Bobbie: Laura Modi. How a Baby Formula Startup Took Market Share From Two Industry Giants

**Guy Raz** (0:00)
If you think about it, we track almost everything these days. Our steps, our screen time, our sleep. But when it comes to what's actually happening inside our own bodies, most of us are just guessing. I've been using function for about three years now, and it's genuinely changed the way I think about my health. Instead of relying on how I feel, I actually have data. One of the biggest changes I've made is to my diet. By following my results over time, I've managed to dramatically lower my glucose levels, and that's had a real impact on how I eat every day.
Function gives you access to more than 160 lab tests that measure everything from inflammation and metabolism to vitamins, hormones, and cardiovascular health. But what I really appreciate is how easy it is to understand. The interface is incredibly clear, it explains what your numbers mean, and it even suggests foods and lifestyle changes that can help improve them. Check your health the way I do. Function provides 160 plus lab tests for a dollar a day, and member pricing on advanced imaging. Join at functionhealth.com/built, and use gift code BUILT25.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:12)
Every day, shareholders meet to discuss important matters about the companies you invest in. Now Vanguard is making it easy to have your voice heard in those decisions.

**Guy Raz** (1:21)
Alexa, take me to Vanguard Investor Choice. Got it.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:24)
Texting you a link where you can set a proxy voting preference for your Vanguard index funds and be heard by the companies you invest in. Just say, Alexa, take me to Vanguard Investor Choice and make your voice heard. Vanguard Investors own shares of our index funds, which own shares of the companies they invest in. Available for Vanguard index funds that participate in Investor Choice, Vanguard Marketing Corporation distributor.

**Guy Raz** (1:42)
Success is a journey, especially when it comes to your finances. One of the most common obstacles in our financial journey is dealing with high interest debt. It can often leave people feeling trapped, but it doesn't have to. If you're dealing with high interest debt, there is a way forward. A SOFI personal loan could consolidate all your high interest debt into one low interest monthly payment, helping you craft a roadmap to paying down your debt. It even comes with no fees required, getting you a financial win right away. Keep pushing on your journey to financial success. You could even get as soon as the same day funding. View your rate for a SOFI personal loan at sofi.com/guyraz.
Loans originated by SOFI Bank NA, member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891
Fast funds term apply at sofi.com/guyraz.

**Laura Modi** (2:54)
Most people thought I was building something as a passion project for my own baby, and I found I was dismissed. I remember one investor who said what I was doing was terrible, that women should be breastfeeding, that his wife had breastfed all of their kids exclusively, and he only knew the world by which breastfeeding worked, and couldn't understand why I would dedicate my time, energy and capital to going to making something that the world didn't need.

**Guy Raz** (3:37)
Welcome to How I Built This, a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists and the stories behind the movements they built.
I'm Guy Raz, and on the show today, how Laura Modi broke through one of the toughest barriers in food to build Bobbie, an infant formula startup that's taking market share from two industry giants.
Baby Formula is one of those products most of us probably don't think much about until we need it. And when you do need it, it suddenly becomes one of the most important things you'll ever buy.
It's also one of the toughest businesses in the world to break into. In the US alone, it's about a $6 billion market dominated by giant brands like Enfamil and Similac. And because some babies' lives depend on it, it's one of the most heavily regulated food products in the world. You can't just decide to make infant formula in your garage and start selling it. But that's exactly the industry that Laura Modi decided to take on. Laura had built a successful career in tech, working at Google and then Airbnb. But after the birth of her first child, she struggled with breastfeeding. It was a deeply upsetting experience that, like so many new mothers, she found incredibly hard to talk about. And when she went looking for formula at the drugstore, she wondered if there was room for something different. A powder made with organic grass-fed milk that felt more modern and more transparent. So she left her day job and started building a company called Bobbie. It turned out to be far harder than she'd ever imagined. In fact, early on, Laura and her co-founder made a mistake that nearly killed the company. They made their first infant formula and tested it with a small group of moms before it had received FDA approval. Very quickly, the agency shut them down. It was a very public brand disaster. But then, Laura faced another enormous challenge. Companies like Abbott and Mead Johnson, the makers of Similac and Enfamil, not only dominated the market, they manufactured their own formula and factories they owned. Which meant Laura first had to convince someone else to make hers. Today, Bobby is still a very small brand compared to the Giants. But in just over five years, it's managed to win about 4 percent of the baby formula market in the US, which given the size of the industry, is a pretty big deal.