Hatch Baby is a smart changing pad for babies. The pad records information such as the baby’s weight, sleep time, food consumption, and bowel movement frequency.
The product has been designed to alleviate parents’ anxieties regarding their kids’ health and growth. At the same time, Hatch Baby allows parents to track and monitor certain milestones without having to go through the hassle of visiting doctors.
The pad can be operated through an app that is available for both android and IOS devices. This gadget also has voice control and audio monitoring features.
Hatch Baby was co-founded by the married couple Dave Weiss and Ann Crady Weiss in 2013. Prior to launching Hatch Baby, Ann was the senior vice president in the customer service department at BabyCenter. She has a bachelor’s degree in law from the Georgetown University, and is currently the CEO at Hatch Baby.
Dave, meanwhile, went to the State University of New York, graduating in computer science and mathematics. Just like his wife, Dave also worked at BabyCenter, where he was an executive. Currently, he is operating as the COO of Hatch Baby.
As you would expect, the couple met during their time at BabyCenter, where they were co-leaders on a team responsible for different parts of the business, such as product, editorial, engineering, design, and marketing.
However, both Anna and Dave had an entrepreneurial streak, along with the common desire to solve real-world problems and make life easier for people.
The two got married and had a baby. Ann, like almost any new parent, would struggle to sleep through the night.
Dave, too, was having the same issues, and the fact that he was already an insomniac, did not help the cause. So, the parents decided to come up with a solution that would help parents sleep better. Their first creation was a product called ‘Rest’.
However, once the couple had a better idea of parent issues and complaints, they upgraded their product and named it ‘Hatch Baby’. Hatch Baby is a revolutionary, cutting-edge changing pad for babies.
Is Hatch Baby Still an Active Business?
Yes, Hatch Baby is still in business, operating under the name ‘Hatch’, and employs close to 60 people. Since the business is identifying new use cases for the voice-recognition software, Alexa, it has also managed to attract investment from Amazon.
How Did the Shark Tank Pitch Go?
Ann and Dave made their Shark Tank appearance during the seventh season of the show, wearing their Hatch Baby t-shirts. The couple was looking for an investment of $250,000 in exchange for 2.5% equity in the company – a steep valuation of $10 million, which did trigger a few bemused and surprised reactions from the Sharks.
Ann started the pitch, talking about how stressful the first few weeks of a baby’s life are for the mother. During this period, 90% of mothers worry about their child’s health, growth, and food consumption. However, with Hatch Baby and its smart-phone app, parents would have all of this information available at their fingertips.
Kevin wondered if the food/breast milk consumption data was really that important. To this, Ann responded that this data helps reassure mothers that their baby is growing normally and is achieving its breastfeeding goals.
Lori asked if the couple had sold any units yet, to which Ann responded in the negative, stating that the business was still in the pre-production stages. This, of course, did not help justify the $10 million valuation, as was evidenced by Mark’s and Robert’s incredulous looks.
Ann, however, quickly chimed in, stating that both she and Dave had tremendous experience within the baby industry. She said that this valuation was determined by generating a $1.7 million funding from the investors who funded Ann’s previous company, BabyCenter. To this, Dave added that this is the same investor who had invested in FitBit.
The couple wanted to focus only on online selling, and was optimistic of selling 20,000 pads within the first year, at a price of $299.
Mark understood the value in the product, but did not feel that the owners would be able to follow through on their promises. For this reason, he stepped out.
Robert said that previous success is a poor indicator of future performance, which is why he would like to bow out as well.
Lori felt that the problem that Hatch Baby was trying to solve was not serious enough, and she excused herself as well.
Kevin felt that the company’s valuation was outrageous, and that most Americans would not be able to afford such an expensive product. He also refused to invest in the company.
Chris Sacca said that he was interested in such smart nursery items, but the fact that Hatch Baby was yet to sell a single unit was very discouraging. However, Ann was desperate to get at least one Shark on board, and offered a $250,000 note at the valuation at which the company had closed its previous financing round.
Chris Sacca loved the offer, and ultimately, a deal was struck: $250,000, in exchange for 25% equity in Hatch Baby.
Our Review of Hatch Baby
The pad is actually a fairly simple device. The two ‘smart’ features are a scale designed at the base of the pad, and a little touch-screen at the front. Through these features, you can send the information directly to the app.
Speaking of the app, that is when the real smartness comes in. The application tracks the baby patterns, and displays them in easy-to-understand and practical graphics. For example, after using the pad for a few days, you can use the data to determine the best times to go out to the store with them, or when you need to be ready with a diaper and a bottle of milk.
Pros of Hatch Baby
- Simple and intuitive operation
- Presents complicated information in an easy-to-understand manner
- Allows for proactive and smarter decision making
Cons of Hatch Baby
- Expensive
Are There Any Alternatives?
‘Babyscripts’ could be considered an alternative to Hatch Baby.
Our Final Thoughts
To sum up, Hatch baby is a high-tech, sophisticated changing pad that enables parents to track the feeding schedule, food consumption, sleep time and quality, and a number of essential information regarding their babies’ health.
