It Takes a Village To Start a Business
By Mike Severson
Photos by Ashley Minkow
It’s an axiom of the business world that to be a success, simply find a need and fill it. Two entrepreneurs, Jeannette Dirksen and Melissa Kieling did just that with their innovative idea, the PackIt Cooler. But on the pathway to success, they learned other valuable lessons as they traveled toward, pardon the pun, a rather cool future.
If there is anything that life teaches us, it’s how bountiful the generosity of others can be and how that generosity and friendship can come from the most unexpected places. Jeannette and Melissa are great examples of that, having spent years as acquaintances, attending one another’s parties as friends-of-friends, until their lives became entwined. They became a support system for one another through tough times, weathering storms that bonded them as friends. Now they are navigating the tricky seas of business having launched PackIt.
As Melissa was putting ice cubes in sandwich bags to pack her kids’ lunches (because the ice packs had once again been misplaced), she thought, “There’s got to be a better, more convenient way to do this,” and, sure enough, there was. The basic concept was simple: a cooler with built-in cold packs in a compact package that could be stored in the freezer until it’s ready to use. The problems she wanted to solve were simple: something to pack her kids’ lunch in that would mean no more lost ice packs and a package that would keep food cold long enough that uneaten perishables didn’t need to be discarded. It all added up to less food and packaging waste all in an attractive, reusable, non-toxic package that any kid would be happy to carry -- not to mention a great life-lesson about avoiding waste in a few ways.
Melissa then approached her friend Jeannette with the idea knowing that the success of her success in owning her own business in the past. They both liked the concept and were excited at the prospect of starting their own venture. After some poking around to see what was already out there the decision was easy– it was the start of PackIt.
Through a friend of Jeannette, Steve Netzley, the ladies were introduced to the owner of IDEO, a global design consultancy, who was intrigued by their concept and introduced them to a local prototyper whose development process took place in her home, at her kitchen table. Almost poetically, the concept that started in a kitchen was taking its next big step toward reality in another one. Another referral later, they had secured a domestic contractor to produce short-runs of both the Personal Cooler (lunchbox size) or Bottle Service (wine cooler) along with an international manufacturer with a great reputation. At the same time, another friend filed the initial patent applications and helped with the legal aspects of the product.
Months later, the ladies are securing distribution at retail outlets across the nation and will see their product sold on the Home Shopping Network in late summer, just in time for back to school shopping. Now anyone who knows the landscape for soft goods knows that HSN can be a make-or-break moment. Naturally, the ladies are looking forward to the day.
The map of the PackIt journey, if one were to draw it out on paper, may look something like a spider web, with strands connecting seemingly unrelated people to one another, all offering help without any further expectations. The creators of Vapur, a collapsible water bottle, are local and have been an amazing resource for Melissa and Jeannette as the Vapur development process is about six months ahead of PackIt. The ladies are offering their advice to another start-up that is about six months behind them in their development process, paying it forward as the Vapur founders undoubtedly did. Every step of the way, the ladies of PackIt are reminded of how generous people have been with their time and talents, and they are prepared to match that generosity as best they can by helping others. On being asked what the best single piece of advice they could offer to someone starting their own business, Melissa responded, “Even when things seem overly complicated and overwhelming you can always figure it out. Take things step-by-step. Break it down, compartmentalize, tackle the task, and move on.”
It’s difficult for people to accept help, especially when we have been trained to be independent and self-sufficient, let alone ask for it. The women behind PackIt have been open to the help and sharing people have been willing to give. Not only has this willingness been instrumental in the success of their company, it has also been an amazing gift that both of these single mothers have been able to give to their children in the form of life lessons and inspiration. The five kids they have between them are their biggest fans and have learned that they really can do whatever they set their minds to. Perhaps even more importantly, they’ve learned when to ask for help, when to accept help, and how giving and receiving generously will result in success.
We are, after all, all in this together.
To learn more, or order your own PackIt, visit their website at www.packit.com
