When Mollie and Jeff Evans delivered their first son he wasn’t breathing.
“When you first start parenthood you find this love that you’ve never known before, and when they’re taken away it’s quite the scary time,” said Jeff Evans, CEO of Omaha-based Baby Vida.
Their son recovered. Two years later the family had welcomed two twin girls and were on vacation when the children developed Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV.
“They were in the hospital for a little while, and when they were discharged the doctor told us we needed to wake up every 45 minutes to check on them to make sure they’re OK,” said Evans. “We thought, ‘Well that’s great, but what happens between minute one and 44?’”
This hit a nerve with Mollie Evans, President of Baby Vida, and next day she was dedicated to finding a solution.
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“We went everywhere to try to find a monitor, but there was nothing available,” said Jeff Evans.
Mollie began thinking about what could be done and started working with engineers to develop a new kind of monitor, Baby Vida.
How Baby Vida works
Baby Vida is a tiny baby monitor that fits like a sock around a child’s foot. The product wirelessly measures the child’s oxygen level and heart rate and sends that data directly to any smart device. If either one of those levels falls out of a predetermined range, the device will alarm the caregiver’s smart device.
Evans explained that Mollie started brainstorming features for the device after researching what measurements were useful at hospitals.
“It wasn’t difficult for her to figure out that she wanted to be able to measure the oxygen level and heart rate from home,” said Evans. “The problem was that the traditional technology wouldn’t stay on while a child was sleeping.”
Spending over $1 million dollars on the development of the product, the couple has worked with engineers from everywhere from Washington to Lincoln to make it its best.
From development to revenue
Evans explained that the couple thought it would be a relatively simple process to develop their product, but when they started the process, a lot changed.
“During the development process you lay out this path of what you think the product is going to be, but it was far from it for us,” said Evans. “We’ve had 27 or 28 different iterations of the product. It’s been a true learning experience.”
Evans added that it’s been amazing to watch the engineers take something that was originally Mollie’s idea and turn into something that is now used in so many households throughout the United States and the world.
“After more than five years of research, development and clinical testing we were able to get the product out of the development stage last year and into actual revenue,” said Evans.
Partnering with Walmart
Since last October, there have been tens of thousands of people using the product according to Evans.
“You can purchase Baby Vida at Walmart stores throughout the country,” said Evans. “Walmart has been an incredible partner to work with.”
He explained that Walmart buyers are dedicated to building smart nurseries, and they want to be the leaders in that category.
When asked what has been the biggest win for the team, Evans said that when the couple receives letters from users it’s always the best part of the project.
“We had a lady from Colorado email us and tell us that she didn’t think her baby girl would be alive if it wasn’t for the Baby Vida monitor,” said Evans.
What’s next for Baby Vida
Evans explained that Baby Vida is currently developing many other smart nursery products.
“We have seven other products that we are going to be bringing out within the next 18 months,” said Evans. “We also have new monitors coming out. There’s a number of things we’re doing to be a part of this smart nursery industry.”
According to Evans, the smart nursery industry consists of anything that would be useful for a mom that can be linked to their phone or tablet.
“There’s things like scales, thermometers and breast pumps that are all smart,” said Evans. “There’s been many people that have come out of the woodwork that want to be a part of what we’re doing. It’s amazing to watch.”
Evans explained that people call frequently wanting to buy the business or pursue investment deals with the couple.
“There’s a company we’re talking to that we’re getting kind of close with, but I don’t know what we’ll do at this point,” said Evans.
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Mel Lucks is a regional freelance journalist and former intern for Silicon Prairie News and AIM.
One response to “Baby Vida alerts your phone when your baby stops breathing”
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