [13:05] Bunker Labs
  • [13:29] Trade Show
  • [13:55] Mentor
  • [14:13] Product Development, CAD Drawing (Computer-Aided Design)
  • [15:27] Tax Return
  • [16:02] Customer Feedback
  • [16:57] Target Market
  • [17:04] Target Market
  • [17:54] What makes the Busy Baby Mat different
  • [19:12] How do you get a patent
  • [19:35] Entrepreneur
  • [19:52] Patent Search
  • [20:59] What’s something surprising about patents
  • [21:19] Google Patents
  • [21:50] Intellectual Property (IP)
  • [22:04] Patent Attorney
  • [23:12] Office Actions
  • [23:18] How helpful can patents be
  • [24:12] How was Beth’s experience on Shark Tank
  • [25:31] Was she intimidated by the Sharks
  • [26:04] Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks (Mavs), Lori Greiner
  • [27:04] What is it like turning down the Sharks
  • [27:46] munchkin
  • [28:16] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
• Inspiration & Creativity: Family Business & Product Line Extensions
  • [29:42] Hippo Direct
  • [29:51] What’s the best and worst part of family business
  • [33:37] Budget
  • [33:48] Beautiful
  • [33:52] My best line of all time
  • [34:57] How do you expand your product line
  • [35:15] Teething Spoon
  • [35:22] Venus Razors
  • [36:09] Mini Mat
  • [37:48] Teethers & Tethers
  • [37:52] Feeding System
  • [38:36] What’s the most unique toy Beth’s created
  • [38:49] Bib

• The Unusual: Pet Peeves, Quirks, and Weird Talents
  • [39:15] What’s a quirk Beth has
  • [39:32] What’s a Weird Talent she has
  • [40:20] Squatty Potty
  • [40:34] What’s a pet peeve Beth has
  • [41:21] Shoutout, Dad!
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [41:51] Four Seasons
  • [42:24] How much has Beth’s life changed since she got married
  • [42:42] Beth Benike
  • [43:43] What’s her most unique product idea from her Notes App list
  • [45:52] Connect with Beth at BusyBaby.com and social media @BusyBabyMat
  • [46:43] What are Beth’s Final Thoughts
  • [47:51] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show your love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [48:08] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [48:10] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [48:14] 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
  • [48:19] 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 max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Beth Fynbo 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 stop throwing your toys at each other. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!