Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Usman.
Sean, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was fortunate to be born and raised in the states from strong and loving Ethiopian refugee parents who instilled in me that the keys to success were education, grit, and focus. I was always told by my father to “be yourself” and “learn to swim with sharks”. At a young age, those words didn’t make a lot of sense to me. As I grow older, they mean more to me.
I was a curious child growing up but admit that I wasn’t the greatest student. I enjoyed taking things apart, seeing how they worked but never was able to put it back together exactly the same. There was always two or three extra screws or nuts I would be left with. But it wasn’t until college that I decided I need to figure out what I wanted to do and being the first generation to go to a university, I had to figure it all on my own.
I graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and was fortunate to have a job right out of college working at Department of Energy (DoE) at the Pantex Plant located in Amarillo, Texas. I spent six years working in the nuclear weapons world and enjoyed all the people I met along the way. Not so much the work. I discovered early on that working in a cubicle behind a computer screen, 9-5, the exact same daily drive wasn’t me but I stuck it out because that is what people did.
I vividly remember a day, carpooling with a group of co-workers who have worked at Pantex for 20 to 30 years telling me that I was going to be a “lifer” like them. I thought to myself “What is wrong with me? Why am I not happy to work at this secure and well-paying job like them?”
I moved on from working at Pantex to Bell Helicopter Textron to GE spanning a period of 11 years learning more about myself and ultimately how to swim with sharks, just like my father told me when I was growing up. What I discovered is that I didn’t enjoy working for someone else. A quote I came across at the time that really struck me was “If you don’t build your dream, someone will hire you to build theirs.” So I decided to build my dream.
I left GE and did some consulting work while getting connected to the Dallas/Fort Worth startup scene in search of an idea. I admit, jumping off the cliff to the unknown is scary but it is also very satisfying to know that you are ultimately in control of your own destiny.
So the idea I was desperately searching for happened to just land in my lap when I became a first-time father to my son. In the difficulties and struggles that came with being a parent and wanting the best for your child opened up the opportunities for me to solve these pains my wife and I experienced and also heard from hundreds of other parents. I took the opportunity, ran with it, and never looked back.
Fast forward one and half years, we have a technology-based juvenile products company called Jollitot, Inc. which is allowing parents to be proactive, rather than reactive, in their child’s day-to-day life. We help parents to play more of a role in their child’s health, nutrition, and development while being better connected to their pediatrician and a strong, supportive network of other experienced parents with have done it before.
The future is looking very bright for Jollitot and we have been very fortunate to have the support of the community around us.
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting something from nothing is never an easy and smooth road. If it was, everyone would do. It definitely feels like jump off a deep cliff and building your glider on the way down. No one teaches you or prepares you for building a company from scratch. You “Just do it” like Nike says and learn along away. The biggest struggle everyone discovers is money and talent. At the early-stage, you will most likely have neither and they are both hard to come by. You will learn the meaning of bootstrapping and the magical things you can pull of with very little resources.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Jollitot – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Jollitot is a tech-based juvenile products company that is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) to build the new Smart Connected Nursery.
What we found is that today there is a communication gap between parents and their babies. The only means babies have of communicating their needs, their pains, and their wants are by crying. Parents are left with a guessing game of things that may be wrong until, hopefully, the crying stops. This is challenging and difficult for parents who want the best for their children. This also leads to much greater problems such as juvenile developmental issues, malnutrition, misdiagnoses, unintentional starvation, and parental depression.
So we are bridging this communication gap with of our easy-to-use, smart mobile app called ThriveBaby which allows parents to track, actively monitor, and gain insights into their baby’s health, nutrition, development, sleep, and more. This is supported by our unique ecosystem of smart connected juvenile products like our SootheMe baby seat, SootheMe baby swing, Smart DiaperNanny, and AccuTemp Insta baby thermometer.
Our future vision is to also branch into the juvenile education and toys market by providing products to help in social, speech, and fine/gross motor skills development.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the diversity of the city. The mix of different people, cultures, ideas, and ways of life. The dynamics of the city from the hustle and bustle of downtown Dallas to the laid-back feel of Fort Worth. The growing startup ecosystem of the DFW area is very exciting to see and be apart of from the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC) and their partnership with Capital Factory to the great things happening at Tech Fort Worth.
Areas I feel that the city should improve in is being more innovative in their thinking when it comes to the future, not afraid to take risk when it comes supporting that growth 5 to 10 years out, and taking real actions to pave the way for supporting technology startups so that they stay and grow in the area.
Pricing:
- ThriveBaby is free to download and use. For those parents who want a deeper experience with their child, we offer our ThriveBaby Premium free for the first month. After that, it is $49.99 per year or $9.99 month-to-month.
- The SoothMe baby seat and SoothMe baby swing will retail for $89.99 and $249.00, respectively and we plan to launch this new product early 2019.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1120 South Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76104 - Website: www.jollitot.com
- Phone: 817.773.4190
- Email: info@jollitot.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welovejollitot/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welovejollitot
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/welovejollitot
- Other: https://angel.co/jollitot
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
