After napping for a few hours under a weighted blanket on a Saturday afternoon, Kathrin Hamm fell in love with the feeling of sleeping under weight. But when she started to search for high quality weighted bedding, she just couldn’t find any. So she invented one and developed a prototype, taking everything that scientists know about weighted bedding. She bunded it up with innovative textiles into one delightful experience that helps people sleep naturally and feel better. Bearaby was born! After a successful Kickstarter campaign, an unanticipated deal with West Elm, and a lot of persistence, humility, and hard work, Bearaby is now a fast-growing company with inventory flying off the shelves. Kathrin joins Socialfly co-founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer for a conversation about building her business and career, and describes her journey to success, including why the Bearaby name involves a hug and a song; why the addition of a complimentary skillset was a pivotal first hire; how Bearaby caught the attention of West Elm; the importance of Instagram and UGC for brand discovery; how list building, collecting emails, and the first 48 hours were crucial ingredients to victory on Kickstarter; why the core working hours at Bearaby are only between 12-3PM; moving into the market for children; and, why Kathrin sees her entrepreneurial journey as a great adventure. Plus, a surprise!
Guests
Kathrin Hamm
Hosts
Stephanie Cartin
Stephanie Cartin is a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcast host, community builder, and a champion for women founders. She created the Entreprenista League, a community for women founders, to provide resources and support necessary at all business stages. She’s also the Co-founder of Socialfly, one of the first social media marketing agencies, as well as Entreprenista Media and Pearl Influential Capital which was recently acquired by Cherub. Stephanie has shared her journey managing her health challenges with Multiple Sclerosis, Infertility, and a complicated pregnancy and is an advocate for women going through similar challenges. Her story and businesses have been featured on the Today Show, Bloomberg and Forbes. Consider Stephanie your biggest business cheerleader.
Courtney Spritzer
Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.
In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.
In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.
As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.
She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.
Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.
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