Irvine's 123 Baby Box Announces $1.2 Million Funding
123 Baby Box Raises Oversubscribed Round of $1.2 Million
CEO & Founder Zarina Bahadur raises oversubscribed round of $1.2 Million
Zarina Bahadur, a 24 year old Gen Z entrepreneur, was at a grocery store when she noticed that a mother had her hands full trying to purchase a cart filled with baby products while managing a toddler and a crying infant.
She thought to herself, “Why can’t all these products come conveniently packaged in a box? Something that’s curated and convenient.”
Although she was in Business school earning her Master’s degree from UC Irvine at the time, Bahadur decided to start 123 Baby Box, a monthly subscription service for babies with products tailored to the baby’s age and developmental stage.
It wasn’t easy being a full-time student and running a business, but Bahadur persevered and packed boxes at night in her parent’s garage. The effort paid off towards the end of the school year when she won a $25,000 grand prize at the New Venture Competition at UCI.
Bahadur had 2 job offers after graduation but didn’t take them. “I decided that I’m not going to get a corporate job after graduation, I’m just going to risk it and start my company,” she said.
Since officially launching the company in March 2021, Bahadur has expanded her staff, grown revenue, and forged partnerships with renowned businesses in the baby product industry.
She also went on to earn her master’s degree from the Merage School while claiming first place in five national pitch competitions. The company has also been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Buzzfeed, and Nasdaq.
Most notably, the company recently announced that it received $1.2 million of funding from XRC Ventures, Sunstone Fund, Salt Lake City Angels, and Crescent Fund. Reputable individuals also contributed, including Mark Friedman, former VP of E-commerce at Steve Madden; Demos Parneros, former CEO of Barnes and Nobles; Sanjay Malhotra, former CEO of Emaar India; and Naren Parihar, Senior Director of Engineering at GoDaddy.
“Only 1.9% of venture capital goes to women, and even less goes to women of color, which is crazy,” Bahadur said, pointing out that she is from the Middle East. “So I'm very proud of this accomplishment.”
The startup has grown 245% over the last year, quadrupled its revenue, and has an average 14% monthly growth rate. Recently, the company signed a deal with one of the largest breast pump distributors in the country to send boxes to one million customers. It also works with big names like Fisher Price, Mattel, Nuby, and Goddess Garden.
Bahadur has a lot of faith in her company’s future. The business has demonstrated that it is fortified against an ailing economy as it has continued to grow despite high inflation and a decline in consumer spending. Like health care, the baby product industry is recession proof.
SOURCE: 123 Baby Box