To decide whether to pursue Babylist full-time, the founders set a goal of $3,000/month in revenue. This figure wasn't tied to salary or expenses; it was a psychological benchmark representing that the business was 'really working' and gave them the confidence to commit.
Despite a profitable affiliate model, Babylist was heavily reliant on a few large retailers. They chose to enter the complex, lower-margin world of direct e-commerce and warehousing primarily to mitigate platform risk and control their own destiny, not for short-term profit.
The future CFO was tasked with a presentation. She detailed all the reasons *not* to enter e-commerce (sales tax, returns). This rigorous, contrarian analysis demonstrated her value and prepared the company for the real challenges ahead, rather than just selling the upside.
After a key potential hire rejected her offer, founder Natalie Gordon spent the next week doing nothing but customer support. This wasn't about productivity; it was a grounding exercise to reconnect with passionate users and rebuild her own morale and conviction in the mission.
Before Babylist, Natalie Gordon built a language app that only ever made $40. She reframed this not as a startup failure, but as a crucial project that filled her skill gaps and taught her how to build a full-stack application from scratch, conquering her imposter syndrome.
Facing investors who started calls by saying they rarely invest, Natalie Gordon began her pitch with a slide showing $250M in revenue. VCs would assume it was GMV, and when corrected, their skepticism vanished. The surprise forced them to take the meeting seriously.
For initial outreach, founder Natalie Gordon created unique, fully-functional baby registries for each blogger she pitched, populating them with products tailored to their niche. This 'show, don't tell' approach demonstrated the product's value and secured a 50% response rate.
While caring for a newborn, founder Natalie Gordon's initial goal was to dedicate just 45 minutes per day to Babylist. This micro-commitment was manageable and prevented burnout, allowing her to fix bugs, answer emails, and maintain progress during an isolating and demanding time.
Unlike social apps with immediate network effects, Babylist's growth was 'slowly viral.' A user's baby shower might expose 30 friends to the service, but only one or two of those friends would become pregnant and use it the following year, requiring a patient growth mindset.