Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here.
Moov USA Inc.
Who: Sarinya Oliver and Glen Oliver
When: 2016
What: Moov USA’s mission is to innovate smart products to help make life easier, safer, and more enjoyable.
Where: 120 South Fwy, Fort Worth 76104
Website: https://moovforward.com/
Moov USA’s first product was the Aspen Tyke Traveler, a smart diaper bag that includes vertical side pockets, inside and out, with zippers and elastic closures, as well as a top lid that opens to provide easy access to all items. The product also includes a checklist and a check mark system that lets parents know quickly and easily if they have completed a task. That part of their design, the “X check” system, eventually became a patent for the company.
Now the company has started to expand into other products all aimed at professionals with an active lifestyle.
Fort Worth Report spoke with co-founders Sarinya Oliver and Glen Oliver about the business. This interview has been edited for content, length, grammar and clarity.
Bob Francis: How did you start?
Sarinya Oliver: With our first baby, I wanted something to help hold the baby while I was doing everything else. As engineers, we are used to working in systems where things are more efficient, reduce mistakes and are easy to use. We kept wondering why no one had applied these basic principles to diaper bags.
So the original idea was that I want a bag I can open, flip everything over and put the baby down, something quick and simple. That’s how we decided on the Aspen Tyke Traveler.
We launched the first product, and we went to the baby trade show
Francis: It looks like it would be complex to manufacture.
Glen Oliver: My wife worked closely with the contract manufacturers. This particular bag was manufactured in Thailand. My wife speaks Thai, which is beneficial, so she was able to work with the manufacturer several times and test out several iterations.
Francis: Tell us about your new products.
Glen Oliver: We realized we had a really good idea that applied to more than just new parents.
One of Moov’s new products aimed at the active professional. (Courtesy photo: Moov)
Sarinya Oliver: We aim at the active lifestyle market, smart products for an active lifestyle. What we are developing is not just a backpack. We are not developing a fashion item. We are developing a solution or a formula for people to simplify their life.
Francis: How much do they sell for?
Glen Oliver: The Tyke Traveler retails for $129, but there are specials. And we offer specials for people who are part of our Kickstarter campaign.
Francis: And where do you buy them?
Glen Oliver: Our site, Etsy and other sites sell them.
Sarinya Oliver: We are working on getting into retail now. I think that is our next step.
Francis: What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?
Sarinya Oliver: Don’t give up. When we asked the first patent attorney about our product, they said there wasn’t anything patentable. Finally, we talked to one who saw the “X check” system and (said) that it is patentable. So don’t just take one person’s word for it.
Glen Oliver: We’re here at Tech Fort Worth and it has given us access to a lot of information and advice. There’s a room where we can take product shots, that sort of thing.
Sarinya Oliver: You’ve got to put yourself out there to find the help you need.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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