Jessica Rolph (born 1974) is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is the CEO and co-founder of Lovevery, co-founder and former chief operating officer of Happy Family, and co-founder of the Climate Collaborative.
Jessica Rolph | |
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| Born | Jessica Alleman Thacher Crolick 1974 (age 49–50) Hennepin, Minnesota |
| Education | B.A., Cornell University M.A., Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur Businesswoman |
| Title | CEO, Lovevery former COO, Happy family |
| Children | 3 |
Early life and education
editRolph was born in 1974 in Minneapolis, the daughter of George Crolick and Sue (née Thatcher) Crolick.[1][2] She lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband Decker and their three children.[3]
Rolph earned a 1997 B.A. in anthropology at Cornell University and 2004 M.B.A. cum laude from the university's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.[4][5]
Career
editIn 2005, with Shazi Visram, Rolph was a founding partner of Happy Family, the leading organic baby food brand, and she served as its chief operating officer.[5][6] Happy Family was ranked the 68th-fastest-growing private company in America on the "Inc. 500" in 2011.[2][7] The Kellogg Foundation made a $4.6 million investment in the company in 2012.[8][9] The Danone Group purchased Happy Family from Visram and Rolph in 2013, with the Financial Times estimating its value at between $250 million and $300 million.[10]
Rolph co-founded Lovevery in 2015 with Roderick Morris,[11][12] focusing on age appropriate, educational developmental toys and play kits,[13] with the first product released in 2017.[14] The products are based on Rolph's initial research into infant brain development, the toys she made on her own, and input from child development experts.[15] In 2021, the company raised $100M in Series C funding and announced their expansion with the launch of the Lovevery mobile app.[14]
At both companies, Rolph has focused on sustainability, environmentalism, inclusion and equal access.[15]
Climate Collaborative
editRolph co-founded the Climate Collaborative, launched in March 2017, in partnership with Lara Dickinson, Nancy Hirshberg (sister of Gary Hirshberg), and Katherine DiMatteo of the Sustainable Food Trade Association (SFTA).[14][16][17] Stonyfield, Numi Organic Tea, Happy Family, Nature's Path Foods and other companies have joined the Collaborative's environmental efforts.[18]
Awards and honors
editRolph is a Park Leadership Fellow alumna,[5] and a 2013 Henry Crown Aspen Institute Fellow, as well as a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.[19]
In 2020, Rolph was listed as one of Entrepreneur magazine's 100 Powerful Women.[20] She and Morris were awarded Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Utah division in 2021.[21] Rolph was named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021, given to "a Cornellian who exemplifies entrepreneurial achievement, community service and high ethical standards."[22] She was also listed in 2021 as one of Inc.'s100 Female Founders.[23]
References
edit- ^ "Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ a b St. Anthony, Neal (December 31, 2011), "Happy Family Co-founder has Reason to Smile", Star Tribune
- ^ "Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019". www.ancestry.com. 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ Stein, Jenni (November 11, 2021), "The Quality Makers: Jessica Rolph of Lovevery", The Quality Edit
- ^ a b c Schatz, Robin D. (February 12, 2020), "Jessica Rolph's Journey from Cornell Student to MBA to Cofounder of Two Best-Selling Brands", Cornell Business Feed
- ^ Shah, Khushbu (May 8, 2016), "Thanks for Making Me a Fighter", Success
- ^ Cruz, Julie (May 13, 2020), "Danone Agrees to Buy U.S. Organic Baby-Food Maker Happy Family", Bloomberg
- ^ Khemka, Anuja (September 17, 2020), "Lovevery's Founders Show Us How To Thrive, In Business And As Individuals, In The Pandemic", Forbes
- ^ Royle, Orianna Rosa, "How We Recovered After Our First Product Was "A Total Flop"", Management Today
- ^ "Happy Family thrives in Boise". The Idaho Statesman. December 13, 2013. pp. Main1. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ Cox, John (October 23, 2021), "Two CEOs Blaze Separate Trails to the Top", Idaho Press
- ^ Daly, Anna (June 30, 2020), "Boise Startup Grows with Line of Toys and Products for Babies and Toddlers", BoiseDev
- ^ "CEO of Lovevery Talks About Children and Screens During Coronavirus", WFXR, July 28, 2020
- ^ a b c Driebusch, Corrie (October 28, 2021), "Trendy Baby-Toy Maker Lovevery Gets $800 Million Valuation", The Wall Street Journal
- ^ a b Bennett, Amy (September 1, 2021), "The Multi-Million Dollar Child Development Company Shaping the Minds of the Next Generation", Real Leaders
- ^ Edelman, Amelia (July 13, 2020), "Lovevery's Jessica Rolph Shares Her Parenting Essentials, Including Emu Lotion & Death Books", SheKnows
- ^ "Climate Collaborative Management Board", Climate Collaborative
- ^ "Call4ClimateNow", Call 4 Climate Now
- ^ "User Profile". AGLN - Aspen Global Leadership Network. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ "How 8 Founders are Preparing for Continued Economic Uncertainty", Entrepreneur, October 6, 2020
- ^ "EY Announces Winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Utah Region Award", Ernst & Young, July 30, 2021
- ^ Hovis, Kathy (January 12, 2021), "Lovevery Co-Founder Named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year", Cornell Chronicle
- ^ "Jessica Rolph, Lovevery, For giving parents better kids' toys--right when they needed them most". Inc. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
External links
edit- Eclectic Convergence 2021: A Fireside Chat with Jessica Rolph '97, '04 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year on YouTube (Video, 38:43 minutes)