As in, training startup guys on and about the world of babies.
No, this is not a blog post on how to convince your boyfriend (or brother or son) to start a family. This is a post about how three young MIT engineering grads got uber-comfortable in the baby sphere. Initially, Rest was focused a medical device development company, and the team's biggest problem was establishing scientific credibility and validity. But, like most ideas and start-ups, things change (we think the change was definitely for the better, though). Parents started coming out of the woodwork, asking if we could use our sensors to monitor their baby's respiration. Initially the team shrugged off these requests, but eventually there were too many to ignore. It was a pretty ideal situation for a startup: the market was actually coming to us with their demand, and we were miraculously able to respond to it. Perfect, right? In addition, the baby market is large and recurring, working with families is incredibly fun, and we knew we'd be able to provide some value for tired, anxious parents.
But the world of babies is not for the lighthearted; on any given day, you can be reading or talking about diaper blowouts, cravings, the complexities of breastfeeding (breast tenderness and leakage!), and afterbirth. To wit, this was all new for the guys on our team, and they were tasked with learning key information for an entirely different stage of life, far before they were ready. And, to gain knowledge on a baby's wellbeing and how they//their parents' interact with their surroundings, you have to start from scratch. Even first-time parents are unable to know everything about having and raising a baby at the outset, as every day tends to be full of surprises. So, how did three MIT grads shift from a world of Star Wars, Iron Man and hypercapablesensorstaticsthingys, to the world of soft skills, user friendliness and baby communication (read: burps, poops, drool and smiles)?
First of all, make no mistake –they kept Star Wars, Iron Man and hypercapablesensorstaticsthingys, but at the same time, they also tried to understand how parents would think and care about their baby. This turned out to be a new challenge, because studying Computer Science/Mechanical Engineering at MIT requires a lot of rational thinking and reasoning. So what did they assume that parents thought about 02:00 am in the morning? Nothing, as the only thing the team could assume was that they knew...nothing. So, they went out and talked to pretty much anyone who was willing, and it turned out that parents do not think about national baby statistics; instead, they want to know, simply and easily, that their babies are well.
Think about it. You have guys who are used to build engines, connect and build devices in new ways, and calculate beeepbopbop, which are all hard facts. They can easily see if a device is working, yes or no. A parent’s relation to their child is not based on facts, but feelings and something that is fundamentally a part of you, that evolves as you spend time with your child, and learns more about them. So how do you step out of your skater shoes into a parent’s shoes?
At first, you learn. You try to learn as much about babies that you possibly can (the guys' favorite book: What to Expect When You're Expecting). Then you spend as much time with them as possible, even if that means falling to the temptation of trying to teach a baby how to code... Feedback is also very important, and talking with parents is both the alpha and the omega and everything in between. It took some time, and dozens of visits to Babies 'R' Us, but this team of guys is now the most advanced baby-sphere group in Boston (helloooooo, ladies!). And, coding marathons and user testing can be exhausting, so sometimes a nap on the playmat is all too necessary.
So, how is it to live and work in a "Guys and Babies" company? You get the best of both worlds, as Hannah Montana would have put it. If you combine engineering skills, creativity, tinkery-ness and the understanding that a child is a parents most valuable thing in life (period), and sprinkle a lot of hard work, testing, failing, rethinking and more hard work, then you may get something amazing. We have used our resources and knowledge within the company, and created something innovative and (hopefully) of great value for any parent. I’m not going to lie, the guys still start to sweat when we walk around in Babies 'R' Us and they can get a little twitchy. But they can talk Iron Man, Makerbot, and Star Wars with any kid while also discussing important new features with any parent, unlike any other tinkerers I've met.
XOXO,
PS It's worth noting that we do have at least one expert baby wrangler on our team, our CEO and mom-bassador, Dulcie. She's fairly expert at putting babies to sleep and lightning fast diaper changes :)
