Entrepreneurs Jennifer Tiberia and Amy Cameron know what it is like to be full-time moms and full-time business women.  They are developers of the arm.ID.illo bandz .  It’s a delicate balancing act but they’ve learned to balance it quite well.

(Interview with Flaimahmy, Friday, May 21, 2010)

FM:  Amy, you and your husband Todd, lost your son on Halloween night a few years ago.  He was three years old at the time.  He was lost for ten minutes that you described as seeming like an eternity.  Tell us about that incident and what you decided to do as a result of that experience.

AC:  He had been diagnosed with a developmental delay so at that point he was pretty much nonverbal.  We had a lot of family and friends over for Halloween.  The neighborhood was very active on Halloween.  A little girl came up the driveway and fell.  My husband let go of his hand to help her and he just disappeared.  It was pretty terrifying because it was dark and there were cars out.  He wound up being across the street swinging on a swing on a front porch but we had police cruisers out calling his name; we had family, friends, everybody running everywhere to find him.

Since that day and because he was pretty much nonverbal at the time I tried to find a product, even when we would go to the grocery store, or somewhere that we would frequently go to, where I could have my cell phone number on it just in case he ever got lost someone could call.   We tried a couple of other products that are out there that are not bracelets but are temporary fixes.  It didn’t work very well.

That’s when we had dinner with the Tiberias because our kids go to the same school.  We were talking one night and I said, “We’ve thought about this idea,” and they said, “Oh, my gosh, it’s a great idea,” because they had experienced a similar instance with their son.

It’s kind of a common thread with parents that if your child is lost you want to know that someone is going to be able to contact you as soon as possible so you can be reunited with your child quickly.

FM:  Jennifer, you and your husband Tony, lost your son at a festival.  He was two years old at the time.  He was lost for twenty minutes.  You described feelings of terror and hopelessness.  Tell us about that incident and how you began to search for a solution.

JT:  Yes, it was a situation where I thought he stayed behind with my husband and friends and Tony assumed that he went with my older son and myself.  When I came back neither of us had him.  It was just an instant state of panic in all of us, our friends, there were about ten of us, panicked.  I grabbed my older son by his hand as hard as I could and went to the places I had been with my younger son.  I couldn’t remember what he was wearing.  You panic.  It was very crowded.  There was no “lost and found” set up.  Fortunately, these nice young women saw he was getting ready to cross a busy street and picked him up.  They were searching for where he belonged and looking for a lost and found and didn’t know what to do with him.  Some friends of ours ran into them and found him.

What I did at that point; I still wasn’t clever to think to write the number on their arm like Amy had done.  When we went to Disney World the next year I put them in matching bright orange t-shirts or bright green t-shirts so I would at least remember what they were wearing that time versus the other time when I couldn’t remember what he was wearing.

One night at dinner with Amy and Todd we were sharing our stories and Amy said, “I write my number on my kid’s arm,” and I said, “There has got to be something we can come up with that is a reusable kind of product that our kids can wear.”  It took us a year plus to find the right product that would work that we felt was the perfect product for this application.

FM:  You created arm.ID.illo bandz…I’m not sure I’m pronouncing it correctly…

JT:  …It’s just armadillo, like the animal.  We just spell it a little bit differently; instead of an “ad,” it’s an “id.”

AC:  Armadillo happened when we were going through the branding process we wanted a catchy fun name for kids because we really want children to embrace this along with their parents.  Armadillo is actually the animal of safety…it’s kind of a play on…you wear it on your arm and it’s an i.d…your phone number so that your child will have your cell phone number..so that’s how we came up with arm.ID.illo bandz.

FM:  You also have a Kids Safety Network.  Describe this Network.

JT:  The idea behind the Kids Safety Network is basically every bracelet has a unique i.d. on it so you would go in and register your information on our secure website.  Right now we send out newsletters and updates and just different information that’s going on.   In the upcoming months we are working on launching an IPhone Application where you could log in when you’re at various places.  Like if you go to Six Flags and you’re a member of  arm.ID.illo bandz you would log in that you’re at Six Flags and I would log in with whomever else.  It’s just a fulfilling of a network of you guys all kind of looking out for each other kind of system is what we’re after.  Down the road we’re looking at creating a GPS chip to put into the already existing bracelet so we would already have the IPhone application and this network already built in place so you could easily migrate into the GPS part of the system if you wanted to.

AC:  But, we will always keep this basic product that we have now because we want all children and families to be able to afford it.

JT:  People can afford a $15.00 bracelet but they probably can’t afford an $80.00 bracelet with a GPS chip in it.  At least they would have the $15.00 phone number i.d. security bracelet.  If they wanted to spend the extra money and  have the GPS option in the future they can always do that.

AC:  Our tag line is safety in numbers and we really do feel that with the kids wearing the bracelet there’s a consistent branding.  When people see the orange bracelets they actually do become a part of a network.  People automatically know, even if they’re grandparents and they don’t have their grandchildren with them at that time and a child is separated from his parents at the amusement park, or grocery store or a game, all people will know that they need to look at the number on the child’s arm and call their parents immediately.  That’s what we’re trying to create, that everyone knows exactly the protocol when they see an orange bracelet on a child with an arm.ID.illo logo.

FM:   How did you begin your collaboration?

AC:  Just lots of talking and lots and lots of meetings and discussions about playing out the scenarios of a child being lost.

JT:  We tried to figure out what the right product would be that was cost effective and reusable and works for everybody.  The color being orange and orange is the color of safety and we wanted something that was highly visible.  It took a year of development to figure out what was exactly going to work right.  Then having it manfactured and having the product come in, making sure it worked right and that kids liked it and would wear it and that it was comfortable.  So, we had different friends and various people test it and wear it.  We’ve gotten good feedback and it’s gotten us to this point.

FM:  What made you want to go into business together?

AC:  I don’t know.  [Laughter from both].  I think we both have a corporate background and it’s kind of been the yin and the yang of what we could bring to the table.

JT:  My husband and I are kind of entrepreneurial and Amy has an extensive marketing background.  She’s the one who was writing the kids numbers on their arms and we just said, “Ok, let’s do it.”  I think it was the two different types of  business backgrounds coming together to make it work.  We each bring something unique to the table.

AC:  My husband has a financial background.  We all bring something different to the table but yet we’re all parents with very active boys  and we’re always on the go.  There’s definitely some consistencies with all parents that we feel like we’re touching.

FM:  What is your working style?  Who is more creative?  Who is more responsible for day-to-day administrative responsibilities?

JT:  I think Amy and I are probably more…well, I don’t know.  Tony kind of created the whole bracelet idea with the holes in it.  But, he does a lot more of the administrative stuff and does all the website background whereas Todd manages the accounting end of it.  Amy did the branding and the logo.  We all kind of do a little bit of everything right now.  I think all four people are very creative when we sit down and talk and try to work things out.

AC:  We have weekly meetings with our marketing and p.r. people.  We’ve actually been able to delegate a lot of  that to them.   At times it’s been a grass roots effort that we’ve been building on and now we’re at the point where we have launched it and starting to get out to festivals and talk to retailers.  We are getting a really good response.

FM:  How do you balance the roles of wife, mom and entrepreneur?

AC:  No sleep.  [Laughter]

FM:  I know the feeling.

JT:  I don’t know, I think if it’s something that is important to you and you feel it’s a great product and you feel you really want to do it and be successful, then obviously you find ways to make it work.  Obviously, it takes time away from your family.  I had to go to New York to do a media tour.  We went to New York to do a toy fair.  It does pull some time away.  I’m not the the stay-at-home mom; I like to do a lot of activities with my kids, but I also like to work into my own sense of  what I am and I think Amy’s the same way.  We both do a tremendous amount of things with our kids and are very involved with our kids.  We are not one of those working moms that you never see.  We also pride ourselves in the product that we have developed and the other work that we do as well.

FM: You mentioned that your husbands are involved in the business.  What about your children, are they involved?

JT:  We make them do the photo shoots and wear the product. When we did our photo shoot they went out and did the pictures.  They all know what’s going on with it and ask questions and they love wearing the bracelet and tell their friends about it.  Their friends at school like to wear it.

AC:  They constantly keep us on our toes.  That’s for sure.

FM:  Are your kids and your husbands proud of you?

JT:  I hope so; I’m sure they are and our husbands are pretty involved with the product as well.  I think everyone sees how much work it takes.

AC:  Absolutely, from the get-go my husband said that this was a great idea.  It’s definitely needed.  I think that’s where all businesses start; there is a need.  We feel that we are fulfilling this need and at the same time creating peace of mind for parents.  Even if you’re going to the grocery store, just slipping this little silicone bracelet on that is very comfortable for children to wear is becoming a part of daily life.  We believe in the product and we feel like it is going to be successful because it is a good product.

JT:  You were just talking about the grocery store.  We have a guy who’s working on our house.  He said, “So, I saw something about your product.  I have a son with Downs Syndrome.  When I go to the grocery store he takes off and we lose him.  I really want to get one for my son.”  We tried to make it for kids that do have special needs and who sometimes it may be a little more difficult for parents.  It is the type of product that those kids would wear.  It would be useful to them as well.  He was excited to take it home and give it to his son.  He said that it will make him feel better that even if he runs off in the store at least he will have his phone number on him.

FM:  What would be your perfect vacation?

JT:  It used to be that I’d like to go to Europe and sightsee, but now I’ve worked so much that I like to go to the beach with my kids at an all inclusive resort where there are fun things for the kids to do and I can sit by the pool or in the sand, do nothing and read a book.

AC:  I would say the same, just somewhere relaxing.  My only requirement, especially for my seven year old son; he’s very, very active, just having somewhere we can relax but also where I can keep my eye on him.

FM:  We consider you both to be Fly Mommies.  Tell us in your own words what makes you Fly Mommys?

AC:  I can fly by the seat of my pants…[laughter]…I think that’s what probably makes me a Fly Mommy.  I wish I could sprout wings.

JT:  I think just having kids and being actually involved in your children’s lives.  Amy and I are both involved in our children’s schools; we’re on the PTA board at our kids’ schools.  Doing that and working and trying to create our kids product that is much needed…makes us Fly Mommys.