Owner/CEO's Name & Business's Name
Carrie Bell
Madcapz - http://www.madcapz.net
Year Established
2006
Why is your business unique and what's your pitch?
Madcapz are the fun feminine alternative to the baseball cap.
Made for women by a woman: offers low profile fit women love, adjustable strap for a comfy fit, 100% cotton, 2 3/4 inch brim for great sun protection, & with over 20 fun colorful prints to choose from, every woman can find a Madcapz to suit her style.
High quality Madcapz are made in the USA & reasonably priced.
Finally, a baseball cap made for women; offering the comfortable fit of a ball cap but with style and flair.
Madcapz are popular with golfers, tennis players, moms on the go, & women experiencing hair loss from chemo & other medical conditions.
What led you to start the business?
I created my company, Madcapz, out of a need. When I was losing my hair (from Grave's Disease) I wanted a fun feminine cap to wear that would make me look good and feel good. I scoured the malls, online sites, and catalogs - and came up empty. So, I decided to create them myself - and Madcapz was born.
I always liked the look of a baseball cap, but didn't want to wear my husband's boring company logo'd cap. I also wanted a ball cap that better fit a woman's head.
I developed a prototype and showed it to friends and family. The overwhelming positive responses encouraged me to start my company.
Today, Madcapz are sold retail online. I found that in addition to women golfers, tennis players, and walkers, many customers were women who were experiencing hair loss from chemo or other medical conditions. So, I began to wholesale to hospital gift shops and oncology boutiques. Today Madcapz are sold in hospital gift shops, oncology boutiques, and wig salons across the country.
In addition, we also sell to golf retailers, golf pro shops, and gift shops around the country.
Because many of our customers buy Madcapz for friends and family who are undergoing chemo or are undergoing chemo or have other hair loss medical conditions themselves, I am proud that we have partnered with several nonprofits (two are: breastcancer.org and naaf.org) to donate a portion of sales to these organizations.
Lessons Learned
- perseverance is key
- networking is critical
- pr must be ongoing and repetitive
- if something doesn't work, assess what happened and try again
- a sense of humor is most helpful
- Failures I've had:
- initial factory overcharged me, but I didn't know at the time. Had to research all over again to find a new factory. Not easy to do as not many hat factories in the US.
- did my website cheaply and got what I paid for. Had to redo my site, paying more, but did it right second time.
- trying to do it all myself. Has been hard to change, but I'm now finding a cadre of people to help me.