Why we Invested: Mombox

Kate Westervelt, Founder & CEO of MomBox, is on a mission to democratize postnatal care for new moms in their first year after baby.

In mid-2020, TBD Angels member Phil McMannis connected with Kate to discuss the challenges of bootstrapping a startup. “I had no idea how underserved new moms were. I was very impressed with Kate and it was clear that she’d found product-market fit. Her vision for the next iteration of MomBox can truly revolutionize the postnatal experience.” When Kate made the decision to raise Mombox’s first round of funding to expedite the growth of the business, she was introduced to the TBD Angel community.

People

Kate is incredibly knowledgeable about the journey into and through the first year of motherhood. She resourcefully bootstrapped MomBox from the ground up, curating all products, packing and shipping the boxes from her garage, and all while having 2 children under the age of 4. As a savvy founder, Kate leveraged her content experience at Financial Times, Wayfair, and The Purple Carrot to get the MomBox story out to new moms, including features on Good Morning America, PureWow and How I Built This with Guy Raz.

Market

Maternity care in America is a $3B industry. MomBox is solving a real problem by getting the best products available for post-birth recovery quickly and easily into the hands of Mom. With its growth plans in place, MomBox aims to stay with mom for the first 12 months of motherhood, a period known as “matresence.” The current norm is for new Moms to be seen by their doctor once at a six week postpartum checkup; whereas the reality is that new Moms need many products, services, and a community to help through the various phases of postpartum health, wellness, and identity shift. Kate hopes to bring tested and vetted products right to the new Mom’s doorstep.

Product

MomBox offers a curated care kit of top-of-the-line products tested and vetted to make the physical aspect of recovery easier for Moms. The majority of kits are purchased as gifts — but the company has plans to build out the product line to include a kit subscription, content and a platform to connect new moms with the care providers, information, and community they may need during the first year of motherhood. Launched in 2016, MomBox has significant traction and impressive plans for expansion. Want to learn more? Check out the MomBox press announcement in TechCrunch or visit mom-box.com.

Co-investors

At TBD, we believe that the value is beyond the dollar. It is about the community and the skills, resources, and connections that come with a curated network. We were happy to join Wayfund and high-net-worth individuals from organizations like Facebook, Amazon, Uber and Drizly.