On behalf of the Washington DC chapter, we would like to share the following investment opportunity:

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Momtech is commercializing “the breast pump that works like a baby®” and “the bottle that works like a mom®”.  Invented by the former president of the country’s leading breast pump company, these two revolutionary patented technologies solve gaping problems in their respective markets by replicating the biomechanics of natural nursing.

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Company

Momtech Inc., under its “mōmi” brand, makes life better for moms and their babies with revolutionary patented products that replicate natural nursing - the “bottle that works like a mom” and the “breast pump that works like a baby”.

 

Background

When Carr Lane Quackenbush retired as president of Medela, the country’s leading breast pump company, he knew the industry had yet to deliver products that biomechanically replicate natural nursing in ways that solve major problems.  He spent the next ten years researching, innovating, prototyping, testing, and patenting these designs.

 

Problem

Today's breast pumps cause painful swelling of the nipple tissue. They are also noisy, cumbersome, and bulky. MIT research found 77% of moms hate their pumps and 60% say their pumps cause pain.

 

Today's baby bottles contribute to nipple confusion, bottle refusal, overfeeding, and regurgitation, because their design does not replicate the basic properties of the natural nipple (solid, soft, stretchable, compression shutoff).  61% of babies have difficulty adapting from nursing to bottle feeding, and 24% of bottle feeders resist returning to natural nursing.

 

Solution

The mōmi “breast pump that works like a baby” is the only pump to replicate natural nursing by applying both positive AND negative pressure to extract milk.  Conventional breast pumps use negative pressure (vacuum) only.  The mōmi pump replicates nursing by incorporating a silicone bladder that replicates the action of the baby’s tongue to extract milk with positive pressure.  This reduces swelling and discomfort.

 

The mōmi “bottle that works like a mom” has a nipple unlike any other on the market.  It’s the only nipple that replicates the physiological properties of the natural: sold, soft, stretchable, and with patented compression shut-off, allowing the baby to regulate the flow of milk naturally with pressure from the tongue.

 

Please see these resources for additional information regarding our technologies:

1. Medical animation bottle explainer: https://vimeo.com/716455924/db0f1f2e63

2. Parent testimonials for the bottle: https://vimeo.com/750409034/3ae0c08fef

3. Breast pump testimonials : https://vimeo.com/750409008/4010ea78fc

 

Commercialization

The mōmi bottle launched at the beginning of 2023 and achieved a $1.2M revenue run rate by August.  At that level, sales had exceeded production capacity.  Management shifted focus toward accelerating the development and launch of an improved 2.0 design, now on track for June / July 2024 launch.  The 2.0 design yields 41% reduction in product COGS, 10x increase in production capacity, and an improved geometry that will dramatically accelerate market adoption.  The mōmi breast pump targets a 2025 launch.

 

Sales to date have been primarily direct to consumer from the company’s online store.  In 2024 the company will begin pursuing distribution through brick-and-mortar retailers.  The company plans to enter global markets through distribution partners.

 

Markets

Baby bottles and breast pumps are a $6B global market growing  >5% annually. 

Initial target segments in the bottle space are (a) affluent households, (b) “natural products” consumers and (c) parents of bottle-refuser babies.  Over time the Company anticipates cost reductions that will enable a price point less than half of its current end-user price.  At that point the serviceable addressable market will include the broad middle of the US market, in addition to global markets. 

 

The design of the 2.0 nipple has been embraced by lactation consultants and other healthcare and infant feeding professionals.  The endorsement of these key influencers will enable mōmi to establish itself as the go-to brand for breastfeeding moms, repositioning our messaging as helping to “establish, restore, strengthen, and preserve” the breastfeeding relationship, moving away from a more problem-solution focus.  With the bottle laying the groundwork of establishing the brand, the breast pump will find ready reception among the same segments.

 

IP

The revolutionary nature of our products is evidenced by our portfolio of 9 issued and 1 pending US patents covering both core technologies, plus numerous international counterparts.

 

Management

• Hal Eason, CEO/Co-Founder

• Carr Lane Quackenbush, Inventor / CIO / Co-Founder

• Kristen Fields, VP of Marketing

• ​Meg Alden, MD, Chief Medical Officer

 

Raise

The company is currently raising up to $2M in two series of convertible notes (Series 2024a and 2024b).  Terms of the 2024a offering are:

• $6M conversion cap

• 20% conversion discount

• 10% accruing interest

• 12/31/2025 maturity

• Automatic conversion upon qualified preferred equity financing of at least $3M

• Offering size $600K - $1M

• Pays greater of (a) 2x principal plus accrued interest and (b) as-if-converted amount, if change of control occurs prior to conversion

 

Series 2024b will be identical in terms except for the conversion cap, TBD.  Maximum total offering across both series is $2M.  Fulcrum Financial Partners of Cary, NC is the company’s earliest institutional investor, and is lead investor in the Series 2024a offering.