Tiny Foods and Big Ambitions

with Sofia Laurell, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Tiny Organics

About this episode

Today, Lee is joined by Sofia Laurell, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Tiny Organics, an early childhood nutrition and wellness company that introduces babies and toddlers to their first 100 flavors through organic plant-based fresh, frozen meals. In this episode, Sofia shares her journey from growing up in Finland, to working at Deutsche Bank in New York and pursuing her master's degree at NYU, to becoming an entrepreneur in residence at Human Ventures Startup Studio. They talk about how they validated the concept for Tiny Organics, Sofia’s nontraditional path to becoming an entrepreneur, and the challenges she faced in scaling the business.

This episode is sponsored by

Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:

Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast
Head over to Okendo to get 30 days FREE!

In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

(4:12) What it was like growing up in Finland as the youngest of three siblings
(7:50) Her career journey before becoming an entrepreneur from working at a retail store to a coffee shop and why she’s always valued hard work
(14:00) Her first entrepreneurial idea of starting a travel app geared to New York visitors
(20:00) How she and her Co-Founder came together for the idea of Tiny Organics
(22:00) Her experience working with Human Ventures and why she valued working with them for their diverse stances
(26:00) How they did a food journal with 15 moms and asked them to text what they were feeding their babies
(28:00) How they validated the concept for Tiny Organics by testing meal flavors with 100 families in Brooklyn
(34:00) The idea behind baby-led weaning and their choice to take a different option than what you see on the market
(40:00) The challenges faced in scaling the business, and the obstacles in raising funds
(50:50) Her final advice for fellow entrepreneurs, and the next steps for growing and scaling Tiny Organics

To Find Out More:

https://www.tinyorganics.com/

Quotes:

“It's a myth that baby food can't be interesting flavors.”

“Some of the best things happen at rooftop parties.”

“We knew that we wanted to build something for parents, families, and babies, and really bring the important discussion to the forefront around family's health.”

“We came together and realized we could have the biggest impact on childhood development through food.”

“Document as much as you can, because you forget.”

“I’m a big believer in incentivizing your early supporters and early believers.”

“It’s made fresh, and shipped frozen so the shelf life is much longer and there's no prep required.”

“We really wanna just be a trusted friend and a trusted advocate.”

“Ultimately what we want to do is make parent’s lives easier, make children's lives healthier, and be accessible.”

“Have people around you, you don’t have to do it all yourself.”

“Talk about your idea, wear crazy costumes, believe in yourself, build your networks. A lot of people have openness to new ideas, and this kind of mindset of encouraging different people on their journeys.”

Read the transcript