Entrepreneurship Learned At The Kitchen Table
Not yet 30, Lauren Wilmot has launched two brands with a third in development. Here’s her story.
“When I was young, my mom, a single mom at the time, quit her job at CitiGroup and started an electronics recycling and data destruction company from our kitchen table. I always wanted to help, so at the start, one of my jobs was to take flyers to the post office and mail them. I put the flyers into a backpack along with my mother’s credit card and rode my bike to the post office to buy stamps. As I got up to the counter, I’d ask for stamps and hand over the credit card. Every time, the post office employee would peer over the counter at me and ask whose credit card it was. I’d explain I was helping my mom start a company. They’d glance between the flyers and me in my bike helmet and pigtails and finally decide I wasn’t a credit card thief and let me buy the stamps. Tired of getting questioned every time, I complained to my mom and she got me a company credit card in my name to use along with my school ID. I like to think that having my own corporate credit card is what made it easier to buy stamps but maybe those nice post office employees just got used to seeing my face.”
“For the next 10½ years, until my mom sold the company, I took on many different jobs while, of course, always continuing to be in charge of buying stamps (though I got to drive to the post office, except on sunny days when I still chose to ride my bike!). I spent my summers and school vacations working at the company doing everything from sweeping floors in the warehouse; to talking to customers; to writing procedure manuals.”
MoodClue
“At the age of 24, a few years after graduating from the University of Virginia and a year after my mom sold her company, I started a company called MoodClue. I coaxed my mom out of retirement to work with me as I knew we made a good team. We have different, complimentary skill sets. We respect each other’s opinions, strengths and weaknesses. Plus, every day we laugh a lot and learn a lot. MoodClue is an Amazon-based business selling private-label liquid chalk markers. Our bright, neon markers are great for homes, offices, schools and retailers. They can be used on any non-porous surface – think glass, windows, stainless steel, tiles, whiteboards, high-quality chalkboards and more.”
Basquettes
“The idea for Basquettes, our second brand, came about in the winter of 2019. When we first saw a bulky air-fryer with a tiny cooking basket, we thought, “We can design something better than that”. Our original idea was to design a heat-efficient basket that would work for air-frying in an oven. However, after embracing suggestions from friends and family and building many wonky prototypes (very much wishing one of us had studied engineering!), we created something with even greater capabilities. Basquettes, The Everything Basket, allows you to air-fry, crisp, roast, rotisserie, dehydrate, grill and smoke with just one tool. It works in both the oven and on the grill so you no longer need single-use appliances cluttering your countertops and cabinets.”
“Basquettes is a 6-piece high-capacity basket set with adjustable tops and intertwining legs that can be stacked and flipped when cooking or grilling. You can simultaneously cook various types of food. The baskets can be stacked in any direction and either or both baskets can be flipped as the legs will still intertwine, allowing the baskets to still stack. Basquettes is a groundbreaking invention that inspires and reignites the joy of cooking and grilling. We are looking forward to launching our next product which was inspired by our dogs…”
About Basquettes and MoodClue
Both are available on Amazon Prime or on their respective websites https://basquettes.cooking/ and https://moodclue.com.
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