"Know that you are going to make mistakes, and that’s okay" with Leeanna Gantt
/
Leeanna Gantt is the inventor and patent owner of tooktake dosage reminder labels. Tooktake is a woman and mom-owned business located in Pasadena, CA. In addition to manufacturing tooktake, Leeanna is committed to helping others get well and stay well and offering information and support for lifestyle practices that support mental and physical well-being. You can read more about tooktake at www.tooktake.com or follow tooktake on Instagram @tooktake or Facebook @hellotooktake.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
Prior to starting tooktake I was co-owner of a design studio with my husband that focused on branding and design for nonprofits and small businesses. Before that, I was the executive director of a 501c3 charity, Rainbow Pack, which provided backpacks full of homework supplies to economically disadvantaged elementary school students in The Los Angeles Unified School District. Going back a bit further, I created the award-winning community art and craft studio, Tinker, which brought people together to create and make in an inspiring and judgment-free space. All of this was preceded by a celebrated career as a creative director at several notable advertising agencies where I produced award-winning work for clients such as Lexus, Wells Fargo, Acura, Yonex Tennis, and Hartford Insurance. Above all, I am most proud of being a mom to Riley, a student at Wellesley College, and wife to Brad, a designer and meditation teacher.
What inspired you to start your business?
My inspiration came from my breast cancer treatment in 2018. I was stuck in bed for 6 months, miserable and stubborn. I told my family I could do things myself, but I couldn’t. I would take one of my many medications only to forget when I took it. So I made labels to help keep track of everything. When I started to feel better, I searched for something that was similar to what I was making, but there was NOTHING close to my simple system.
That’s when I knew I needed to make tooktake available for everyone.
Medication non-adherence means you’re not taking your medication as directed and it affects 2/3 of the people who take medication worldwide. The main reason is that people just forget. When people aren’t sure they tend to not take it to avoid overdosing. But under-dosing is also dangerous.
Tooktake solves this problem by letting you know at a glance if you took or still need to take your medication!
It is simple, affordable, and easy to use — best of all, tooktake is designed for a market that has largely been ignored.
Most reminder systems are designed for elderly people who take a lot of medications. But what about the rest of us who need to take medication, but don’t want “a grandma-looking pillbox”? Doctors and pharmacists recommend that you keep your medications, whether OTC or prescription, in their original child-safe packaging with all the warnings and directions. Tooktake is one of the only systems on the market that allows you to do that while still tracking and reminding you of proper dosing.
Where is your business based?
We are based in Pasadena, California.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
Tooktake really started during my chemo treatment when I started making DIY reminders for my medications. Then over the course of the year of treatment, I would change and refine things as different needs or problems arose. By the end of the year, I had a pretty tight prototype to start with.
The first step I took after designing the labels was to speak with a patent attorney who was recommended to me by a good friend. I knew that I wanted to try to bring tooktake to market, but I also wanted to protect my idea. It was important to get advice right from the beginning to try to minimize any mistakes I might make during that process.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
So far word of mouth has been my best advertising for tooktake. When people try tooktake, they really seem to like it a lot and want to tell their friends and family about it, which is great! They share and post on social media and forward our emails to their friends, family, and coworkers.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge so far has probably been trying to stay patient. I had heard all the stories about products that were a HUGE success overnight and I wanted to be one of them! But now that I have read more about a lot of the companies that I have been really inspired by, it turns out that it took 4-8 YEARS for them to be an “overnight” success. So, I am working as hard as I can to maximize tooktake’s potential, it just might take a bit longer than I expected.
How do you stay focused?
Hahaha if you asked the people around me, especially my mentor, they might say I don’t stay focused. BUT, I am getting much better at it than I used to be! I recently set up all of tooktake’s projects and to-do lists on Basecamp. That has helped a lot! Now there is one place where everything lives and I can share the information and tasks with my team when I need to. Before we started using Basecamp everything was handled by email or text and things were frequently getting lost and falling through the cracks. This has also given me a way to keep everything in a place where anyone who needs to can find it. I had been keeping most information in my head or on random lists on my desk, but then even when I needed help or wanted to delegate, I couldn’t. Now I can and it’s wonderful!
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
Standing out from the competition has been one area that’s been pretty easy for tooktake since there isn’t anything else like tooktake out there. There are other medication reminder systems, but none of them work on all forms of medication, like tooktake. With tooktake, I also want to educate and inform people about the many reasons why people take the medication with the goal of helping to end pill and medication shaming, which is a real issue for many people. The more people share what they are taking and how it helps them get or stay well, the more their friends and family can support them in their goal.
Right now, even if you just look at mental health issues in the US, there is a huge problem with how society makes people who seek-out help feel about doing so. And if it turns out they need medication to feel better, they are treated as though there is something “wrong” with them. I don’t think it should be that way. If someone needs a cast for a broken arm, people don’t tell them not to listen to the doctor or to just suck it up or try yoga. I think that medication should be treated the same way. If a doctor says you need it to get or stay well, your friends and family should be supportive. With tooktake labels, it can be out in the open. Everyone can see what you’re taking to stay healthy and with a glance know if you took or still need to take it.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
My most effective marketing strategy so far has been to give tooktake to people who seem to need it. The main reason I started tooktake is that I believe that I can help people. So, I started there. I went on Instagram and (virtually) got to know people in the breast cancer community. Then as I followed their posts and learned more about them, if they happened to mention that they had trouble remembering their meds or that they knew someone who did, I would message them and ask them if they wanted to give tooktake a try to see if it would help them. Usually they said yes, and they would like tooktake so much they would post about it on their own social media channels and then order more on their own.
I have found that while people like me and my story when someone else writes about how tooktake has helped them it gets a much better response.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
My best piece of advice would be to know that you are going to make mistakes, and that’s okay. In fact, mistakes are opportunities to learn, grow, and get better. Unless you have already had several businesses that are similar to what you are going to be doing, I don’t think it’s possible to not make mistakes. The trick is to try not to make any that are so big that you can’t overcome them.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
At the moment Basecamp is my favorite app because I finally feel like I am organized in a way that makes sense to everyone, not just me.
Favorite book is a tough one! I have so many that I have been inspired by that I don’t really have one favorite. I tend to pick bits and pieces out of different books to learn from. I think the first book I read that made me believe that I could and should really do something was probably, Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie. He dedicates a lot of space in the book to all the mistakes he made, and that really took a lot of the fear and mystery out of how to start something for me.
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
In 2020 I enrolled in a business incubator program for female founders. It was such a great learning experience! When I started I really didn’t know exactly what I was going to get out of it, and honestly, right after I signed up and paid for it I had HUGE buyer’s remorse. But luckily I didn’t let my fears or imposter syndrome get in my way of doing the program. I learned how to build a pitch deck to pitch to angel investors. The best part of doing that was that in order to put the deck together I really had to take my business apart, ask myself some tough questions, and refine my goals for the business. I also got an AMAZING mentor that has stayed on with me as an advisor. There are tons of different programs, incubators, and accelerators out there and they all have different themes, specialties, and energies. But if you can find one that seems to speak to you, give it a try. Especially if you are a bit scared by it.
Who is your business role model? Why?
I love Sara Blakely. I’ve never actually met her, but I have watched and read many interviews with her and follow her on all social media platforms. I just love how honest she is about the fact that it’s not easy. Business, like the rest of life, has its good parts and its bad parts and lots of parts in between and sometimes you just have to get through the day. I am also very inspired by how she supports other female founders. I hope to be able to do that too sometime soon.
How do you balance work and life?
How do I balance work and life? I’d have to say that I probably don’t. Right now, if you look at each day on its own, it’s probably more work than anything else. But, if you looked at the average over the year, it might be a little closer to balanced. I am lucky that my daughter is in college now so I don’t have the added pressure of a toddler or several kids at home needing my attention 24/7. When I had a business when my daughter was younger it was much, much harder. I made sure she came first, and I ended up running myself a bit ragged. I learned a lot from that, so I don’t think I will repeat it.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
It’s changed during the pandemic since our options are more limited. Los Angeles has been mostly closed-down since March, so just going for a walk and spending time outside is a really nice way to decompress. I also enjoy reading and watching movies with my family.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
It’s a new year and I am very excited about that! I know COVID is still here with us, but I am optimistic that things are going to get much better over the next 6 months. So I am planning on getting tooktake in the hands of people it will help and working towards placing tooktake on every pharmacy counter in the US so that everyone can have some support to take their medication and supplements as directed so they can all get and stay well!
How can our readers connect with you?
To connect with me, they can look me up on LinkedIn or follow me on @tooktake on Instagram or @hellotooktake on Facebook and Twitter. If they want to email me they can write to lee@hellotooktake.com To learn more about tooktake go to www.tooktake.com