Building Owlet: A Father’s Mission to Innovate Baby Monitoring
In 2015, Kurt Workman and his co-founders Zach Bomsta, Jordan Monroe, and Jacob Colvin launched Owlet, a wearable baby monitor that has since revolutionized infant care. From a modest start, the company skyrocketed to $20 million in revenue within its first year. Owlet’s journey reflects a unique blend of personal experience, technological innovation, and strategic pivots that have driven its success.
Workman, a father of three, was inspired to create Owlet from a deeply personal place. His wife had an undiagnosed congenital heart defect as a baby, which nearly claimed her life before corrective surgery saved her. Concerned about the health risks their own children might face, Workman questioned the limited tools available to parents at home—primarily video monitors and thermometers—that offered little insight into a baby’s vital signs.
Discovering the hospital technology of pulse oximetry, which measures heart rate and blood oxygen levels through light sensors, Workman envisioned a wearable device that could provide parents with real-time health data. This led to the creation of a smart sock for babies, an idea that resonated strongly with parents who had previously only had access to bulky hospital monitors. The product was designed to bridge the gap between hospital-grade monitoring and at-home care.
From Crowdfunding to Investor Backing
Owlet’s early days were marked by challenges typical of startups, including skepticism from investors due to the presence of competitors and the founders’ limited fundraising experience. To gain traction, the team launched a crowdfunding campaign, which, despite modest views, achieved a high conversion rate thanks to its focus on key biometric monitoring features.
Participation in the Techstars program in New York expanded Owlet’s network, leading to critical investments from figures like cardiologist Milena Adamian of Azimuth Ventures and John Frankel of ff Ventures, who brought expertise in medical devices and IoT hardware. These partnerships catalyzed Owlet’s growth, setting the stage for broader market entry.
Educating the Market and Scaling Sales
Initially, Owlet’s strategy to advertise through Google search ads failed because parents were already committed to traditional video monitors. The company pivoted to an education-first approach, leveraging public relations, influencer partnerships, and video content to introduce and explain biometric baby monitoring as a new product category.
Avoiding retail in the first year allowed Owlet to reinvest margins into building awareness, resulting in 50 million video views and substantial press coverage. This approach helped Owlet grow from zero to $20 million in revenue without retail partnerships or platforms like Amazon. Eventually, strong brand recognition enabled the company to enter retail with favorable shelf placement and margins, fueling rapid expansion.
Going Public and Navigating Regulatory Challenges
Owlet went public in 2021 during a busy IPO market, choosing this route over additional private funding due to an attractive valuation offer. However, shortly after the IPO, the company received an FDA warning letter regarding product classification. The FDA clarified that Owlet’s device was a regulated medical device rather than a wellness product, necessitating a temporary removal from the market and significant adjustments to labeling and features.
Owlet negotiated a return to market with modified features while pursuing full FDA clearance, a process that took approximately 18 months. During this period, sales declined by about 30%, reflecting the impact of regulatory uncertainty and market headwinds.
Securing FDA Clearance and Innovating for the Future
At the end of 2023, Owlet received FDA clearance, triggering an immediate doubling of sales. Despite a challenging stock market environment and lingering concerns from the FDA warning, Owlet focused on lean operations and profitability. The company identified marketing as its largest expense and made strategic cuts, discovering that a significant portion of web traffic was organic, reducing reliance on costly paid advertising.
Owlet’s vision now centers on bridging the gap between hospital care and the home environment. With over 2.5 million babies monitored, more than 21 trillion heartbeats tracked, and two billion hours of sleep data collected, the company has launched a subscription data platform and integrated telehealth services. Partnerships with hospitals and medical record integration further enhance real-time clinical support for families.
Owlet’s adoption rate is remarkable: nearly one in eight U.S. babies currently use the device, with expectations to reach one in five soon. This level of acceptance surpasses many other wearable technologies, highlighting Owlet’s role as a trusted leader in baby biometric monitoring.
This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Kurt Workman, co-founder and CEO of Owlet, the only over-the-counter, FDA-cleared wearable baby monitor. Workman and his co-founders met in college and launched Owlet in 2015, building it from $0 to $20 million in revenue in its first year. The company went public in 2021.
“I’m a dad of three. My oldest is 12, almost 13, and my youngest is seven. So this product really came from a dad’s perspective, not from an engineer’s or clinician’s. I studied chemical engineering, but it was the wrong kind of engineering for what I ended up doing with the rest of my life,” Workman shared.
Key Takeaways
- Workman and his co-founders launched wearable baby monitor Owlet in 2015.
- In 2021, the company went public — then received an FDA warning letter.
- Owlet got FDA clearance, focused on lean profitability and has monitored over 2.5 million infants.
Owlet’s story exemplifies how personal experience, technical expertise, and a commitment to safety can converge to create a product that genuinely improves lives. With its FDA clearance and expanding ecosystem, Owlet stands at the forefront of infant biometric monitoring, offering parents unprecedented peace of mind.
Learn more about Owlet’s inspiring journey and innovative approach Here.
