Social Consciousness, Sustainable Product
Apr 24, 2013
What does it take to make a person care about sustainability? For Heather McDougall ’06 and her brother, John, it might start with a toothbrush.
Heather McDougall is co-founder and CEO of Bogobrush, a startup that makes biodegradable, ergonomic, environmentally friendly toothbrushes with a buy one, give one business model.
Bogobrush is made with a bamboo handle and nylon bristles. When the brush is ready to be replaced, it can be buried in your backyard and will biodegrade.
The buy one, give one model isn’t new. The goal, McDougall says, is to give a Bogobrush back to the community in which one is purchased. The company has partnered with dental offices and health care centers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., Detroit, Atlanta and Fargo, N.D., to give brushes to people who need them.
“When you have good things, you feel better about yourself,” McDougall says. “We feel like we’re helping in a small way to create confidence.”
McDougall, who majored in political science and communication before going to law school, says she certainly faces challenges as a CEO and a young entrepreneur. She has learned the importance of balance, trying to maintain a strong, high-level strategic vision while simultaneously completing tasks at the micro level. She’s responsible for networking, sharing the Bogobrush story, finding collaborators and executing some huge ideas they have for the product over the next few years.
In the last several months, Bogobrush has received national and international media coverage. The product has been featured on many websites and in publications, including Real Simple, Organic Spa, The Huffington Post, designboom and celebrity Heidi Klum's blog.
“Bogobrush is very much a collaboration,” she says. “It’s more of a tool to create community and promote sustainability than it is about a toothbrush.”
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