Turning an invention into a business
Next Avenue featured CoolRevolution in the Dec. 1, 2020 issue about turning an idea into a business. Here is an excerpt of the article by Kelsey Ogletree
Sleep Woes Become Financial Winners
For long-time friends Laura Musall and Mindy Ford, who live near Indianapolis, it's all about
pajamas.
Their CoolRevolution line spun out of a personal experience for both of them. In 2018, real estate agent Musall (then 53) woke up one day drenched in sweat after a restless night. "I texted Mindy and a few other friends and said, 'OMG, I just had the worst night sweats,'" she recalls. Ford was then, and still is, director of operations for an advertising agency
The group bantered back and forth on the topic, commiserating with each other over this symptom of menopause until one friend said: "Someone needs to make pajamas for people like us."
Working on the business has taught the women a lot about themselves, too.
Musall recalls: "It was a joke. But then I spent that entire day researching PJs for women with night sweats." A few weeks later, she called Ford and asked if she'd be up for actually exploring the idea together for a business.
Launching a company wasn't in the plans for either woman. "We definitely weren't lacking for things to do, between being empty nesters and still having our day jobs," says Ford, who was then 51.
But as they started talking to women they knew, the duo noticed a real need for sleepwear for women experiencing hot flashes.
Knowing nothing about the fashion industry, the next step was researching fabrics.
"We started touching and feeling everything, going to department stores and looking at tags — things we'd never paid attention to in the past," says Ford.
It was a huge learning curve. Eventually, through testing out many different fabrics themselves, they came upon bamboo. It was the perfect textile for the pajamas they wanted to create: soft, moisture-wicking and temperature-regulating.
One year of hard work after Musall's fateful hot night, she and Ford launched CoolRevolution. Its PJs range from $42 to $65 per piece (shorts/pants and tops sold separately, and the company sells sleep shirts/gowns as well).
Though CoolRevolution sells pajamas designed to keep women of any age cool and dry while sleeping, it's much more than that to the founders.
"To do something and know that we are helping people to sleep better is exhilarating. I can't believe we're doing this," says Musall.
Working on the business has taught the women a lot about themselves, too — especially since they're both still holding down their full-time jobs and managing CoolRevolution as a side hustle.
Musall says she's learned patience. "You can't just get online and find the answer to your question [about business] in thirty seconds," she notes.
Previously cautious Ford has discovered she's capable of taking risks — and even embraces them. "Now that [I know] I can do it, it's almost addicting," she
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