Author: Marta Carruesco, Bee Bee Babies

Bee Bee Babies is a baby clothes firm whose garments grow with the baby so they can be used longer than usual. We design, produce and sell our products.

How does it works?

We looked for the perfect design for long, we tried several systems to get it, and finally we realized that we had it in front of us. We said: “make it simple”, and then an easy, comfortable and practical design came to us.

Our clothes use two main systems:

1. We use two positions of fast buttons to adapt clothes for two different sizes.

2. We use elastic strip in strategic zones to adapt the length of legs and arms.

3. This elastic strip adapts without pressure marks in the babies body.

Where did you get the idea?

This idea came when I, founder of Bee Bee Babies, had my first daughter. Cloe was born with 3,2kg and 49cm, so she had a normal baby size; but one month later she weighed 4,8kg and measured 54cm, she had grown more than usual in just one month!! So we had to buy new clothes for her even when lots of them were never used by the baby.

So I thought, what if we could make clothes that could be used longer? And I created Bee Bee Ba-bies.

How long have you been working in this idea?
We started working on Bee Bee Babies on September 2013, designing the prototypes and looking for providers.

Our first comerciable collection was ilaunched in September 2014.

Who are your current or potential competitors?

We have lots of competitors with different sizes and capacities.

The bigger ones are brands like Inditex, H&M or Sphera, which have lower prices but lower quality.

Then we have the medium size brands like Petit Bateau, Gocco or Neck Neck with a range of diffe-rent prices but with higher quality than the others.

And finally the smaller brands: entrepreneurs with good designs and normally with expensive prices.

Most of them have different kind of design proposals for different clients but none of them make this kind of adaptable clothes.

What features would provide further differentiation?

We want to offer high quality products with a beautiful design. And, of course, we also want the babies to use them for a long time.

What is your business model?

Our business model is to sell the products that we produce. We will have two collections for year, one for winter and another for summer.

For the moment, we distribute our garments in our online store but we will be in offline shops for the next collection. By winter 2015 we will open our own retail.

Do you have a prototype?
How many iterations took it from the initial idea to the current product?

We have a prototype which has become our real product too.

To get it we had to do several iterations and models:

1. The most simple and perfect functional design.
2. The good quality and soft materials that work together with our design.
3. The perfect match between our clothes and baby bodies.

What are the most difficult of the experience as entrepreneur?

For me, being entrepreneur is like a surfer, when things go well is like being above the wave but when something is wrong suddenly you are alone rowing in the sea. In these moments, it could happen that you reconsider if it is worth and if you want to go with the flow. To control this emotions is really hard and very difficult for an entrepreneur and it is an enemy very difficult to beat.

All in all, if you want to be an entrepreneur you have to put your effort in something you really feel passionate about. So when you feel those bad feelings, you will be able to stand up in the board and surf.

And other difficulty is to do it alone. It’s better to do it with a good and complementary team.

In your opinion, what are the most important personality traits to be a successful entrepreneur?
I don´t think there is a personality standard to be an entrepreneur, most kinds of characters could get to be one. But I think there is a quality that most of them share is a low risk aversion.

Is there anything you would go back and do differently if you had the chance?
What advice would you like to give to potential entrepreneurs?
I just say be passionated about your entrepreneurship and share your idea, don´t be shy nor jalous in sharing your ideas with others and when you do that listen carefully, you always can learn so-mething useful.

What is your experience with Area 31 and IE?
The IE Business School has been my home from I did the Executive MBA in 2011. I was working as a Civil Engineer when I decided to do a MBA because of I wanted to open my mind and explore different areas. And it worked in the way i was looking for, I change my job and my life forever.
Then in May 2014, Bee Bee Babies became to be part of Area 31 and it was like come back home again. Here we have launched the online platform, built a team and interacted with others comple-mentary teams incubated here.
We have improved our business model, got contact with better providers and got valuable feedback from the mates.
For us, area 31 has become a very good partner for this trip and an important support to consolidate our business.