Building a Household of Entrepreneurs with Jennifer Adams Bunkers and Freddy Bunkers of Trukid and HyperGo

Jennifer Adams Bunkers is a serial entrepreneur and she is the Founder of TruKid, TruBaby, Fysik, Truebuddy, Velocity Source Group, and Funopolis Toy Company. She’s grown TruKid, a company that sells natural products for kids, to well over seven figures. When Jennifer is creating businesses, she has one goal in mind: to make life a little bit easier. As a mom of six children, it is not always easy to balance being an entrepreneur and a mom. Her goal is for each of her six kids to own their own business.

Her son, Freddy Bunkers, owns and runs HyperGo, a company that produces full body wipes.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• Jennifer Adams Bunkers talks about growing multiple businesses while raising kids and how to be more productive
• Jennifer shares how she started TruKid and their initial product offerings
• Some of the biggest mistakes people make when sourcing products
• How Freddy Bunkers launched his business, HyperGo, and how he markets his products
• Jennifer discusses her launch process for new product
• How Jennifer’s team and business strategies has changed over the years
• Jennifer recalls how she started her entrepreneurial journey
• How Jennifer has encouraged her kids to brainstorms ideas
• Jennifer reveals their latest product that can revolutionize pet care
• How being part of EO San Francisco has impacted Jennifer’s business
• Jennifer and Freddy discuss their differences in learning and business and how it benefits them
• Low and proud moments in business for Jennifer and Freddy

In this episode…

It’s one thing to catch the entrepreneurial bug and then go on to build a great brand, but it’s a whole new level of impressive if you can get your kids to do the same. Entrepreneurs secretly have that dream, and not many have been able to see it come to fruition. But Jennifer Adams Bunkers has found a way to not only build multiple successful businesses while raising her kids, she has also helped her son, Freddy, turn his idea into a viable market product that’s currently enjoying huge success.

So how did Jennifer get her kids so interested in business and how has she encouraged them to find their own path?

Join Dr. Jeremy Weisz on this episode of the Inspired Insider podcast as he talks with Jennifer Adams Bunkers, and her son, Freddy, about their respective entrepreneurial journeys. Jennifer talks about how she raised six kids while successfully growing businesses, how she encourages her kids, and how being in EO San Francisco has helped her in her business; and Freddy shares what it’s like to have his mom as his angel investor and how he explores his own style of doing business. Stay tuned.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• TruKid
• HyperGo
• Jennifer Adams Bunkers on LinkedIn
• Cameron Harold on LinkedIn
• James Thomson: Buy Box Experts
• Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
• EO San Francisco

 

Episode Transcript

Jeremy Weisz  

Dr. Jeremy Weisz here, Founder of InspiredInsider.com I talk with inspirational entrepreneurs and leaders like some of the founders you’ve heard of some you’ve never heard of, you know, I’ve Jennifer and Fred Hammond a remarkable story. And she’s gonna and Freddy’s going to talk about what about the businesses but, you know, I’ve had the Founder of Baby Einstein on Jennifer, Julie Clark, and, you know, she grew Baby Einstein to $20 million with five employees and sold to Disney. But the most impressive part to me is when she was talking about beating cancer twice, you know, it’s the stuff that bridges business and actually our personal lives together. The other thing I was gonna say is Ed O’Keefe, Ed O’Keefe is the founder of Wakeup Foods. And personally, you know, I love their stuff and Wakeup Foods healthy delicious wake up waffles, check out the episode with Ed about time collapsing. And you have to talk, you know, you have to read about time collapsing because father of seven grew and grew up in a household of 13 children. Okay, 13 children, Jennifer, and he has done everything from sold over, you know, $50 million in marketing systems for dentists, and started a supplement company with seven kids. So it’s amazing. Now, there’s a reason which you’ll see you’ll see in a second why I talked about Ed and seven kids entrepreneurship and Jennifer today, before I tell you about it, this episode is brought to you by Rise25 you Don’t know about Rise25 I won’t go into it too much. Check it out. That’s what we do. John and my business partner and I, we actually started it, we actually help people launch and run their own podcasts, and make sure it gives to their best relationships. I’ve seen no better way to give to your best relationships and having your colleagues your friends, your people on and you know, featuring their thought leadership. I do consider it if you check out inspiredinsider.com my about page, it’s inspired by my grandfather, who was a Holocaust survivor and his legacy lives on because someone did an interview with him. And so the full interview is there. And so when I have people like Jennifer and Freddy on I do consider it, I’m leaving. They’re leaving. I’m helping them leave a legacy as well through this content. So thank you both for being here. And of course, I’m gonna you know, give a special shout out. Thank you to Dean Dutro and Ryan O’Connor of Worth e-Commerce because they introduced me to today’s guest, Dean emailed me Jennifer’s like you need to have Jennifer on. She’s amazing. what she’s done in her family life mixed with entrepreneurship is amazing. So, thank you guys, Dean. You could check out their podcast and I’m sure you could watch the interview with Jennifer there too. Relationship commerce. Jennifer Adams Bunker’s serial entrepreneur, Founder of TruKid, Trubaby Fysik, Trubuddy, Velocity Source Group and Funopolis and you know as Jennifer is creating a business she has one goal in mind, which is you know, it’s funny thing I was like, is it to make money? No, it’s to make life easier. She’s got six kids and like so many businesses make life easier and mom of six, it’s not always easy to balance an entrepreneur and a mom, it’s not a you know, honestly, Jennifer’s not even easy to balance one or the other, like just in itself, right. So she’s grown TruKid to well over seven figures, her goals for each of her six kids to own their own business. And you can go to trukid.com it’s T-R-U-K-I-D.com where they have natural products for kids skin creams that helps soothe eczema to sunscreen that say for eczema prone skin, too. You know Mark Cuban, I remember you know, He always talks about in on the Shark Tank that his kid one of his kids or something has it. So if someone knows them like maybe they’d like these products. TruKid. Body Wash much more. We have Freddy Bunkers here who is the favorite kid right now, because he has a company called HyperGo. And HyperGo is a full body wipe. So we’ll talk about that a little bit, too. Thanks both for joining me. 

Freddy Bunkers  

And thanks for having us.

Jennifer Bunkers  

Well, you know, it’s funny you mentioned Ed because my husband is one of 14 kids. 14 Wow. Yeah. And you know, there are how many nieces nephews 5051 first cousins

Freddy Bunkers  

kind of just gets bigger from

Jennifer Bunkers  

65 second cousins. So

Jeremy Weisz  

What’s thanksgiving like what like how big is Thanksgiving? 

Freddy Bunkers  

Well, like when they do like the family reunions. It’s like sometimes we’ll do a big like fairground because that’s our wedding.

Jennifer Bunkers  

weddings are big. There. Fun.

Jeremy Weisz  

So when you you know i don’t know when you first got married we were discussing kids early on Jennifer how many kids were you thinking you were gonna have?

Jennifer Bunkers  

Oh, Jeremy I wasn’t getting married or have kids really why? Like I just didn’t think it I just thought you know I was gonna force in the world my own and I just didn’t think I needed a guy to like support me and I sort of didn’t need kids because they cried and they were yelled pass and then I meet this guy, which first of all I thought he was lying who has 13 sisters and brothers like that? And I would I would ask questions every which way to like ferret out his lie Of course he was wasn’t lying. And I will name other names you can’t remember them all at that point. I actually could have had that I can actually name a Wildcat and I can I can name all the cousins almost.

Freddy Bunkers  

Yeah, if you see them. I see.

Jennifer Bunkers  

I just have to like process each family separately. I can do it you know

Jeremy Weisz  

about him. What so you go from not wanting to get married or have kids to extreme kids wise, what was it that convinced you

Jennifer Bunkers  

We did it for like eight years. So it was it me It literally took a while. You know, there was, I like the big family atmosphere and I really loved his family and he’s super gregarious, right. But it wasn’t about having six kids. He wanted one kid actually, cuz he’s big family. And it happens a lot where there’s so many he’s one of the little ones.

Jeremy Weisz  

They go the opposite.

Jennifer Bunkers  

Yeah. And so I’m like, so we have the wind, like, we need to kind of just want right so that and then happen. You know, like I said, Yeah, what

Jeremy Weisz  

happened between two and six? I mean,

Jennifer Bunkers  

I guess I drank a lot.

Jeremy Weisz  

Don’t tell your kids that. But that’s Yeah, I mean, that’s significant. I have two kids and I’m like, Oh my God, when they start our numbering you I don’t even I can’t even imagine my business partner, John. He’s got four kids under nine and I’m like, Listen, you did this upon you. You did this to yourself. I don’t know. So that’s how do you balance it all now? Like what’s what how do you organize your day?

Jennifer Bunkers  

Well, it’s been really fun because of all homeschooling on top of running a business, right? So, um, you know, 18 months ago, I had an office for like 1520 years. And then a few months ago, I pivoted to work from home for a lot of reasons, one of which is to like, really hoard cash and run a different kind of business more digitally. And it was great until everybody showed up right now, you know, the zoom calls everywhere, and thankfully, they’re all out of school as of today for you, you right? If not, you know, because of an entrepreneur for so long, we, the kids know not to bug me, right? They just, you know, they come bug me we do their work, and then they go away again. They’re just we’re just what we were just used to it right? I mean, we’re just used to, and I’m also used to, I’m really used to chaos, I can work in a loud, noisy zone without any issue. So, you know, the little baby pigs we have a blank and then the dog barks at somebody and you know, I just can keep working.

Jeremy Weisz  

What are some hacks you have to be more productive because some people you know, aren’t doing A 10th of what you have to manage. Are there certain software’s you like certain methods? What do you do? What’s your tips for people to be more productive?

Jennifer Bunkers  

I wish I had a really good tip space, but I don’t. I keep a lot in my head, which is bad I have, I fold a piece of paper in half and I write my notes down. Honestly, I’m trying to get digitally on Trello. And what I have slack now, which is saving my life, I love I love slack. It’s like, what works for me, it feeds to my phone, I can see very specifically, I have a lot of channels. And I like it because I can see exactly what the topic is and get to it. So that helps a lot. My mindset is I have to get, you know, three important things don’t every day that move my business forward. And the rest of the rest of it is sort of white noise. I have to get to things but they’re not as important. Probably to like, like, what are the three things that that that must get done and those get done, everything else sort of just happens? Yeah. What’s happening now though, I noticed is there’s a lot more time during the day I’m not actually working where the kids are here and then I do tend to roll back at night. So there’s I’m able to I have the luxury of, of like dissecting my day.

Jeremy Weisz  

That’s good. I mean, you have three big rocks that you want to get done. So you don’t want the outside distract you what what Give me an example where three things maybe this week that you were really focused in on or in the past that will be an idea that,

Jennifer Bunkers  

well, the thing I’m always focused on is production, because that’s sort of the hat that I wear is orders are placed, the supply chains are still active, and working and not stopped up in some manner. That’s super important. In the money, the finance part is a rock to make sure I have enough cash to pay for things make sure the books are right, sort of the third thing and then the third thing that really important is our creative launch process that we are that we’re making strides to get our products launched. That’s that that’s sort of like those are the three main buckets that I focus on mostly every every day and every week.

Jeremy Weisz  

Talk about starting TruKid, which product do you start with our products for the initial special products.

Jennifer Bunkers  

Well, when I started TruKid, I had a sourcing business that I was actively had been actively running for 20 years where we’d help us customers source of manufactured goods in Asia. So I’d help you know us brands, you know, make their products dream come true, right, some very brilliant manufacturing. And, you know, I’m, I’ve been doing it for years, and then I recognized that there was a gap in the kids space. I know, all my kids were little, I think my oldest one might have been 12 maybe at the time, so I had, you know, six kids 12 and under, and I was just noticing some kids using my products. And it was thinking in their face I’m like, Oh, God, you know, why should she use my product is probably isn’t the right product for you. So we I started researching his brands and there really weren’t any around at the time, there’s a ton of baby products. And I thought, you know what, this is an opportunity to make a product that can service my family, and, you know, have a new niche and I thought I could be the baby business, but you know, babies are babies until they’re 12 months. 24 months old. Then they’re done being babies. And I thought, if I could have a family, buy my product for 10 years or more, like that’s a real sustainable customer. So I thought the kids space would be more sustainable. So I hopped into the kids space with kids. And, you know, there weren’t products out there for kids from babies, you you would move to adult products. I thought that was really weird. So um, you know, I just saw an opportunity.

Jeremy Weisz  

What were the initial products would you start with,

Jennifer Bunkers  

I started with sunscreen, and haircare, such good hair care and bass. And that was so true, like, you know, the sort of basic, you know, red fog bath products. And in the beginning, though, sunscreen was the product that sort of, you know, was our anchor, because we had a product that was really natural went on really well, highly rated still is all those things. And that was sort of our anchor product, and then we started building around it. And then what happened was, we noticed that our customers were saying how we were serving their eggs mandates like kids with sensitive skin could use our product because they were known there. Yeah, they’re all natural, right? So didn’t have all the chemicals in it. And, you know, chemicals are great. They can be really irritating on anyone’s skin, let alone kids really sensitive skin. Or if you struggle with a rash or an excellent case, like it’s really hard. So I started listening. And we started pivoting away from just sort of general body care to exit focus products. Yeah.

Jeremy Weisz  

And because I noticed, like, it really sticks out. And, you know, for one, when we look at sunscreen, there’s a bunch of terrible chemicals in a lot of them. So we’re always thinking like, how do we not put junk because that stuff gets absorbed in the skin? And I noticed, you know, on yours, which is really unique. There is a logo on all of them. Right? That is from the Eczema Association, I believe.

Jennifer Bunkers  

Yeah. Right. It was, it was it was a process, right? We wanted to have whatever value we could add associate with the foundation, because it’s like the good seal of approval, right? You look at and you have a deep sense

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