Andrea Williams on Growing Tubby Todd the Right Way

Speaker 1: Welcome to She Built It. I'm your host, Melanie Bar. Today, Andrea Faulner Williams joins us. Andrea is the co-founder and headm behind Tubby Todd Bathco, a familyrun brand built through trust, community, and authentic storytelling. Tubby Todd is redefining baby skincare, driving 95% of the growth in the baby lotion category on Amazon. Andrea joins us to share what it takes to disrupt a category, build real trust, and grow a loved brand without celebrity investors or massive ad budgets. Thank you for joining us, Andrea.

Speaker 2: Hey, thank you so much for having me, Melanie.

Speaker 1: In a crowded category, what do you believe most founders misunderstand about building a brand that customers

Speaker 2: trust? Yeah, I think that uh the important thing to do when you're launching any brand is to believe that the product has really solved a problem. So, can you honestly say that the product has solved the problem either for you or the customer that you're trying to approach? And for us, that is how Tubby Todd was born. My husband and I had a little one with sensitive skin and we had been using natural products, but all of them seemed to either not smell great, not lather. And it would take like half of a bottle to feel like you were actually getting any substance of, you know, a lather or um coverage on your little one. And that was expensive. We were young parents and uh money was tight. And so as we were using these natural products, we felt like it was actually irritating their skin because it was drying it out more. lot of 30 plus percent of the little ones suffer from eczema and that's what our little one was suffering from which in a lot of ways is just a lack of hydration and um not having the right ingredients. So we worked with formulators that had previously worked with strategic companies and we told them you can put whatever the best ingredients are. It doesn't matter how much the end product will cost. We just want to build the best baby formula. And it turns out that these formulators had never heard that before from companies because companies had assumed that parents would only pay so much for baby skinincare products. So they were really kind of diluting what they would put in the product in order to hit a certain shelf price. So we went in just looking for the best product for our family. When we found it, it solved a problem. It was actually our hair and body wash was the thing that changed our son's skin. And so we were honestly able to sell that product. So that's what it takes to disrupt a category is to find a solution for something that your customers really need. Right.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And that's interesting because the best businesses are built on that a need and and filling that need. And you make me think I have a 12-year-old daughter who has struggled with eczema, too. And it's mostly when she's, you know, in chlorine in the pool in the summer. Um but it's, you know, you as a parent in the beginning when it first happens because I have twins and my son didn't have it. you don't really know what to do or what to change or or how to help them improve.

Speaker 2: Yeah, completely. And the industry that we're in as far as like there's quick turn manufacturing. It's easier to manufacture a product than it h ever has been in the history of the world. And I think that's cool. I think that's super exciting. I love that so many people can go through the process of product development. I love social media and podcasts and what that's done for people to be able to share their voice and be creative. The only caveat to that is that we all have to make sure that we're creating something we really believe in. And that takes it took us two years to develop our first product, right? We went through multiple formulators, multiple different iterations before we came out with something that we were really proud of and ready to share. It was not perfect. The packaging was not perfect. The design was not perfect. We had terrible photography and Instagram. Our website would we built ourselves, but the product itself was something we could really trust and give to people.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And you bring up a good point because you can develop products really quickly, but it seems like you went through the right steps to make sure it was something that was really going to help people and formulated the way you wanted it to be.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that that had a lot to do with the fact that I knew I was going to be the one who was like talking to people and giving it to my friends and my family members. And so I wasn't confident to say I was going to sell this unless I knew we had a need and I wanted to fill that. And I wasn't confident to launch something until I knew that need was filled, right? And so, um, that is a really great test for people who are looking to launch any sort of service. Is this going to solve it solve a need for your community?

Speaker 1: What were the smartest early business decisions that you made that helped position Tubby Todd for long-term growth?

Speaker 2: Okay. So, we were self-funded. So, my husband kept his day job for three years, and I was just doing it while managing two kids at home, and I also was working part-time. So for us, I would say the smartest thing we did was do no paid ads. And people might disagree with that, but I'm going to say for us why that was so meaningful is it because it forced us to get really creative with our marketing budget. And opposed to just dumping money into ads and relying on the algorithm to like boost us, we reached people through influencer gifting, through events from a very, very early days of Tubby Todd. We had gatherings at parks, our playdates, at a local art gallery that my cousin owned. Like, we were getting people together in my house and my like tiny town home. Like, it it was all about the community spreading the word of Tubby Todd because we weren't relying on paid ads to do that. So, I would say not using paid ads was anyone who self-funded who comes to me, that's the first piece of advice I give them is don't rely on paid ads for your marketing. Think of other, we call them growth hacking, other ways to get the word out there, right? And a lot of that had to do with me getting on there and creating content, contests, like post a picture of your baby at, you know, with bubbles on them, a bubble beard at Christmas time to look like Santa, like just annual things. We did monthly things like daily coming up with ways to engage with our community. So, that

Speaker 1: would be my first advice. I love that you're self-funded and also with the way media is going today with owned media and also community. You've been building this over time and it seems like you're perfectly positioned for where media has gone today.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I would love to say that I foresaw that. I just didn't have any money. So, that's mainly what happened. Also, naturally, it's worked out well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Naturally, like I like to gather. I like to be with people. One thing that is great about the baby space is that moms specifically are looking to connect with other moms. I would say that there has never been a time in the history of the world when all consumers are looking more to connect with other groups of people, like-minded people. I love like these running clubs like popping up for 18 to 20, 30 year olds, right? Like I even just read a Wall Street Journal article about people going to Catholic church to meet other people. Like they're seeing a resurgence in church attendance. so young people can meet each other. I'm like, people are just looking to be with other people. And I think in the last 10 years, the thing we've seen the most the the thing that has been the most surprising about Tubby Dog, other than the success of the products and how well they actually work and the 50,000 plus five star reviews is how much other moms want to be with moms and just hear, "You've got this. Like, you are doing a great job. Your little one is lucky to have you. you don't have it all figured out, but that's not what your baby needs. They just need you to be a happy, confident mom. And you've got this. Like, that is what every mom wants to hear, no matter how old their kid is. And you can't do that if you're not together, you know, like you're not connecting. You can't build one another up. So, that has been such a huge surprise to us, how important the community has been. And also like the best part of it because it's built me and it's allowed me to meet millions digitally and in person, tens of thousands of really really incredible families.

Speaker 1: It's so true. And I you I'm smiling because I'm thinking back to the days of I was a twin mom and I barely I literally can't even with multiple moms. Like I have a friend with triplets and every time I talk to her, the triplets are like 13. I'm like I can't I can't even hear the stories about like the delivery and like everything. It's so much. I I tell a tw uh twin parents or parents of multiples, if you don't go anywhere till they're four, you're completely normal because you go to a restaurant and you can't one can't hold while one eats. Like it's just But I'm smiling because I'm thinking about I barely left the nursery and I remember thinking if I don't have an an intellectual conversation, I might lose my mind. And that's what prompted me to start She Built It because I wanted that sense of community and because you're right to your point, moms want to be with other moms because you feel so isolated in those early years.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I think in some ways we were raising kids in the most difficulty difficult generation of parenting. The expectations have never been higher. The challenges for our kids have never been complex. the mental health battles, addiction, but at the same time, moms have never had more resources and more access to one another. And so I like that's what I choose to focus on. Like how incredible that you've been able to create this incredible podcast, something that's built you and other people along the way all while raising your kids, right? Like that's such a gift, right? So, um it is a very good time to be a parent.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And I was just telling someone else this. I uh launched this podcast at the very start of co. So I had to hire someone to be with my kids for four hours so I could record because they were five and six. So you know you had those kids running around. I know a lot of people were in that position and I just thought I want to keep showing up for women and business owners and leaders so that they continue doing the things that they love and growing the companies that they they want to grow.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Tubby Todd has built deep loyalty in a highly competitive space. What have you done intentionally to turn trust into repeat business and long-term growth?

Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that marketing has everything to do with being a good friend. So, you think about, you know, they say you're a product of the five people you spend the most time with. So, the people you spend the most time with, you start to talk like them, dress like them, act like them, you have shared values. Like, if you don't spend time with your consumers, like you can't know what they like and you're not a good friend. So thinking about how you can spend time with your consumers is how you create repeat customers. Like being in their social media accounts, right? So how can you show up? But also like you never love the friend that every time you call them, they just talk about themselves and it's not about you, it's about them, right? And so it's like doing things for them that are fun. Like is it celebrating their birthdays, celebrating their baby showers? Like we just launched something that we've wanted to do for years that we're so excited. It's a brand trip that a giveaway we're doing for five families called Camp Tubby Todd in July. We're bringing five families to San Diego and we have the entire trip planned for them. Like you know how hard it is financially for young families and just logistically to travel with babies. It's a nightmare, right? And so we have all the gear, the hotels, the minivans, the food, the activities. They're going to come to Tubby Todd for our shopping spree and our our Tubhub, our headquarters. and we're just taking care of that because that's what being a good friend is, right? Like thinking about their pain points, spending time with them. So that is how we've been able to stay in touch with our community and where we've seen repeat purchasers is I think is through that. I always tell everyone in their interview at Tubby Todd like do not create, say, or do anything that you wouldn't send, create or make for your best friend. So, if you are creating a label, you're one of our designers, if you don't think that's really cool, then and you're not excited about it, then I don't want it on our bottles because you should be really excited about gifting this to your best friend. If you're in our operations and you're planning like our packaging and delivery services, if you yourself wouldn't want to see receive it that way, then like let's not send the package that way, right? And so, we're not perfect at that. And we are definitely still growing. I've had growing pains. I'm sure some of our users are listening and thinking, "Oh my gosh, you haven't done this perfectly." And I and we have a lot of ways to continue to get better. And it's been fun because I've really seen our community like cheer us on as we've tried to improve in our friendship.

Speaker 2: No business is perfect.

Speaker 1: Yeah. No, they keep coming back and they keep showing up for us because we're trying to do that for them. I feel like they can really feel it and that is what I that's what I think is the key as a business owner.

Speaker 2: Yeah. And when your consumers can grow

Speaker 1: alongside you. Yes. I love that. Like even like with a podcast or like creators. I love like influencers that I follow who are like making videos in their bathroom and it's low quality, but you can tell they're so excited about what they're talking about. I love that. And then all of a sudden like they have a team or they're doing big brand deals and I'm just cheering for them, right? Like I I love every stage of growth for the people that I believe in. And so I truly believe our community has done that for us as well.

Speaker 2: Yeah. And we want to see that authenticity too.

Speaker 1: Yes. Totally.

Speaker 2: As your business grew, what leadership skills did you have to develop to keep growing as well?

Speaker 1: I am a sharer. I love to connect. I'll tell you my whole life story. I did have to start to set some boundaries with me and like team members. People need to have a a work life and an at home life. And it's not been like a huge difficulty for me, but like I will say for small business leaders, I I I've been lucky to learn from a lot of other people who I've worked with. My husband, my dad was on our board for 5 years. We've had some more seasoned Seale people who've been at Tubby Todd who have taught me a lot about what work life boundaries mean. And that means like you don't need to bring your prof your home life at work, right? And you don't need to bring your work life at home. So setting those boundaries with your team members, like being professional in meetings, right? I'm not great at this. I'm probably the least professional person. And so that's why I'm saying I had to learn these boundaries. I mean, I have breastfed in board meetings. I have done all of the things that um are true to who I am, but I'm talking about relationship boundaries with employees, right? Um that is something I've learned. Uh I would say something I'm really good at is hiring people. I love finding team members. It is my favorite thing to find the perfect person in the perfect time of their life for the role that just like they can shine in. I think part of progressing in my career has been leaning into that and not being embarrassed of the things that I think I'm uniquely good at. Like I still have a hand in hiring our customer service people at Tubby Todd. We call them our Todd Squad. And it's not because our managers can't do it, but one I love it and I think I'm really good at it. I think it's something I offer the organization and so being like confident enough to be like I I really want to still be a part of that. Right. So I would say confidence in what I'm good at and then also in setting boundaries in my work and professional life which I'm still working on. And if building the teams is what brings you joy, you should be able to do that part within your business. Yeah. I will truly say I have loved building tubby Todd and this is why I have loved seeing I mean we've had multiple team members we we have sold our first product 12 years ago we've had multiple team members who have been there around 10 of us have been there five plus years if not more and there's only 30 something of us on the team and we sell a lot of soap with this small team and it has been so fun to see these team members come from customer service and progressed to a management position or from a marketing specialist or chief brand officer, right? She's like come up at Tubby Todd and has become this incredible powerhouse and it has been awesome to grow together. So, it's been really fun

Speaker 2: and that speaks to your sustainable company culture and what you've built as a as a team and your authenticity carries over into your business cuz

Speaker 1: while you said you needed to really forgiving people, people who forgive my husband and I for being so crazy, I think that's what we're good at finding and they're really nice and they've stayed around. But yes, we have a great team culture. Yes. and they probably look at you and know that you have a family, you have four kids, you've got a lot you're managing in addition to the business, and that's not easy to do.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: So, good for you for what you've built.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Thank you so much. Like my dad when he sat on our board for 5 years, one of the things that he was the most intense about was setting quarterly goals as a management team. Well, starting as a company and setting goals, very clear goals that we were going to go after and few, three to five that were going to be like, you know, 10 million website visitors. That's one of our goals in 2026. But we only have four or five large goals like that that we present to our team annually and say, "Hey, this is our northstar as as a company, and here are the things that we're going to break down every quarter, three to five things we're going to do every quarter, big initiatives that will lead to that." Right? So an example is it's not like daily like posting on social media, but we're adding a new chapter of products on Amazon this quarter and that takes a lot of work from both sides of the organization. So that's one of the quarterly goals. So, one of the ways you can keep people happy at work, especially in a small business, is being really clear with your goals and just focused on them because it it's really annoying when your boss or your organization is flip-flopping what you think. And that's when it starts to bleed into not being able to spend time with your family, right? Is because you're wasting time on projects that aren't moving you guys forward, right? Then it's great that they that he put those few big goals and made them very clear because then it's you're not diluted as to okay what am I supposed to be trying to achieve. Yeah. And like then you can just all be moving in the same direction and it changes the way that you're going to communicate with the customers even from customer service up to our marketing content people to our people who are doing our inventory and what they're ordering right everyone is like heading

Speaker 1: in the same direction. How do you decide where to spend your time as a founder so that you're working on the business and not just in it?

Speaker 2: So, I think the first thing for me as a founder of four kids and being 12 years into this, most founders do not stay around this long. We sold a majority of the business four years ago to a private equity group. And a lot of people leave after selling to a private equity group. We have loved our experience of working with our private equity group. They have been lovely and wonderful. And I love our team and we're still growing so quickly. My husband and I have both stayed as he's the CEO and I'm the president. So it has been a marathon, not a sprint for us. I mean I know Grun was just acquired after 2 years and my growth officer and I were talking about that and I was like it's just a completely different experience than what we've had. It's been slow, steady, healthy growth. Not that theirs wasn't healthy, but it's just been it's been a slower, you know, process as we've built together. For me, the first thing that I

Speaker 1: do with my time is I make sure that I'm okay. Like, I'm so so adamant about rest, sleep, even when I had little babies. I would use some of my babysitting time, my nanny, for me to take a nap. I'm adamant about working out. And whether it's like going to the chiropractor or physical therapy or the things I need to do to heal my body, especially after having all those kids, and things are just like obliterated, you know, twins specifically. I can't even imagine. I I know I could have never survived that. I'm really really adamant about my spiritual health as well and my mental health like so what meditations scripture reading what does that mean for like spending time with friends and the people I love really really adamant about my marriage that is something that's really important to me what does that look like for date night and for spending time together and then from there comes my kids right so it's like taking care of me taking care of my relationships and then work comes and so that's how I prioritize my life as a founder as As far as working in the business, I think that it is really hard when you start to bring people in who are doing a lot of the jobs that you used to do to not be like, I could do that better, right? Like I used to go to every photo shoot and I'd be directing it. I'm not even good at photo shoots. Like I I'm terrible at them, but I just can't go to them anymore because if I go there, I will immediately start bossing everyone around. Same thing with events. I used to host every event. I'm again not good at hosting events. I'm not good at it. But if I go to an event when we're setting up, I will literally start bossing everyone around. So I show up 10 to 15 minutes after the event is already going now because then I know I can go and I can just be there and like be a support and not be a drain, right? So really making sure that you are like staying in your lane and it it it changes every year for me. And so that has been again I have very forgiving team members. Sorry for bossing you around when I shouldn't when I wasn't even doing a good job. And you kind of got to re-evaluate like what are those priorities and how can you commit to them to help move the business forward and it's going to keep changing especially as a founder.

Speaker 2: And it's smart that you've learned that about yourself as a founder to show up after the event.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Because I am really bossy. That's what makes me a good founder but also really annoying, you know, if I'm not in charge of it. Yeah. So

Speaker 2: yeah. And you and you mentioned the the speed of your growth. I mean, if you're in a business that makes you happy and you're loving doing it, there shouldn't be a comparison. It should be what's most meaningful to you.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Profitable growth has been really, really important to us. So, we've been profitable almost on every order since our first order. Like, um, we've operated, we've always had a goal of somewhere around 30% IBIDA. And I I say that out loud not to brag, but to say that like other people can do it, too. And you hear about all of these VC funded startups that grow so quickly and they have like they're not bringing anything to the bottom line, but nobody no personal family is accountable for that, right? It's an organization that's supporting that or multiple organizations that have funded that, but like we were funding this out of our own bank account. So, we were having to feed our family and pay our rent at the same time. So, that has kept us very worried about the bottom line. And still, as we've partnered with private equity, they feel the same way. And I love that because I can confidently say to my team members like you will get your bonus because there is money in the bank if we are growing right. It's what's worked for us. There's no wrong way to do it. Again, it has been slower than maybe some, but it it's been great. It's been a great experience for us. And it's nice to hear that you've had a positive private equity experience, too. We were very careful about the relationship that we chose there. So, not just choosing someone because they're going to give you money, but like choosing them because first off, they're really good people. The partners that we were working with, every single one of them were people that like we would want to go to dinner with, right? Which is essentially what you're going to do. You're going to spend a lot of time together. So, that's the first thing. And the second thing, really believing that they believed in us. like they were really excited about us that they needed to like stroke our ego but like they they were confident in what we had built and then what we could continue to build which which is feels good in a partnership, right? Yeah. You have to have that.

Speaker 2: Mhm. Yeah. What brings you the most joy in what

Speaker 1: you've built? I would say like I said earlier about moms feeling like I have got this like it makes me emotional just because sorry I like don't want to stop. I'm like I'm okay crying but I'm trying not to like stop today. Um okay.

Speaker 2: It's great that you care. It's great that you care.

Speaker 1: I mean and moms can feel like no one cares. Yeah. I'm totally I'm totally fine crying on things. I just I am like a very quick crier and I'm like I do have to like rain it in or else it will get like out of control real fast.

Speaker 2: Maybe you should have been an an actor.

Speaker 1: I know, right? But I will say the thing that brings me the most joy is when moms say like, "I heard you talking on a live and you said that I've got this as a mom and it made me feel like I could do today as a parent." And I love our products. Again, they have solved problems for millions of people. If you have not looked at our reviews on tubby.com, please go on and look at them. It truly is incredible. Not just for babies, not just for kids or teenagers, but for all ages what our products have done. And I am so proud of that. But I am most proud of families feeling confidence that they can take care of their little ones because of something we did or set for them. Because that is the most important thing is parents feeling confident so that they can show up better for their kids because the kids are the ones who will be taking care of us. is what the world will be in the future and we need them and we need to build confidence in them.

Speaker 2: So, so true and every you know every parent listening remembers those moments. So, it's so great that you have built a business that supports moms and people in those spaces and a community too.

Speaker 1: I will say also that I have a 15-year-old and I have no idea what I'm doing raising a teenage girl. She is the easiest teenage girl there is. But I still need other families and specifically moms to look at me and be like, "You've got this. You know exactly what you're doing. She's going to be okay." Like, "You made a mistake. That's great." You know, when I do make a mistake for my friends to be like, isn't it awesome if she can see you're not perfect, right? I don't think that feeling of like, am I doing this right ever goes away. But I think that really shows that we care and it also shows that we continually need people like cheering. We all need to cheer each other on.

Speaker 2: Yeah, you have built an incredible business. Thank you for joining us today and telling us fun. Thank you, Melanie. And congratulations to you on what you've built. I love that story of you building during co. Your kids will always remember you doing that. I think that's such a great example. That's so cool.