West Lafayette entrepreneur to be featured on ‘Shark Tank’

Steven Spielberg

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — What do you think the odds were of Nickey Ramsey of West Lafayette appearing on ABC’s “Shark Tank”?

If you guessed around 0.025%, you’re correct.

The show on average gets about 40,000 applicants per season, and only around 1,000 of applications get picked up by the show, according to an article written by Gary Levin.

Now imagine that 0.025%, and apply it to the whole country, and guess what the percentage is for someone from West Lafayette to have made it onto the show.

It’s still 0.025%, and Ramsey, a working mother of two and the owner of Junobie, beat those odds. She’ll will be appearing on “Shark Tank” at 8 p.m. Friday. 

What is Junobie?

Junobie offers eco-friendly and reusable newborn products. One of the first and most well-known products was the company’s reusable silicon breastmilk storage bags, which are FDA-approved and made with food-grade silicone bags that are freezer-, dishwasher- and heat-safe.

Nickey Ramsey, of West Lafayette, will be featured on the Feb. 25 episode of "Shark Tank," pitching Junobie, her breastfeeding starter kit.

Ramsey was inspired to create these bags after she experienced certain hardships as a mother.

“I didn’t just wake up one day and say, ‘Hey! I’m going to invent something and be an inventor.’ I had no background as an engineer or designer.

“My daughter has a neurological condition called epilepsy and she has seizures. When I was pregnant with her, I was very conscious with her about what I ate, any medications that I took, because I didn’t want her to have any sort of, like, birth or congenital issues. And she came down when she was 2 with epilepsy. And of course, I blame myself,” said Ramsey.

Ramsey began to wonder what may have caused her daughter’s epilepsy, “was it all the plastic milk bags that I used for her, or was it all the plastic bottles that I would heat her breastmilk up in?”

A photo of Junobie's breastmilk storage bags, on Feb. 23, 2022, in West Lafyette.

She eventually came to an understanding that there are certain things in life that are beyond her control. But in her search for answers, she developed a deeper understanding of plastics and, specifically, the harmful elements that come along with its convenience.

“I was very aware of the plastic leaching and all these things by the time I was having baby No. 2. I just wanted something that was going to be a healthier option, that was going to be lightweight, and it wasn’t going to be plastic and non-glass either. Traditionally the two methods of storing breastmilk are either plastic or glass. I needed something that would enable me to heat breastmilk up and could tolerate a safe, stable temperature,” said Ramsey.

https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2022/02/24/shark-tank-feature-breastmilk-storage-bags-west-lafayette-entrepreneur/6923372001/

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