Susie Stubbs, Founder of Totter + Tumble
Name: Susie Stubbs
Founder: Totter + Tumble
Who is Susie Stubbs?
Based in London, Susie has always had a rooted interest in children’s development coming from an education background.
The journey to creating Totter + Tumble really started a long time ago when Susie and her Husband were soon to be parents with their eldest - Ellie.
Anxious to provide the safest home for her, they researched all they could to make sure they had the best products. As babies tend to spend a lot of time on the floor, with parents down with them, finding practical protection for their hard floors was an obvious concern. Fast forward a few years, with an active toddler and a second child on the way, Susie could not face having to deal with the garish jigsaw puzzle style foam mat any longer. So when faced with reinstating the impractical puzzle pieces in their newly decorated home or risk having a rug, she thought there must be a better solution.... There wasn't!
From this desire to find practical yet stylish flooring, Totter + Tumble was formed on the following four founding principles: simple, stylish, supportive, safe.
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
Have you ever had that feeling where you have to compromise between function and aesthetics for your children? Totter + Tumble frees the floor and solve the problem facing many parents who want the best for their kids, their home to still feel and look like home, and higher quality longer lasting products.
Our one-piece playmats are designed with interiors and busy families in mind, using a high quality slice of memory foam that is both practical and functional - and beautiful.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
Everything and nothing at all - it’s complicated! I am fortunate that through my childhood and first experience of the workplace from my family, I don’t instinctively have a place for gender stereotypes when it comes to business and founders, and so in that way being a female founder doesn’t instinctively hold additional weight. However, through my experience of actually being a female founder, the sense of duty to encourage that view more widely, is one that I take seriously.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
As a brand and as a founder I believe in genuine offerings, where gains don’t come at the cost of someone else, whether it is our customers, our manufacturer, or other brands and founders in our sphere. Instead, it has been about collaboration and forging friendships with other founders- even in some of our direct business competitors. Showing kindness and support in business also shows great strength.
There is a great quote from the poet Maggie Smith who says ‘Do not stop at the wall looming before you. Make a door. Make a door wide enough not only for you but for others.’
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
Before I launched Totter + Tumble I was a very happy, and career driven teacher. As the sole person in the business for the first 18 months, I had to wear all the hats - marketing, logistics, customer service, technical, occasional courier etc. Having always worked within a timetable in teaching, I have found this really helpful to focus and ensure I got around to doing the multitude of jobs to do.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
We don’t focus on sales. We want Totter + Tumble to be something we are proud to work for and around for a long time. If we make our product the best, and our brand values feel authentic to us and resonate with fellow parents and carers out there, the sales will come. For the same reason, we maintain a consistent price point and avoid discounting models. The only feeling worse than feeling duped as a customer, is to be the one duping them.
What are three strategies you use to market your business, grow brand awareness and generate bottom line growth?
Recognizing organic growth is essential before scaling- don’t rush the process but learn from it and look for those cues that it’s time to adapt, or it is time to scale.
Value people and understand that investing in people better than you and before you are desperate for them is key to growth.
Lastly, coming back to the brand values at each junction, making sure they are enforced and not watered down.
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