Based in Boulder, Colorado, Boba–short for “Boulder baby”–produces and sells infant companies and wraps. Founders Robert and Elizabeth Antunovic released it with $15,000 and then commenced traveling the world with their own family. Today, Boba’s sales top $10 million, and the couple oversees 25 personnel from their home in Ljubljana, Slovenia. –As told to Una Morera
Robert: Elizabeth becomes in Slovakia teaching English. I changed into a low-price range ride through Europe. We saw each different, fell in love, and now, here we’re–5 youngsters and 20 years later.
Elizabeth: We have been dwelling in Boulder when I had my 2d child. The baby slings I used went over simply one shoulder–they harm my shoulder and again. I went to the fabric shop, offered $one hundred of fabric, and reduce it into three wraps. Wherever we went, people stopped me. One of us said, “OK. If one more man or woman comes up and asks us approximately this wrap, we’ve got to begin something.” So 5 mins later …
Robert: We had $15,000. We positioned an element in the direction of inventory and an element closer to advertising and calculated how long we ought to live on at the rest–much less than $five,000. We determined to tour the arena, due to the fact we may want to cut our finances all the way down to a minimal, and started with an unbelievably cheap flight to Ireland.Elizabeth: Where our first picture shoot turned into–on the cliffs.
Robert: Then we made our manner to Slovenia, where my own family is.
Elizabeth: We stayed 3 months.
Robert: The first 1,000 wraps value around $6,000. After we offered the first , we said, “OK! This is real. Let’s get going.” Isabela changed into 4. Nikolai became 1. Our circumstance changed into that anywhere we landed, inside 24 hours, we had to locate internet get entry to to answer to customers. In 2007, this changed into a undertaking. I discovered a reasonably-priced flight to Egypt and we flew into Sharm El-Sheikh, then went to Cairo to wait for our visas for India. We stayed pretty some time within the most inexpensive motel, and relaunched our internet site from the roof.
Elizabeth: With these kinds of stray cats.
Robert: And our children petting all the cats. Then we flew to India. We stayed in Pushkar two months–a at ease region became a dollar a night. We took a teach to Goa and did customer service in 2nd-class coach with 20 or 30 locals looking over our shoulders.
Elizabeth: There had been huge rats in the rafters of our hut in Karnataka. I’d get beneath my mosquito net, with my flashlight and pc, and answer customer service emails. I turned into connecting to the arena and developing our enterprise even as pulling up nicely water in buckets. One day, I poured a bucket of water over my head–and it was full of frogs.
Robert: I started analyzing AdWords and noticed that spending $10 were given me $32, spending $50 got me $one hundred fifty. That’s once I said, “We’re moving returned to the U.S., because this is going to paintings.” That first 12 months, sales become half of 1,000,000 bucks. Would we do it once more? No query.
Elizabeth: Yes!
Robert: Boba isn’t one of these unicorns in which in 3 years we’re 1000000000-greenback commercial enterprise. I’m certain it truly is thrilling, but it sucks you in and takes the entirety. Boba is our 6th kid. Twelve years of sluggish increase. And through it all, we got to preserve the balance of our lives.
