Julie Clark

Previously a high school English teacher, Julie Clark eventually resigned in order to become a full-time mother. Upon giving birth, she desired to teach her baby all of the things she loved most, including music and literature, yet she realized that there was no product on the market that did just that. She thus began creating videos in her basement in her free time, editing the videos and recording the music herself.

By the end of this year-long project, Clark had invested $15,000 into the initiative, and decided to market it by sending to publications for reviews and meeting retailers at trade shows. A retailer decided to test her concept, purchasing 100 videos, and subsequently sold out in two days.

The combination of having a great product as well as word-of-mouth from parents and teachers catapulted Baby Einstein's success. After five years, with five employees and $25 million in revenue, Clark successfully sold her company to Disney.

Clark took a break for two years, traveling with her family. By then, her kids were in elementary school, and she felt they needed to be further educated about the Internet and other safety issues, but in a fun way. As before, she realized that there was no such product, and she went on to create The Safe Side with John Walsh, which created videos that could be used in classrooms to creatively teach kids about safety. Sales proceeds went to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

Being subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer twice, Clark wrote a book for children called "You Are the Best Medicine", guiding them on the realities of cancer, with sales proceeds going towards breast cancer research. She is currently working on two startups: Baby Bytes, which uses mobile technology along with interactive props to teach pre-schoolers, and The Soft Skin Company, a maternity wear line which reduces chances of stretch marks post-pregnancy.