Our Story

Karen Tebbs, Co-founder

Sue Ellen Call, Co-founder

"I’d had it with spilled milk, juice, water, smoothies, soda…you name it. My kids and grandkids have spilled it. They’ve spilled it in the car, on the couch, carpet, DVR, clothes, electronic devises, chairs!

I felt bad for my 8 kids, grandkids, and I felt worst for me! I tried every sippy cup I could find. I tried bendable straws, small cups, everything. Some worked better than others but nothing seemed to eliminate the spills and clean up.

There are 23 adorable students in my preschool, I love them like my own! As cute and sweet as they are, their motor skills are not fully developed which means they make lots of messes. Cleaning up messes means less time with the kids. But if I don’t clean up what does that teach my students? (Pic of SE and preschool students?)

I needed a solution.

Sippy cups were a good solution for starters…until they weren’t!

They’re difficult to clean, they’re bulky, and my biggest pet peeve is the different parts to a sippy cup. Each cup has different sized parts that don’t fit universally! (You know what I mean don’t you.) I’d find different pieces in the dishwasher but the pieces I’d find didn’t fit the sippy cup I was trying to use, ugh!

Sippy cups are also bulky, don’t always fit in cup holders, and are difficult to clean especially that little piece that fits under the lid.

There must be a better way.

When I complained to my husband he would smile and say, “it’s just part of parenting.”

Until one day, while playing Mr. Mom, he experienced it and changed his tune. After spending 30 minutes fiddling around with different sippy cup parts he finally was able to put the sippy cup puzzle together. I had to laugh when a month later he found a moldy sippy cup in his car. When he opened it he about died and quickly threw it away! I couldn’t believe it, that was one of the few sippy cups we had with all the parts!

Then I was talking to my friend Karen and she was going through the same frustration with the sippy cup dilemma and the messes – spill, clean-up, repeat – all day every day.

Karen’s boiling point came when she was caught in a snowy whiteout with her 18-month old granddaughter, Hannah. They were crawling along the highway and Hannah had finished her sippy cup and began screaming. Karen couldn’t stop the car, so she handed Hannah a water bottle, she took one sip and spilled it all over herself! The screaming became worse and Karen could hardly handle it!

A few months later, Karen was doing her taxes when her other granddaughter, Leah, reached across the table, grabbed the bottle and spilled it all over Karen’s taxes! In frustration, she thought to herself, “what can be done about this?”

The three of us agreed. We’re not the only ones who deal with this every day, there must be something out there that is easy to use and prevents spills!

So, we went to work! We each spent the next four-weeks looking for a solution online and in stores. We ended up ordering over three dozen different products, each said they had the solution. But, surprise, surprise, nothing worked as advertised or as well as we needed.

We decided we had to solve this need the right way. We’ve spent the last 18 months researching, designing, engineering, prototyping, and testing different solutions. Finally, we have the answer that works for both kids and parents."