She created a six-figure business from a cardboard box – and now she’s coming for Starmer
Fewer than 20% of all active UK companies are led by women and female-led companies receive just 5.8% of all investments. In this series, we speak to women who are bossing their respective fields as they tell us how they’ve overcome challenges and how others can do the same.
This week, our Money live reporter Jess Sharp sits down with Sarah Simons, the co-founder and owner of British Baby Box…
The idea of putting a baby in a box was, at first, unthinkable for Sarah Simons, but after seeing the struggles facing families across the country, she decided it could help give children a safe start in life.
Nearly 10 years later, she has influenced the creation of a British standard for baby boxes, turned her company into a six-figure business and helped hundreds of thousands of expectant parents.
Put simply, a baby box is a cardboard box that can be used as a cost-effective, safe place for little ones to sleep in. They often come with essential supplies inside, like nappies, clothes and toiletries.
With the cost of living still proving difficult for many, it’s hoped they can be used universally to give every expectant parent the basics necessities for cheap – or nothing at all.
Now, Simons’ sights are set on Sir Keir Starmer as she pushes the government to give every parent a free baby box. It’s something the Scottish government has been doing since 2017.
“Keir Starmer, I’m coming for you and you need to be providing baby boxes – and I really mean that, that is my limit, and that’s one thing I will do,” the 52-year-old says.
“Our ultimate goal is to go to the British government and to say ‘why don’t you get your finger out’ and provide baby boxes universally.”
Simons and her co-founder Susan Purse met at a toddler group shortly after she had her second child.
Purse was fostering children, while Simons was taking a short break from her City job to be a full-time mother.
After seeing the pain of days-old babies being placed into the care system, the pair had a “lightbulb moment” that nobody was plugging a gap to give struggling families the things they needed to kickstart their children’s lives.
The idea was based on a concept already rolled out in Finland – and now Scotland – in which the government provided expectant mothers with a box for their baby to sleep in, along with other essential items.
They set out to create their own version of the box, and once they did that they pushed to create a British standard to ensure all baby boxes were safe – a four-and-a-half year journey that finally came to fruition in 2021.
Basing themselves in a local pub to start with, the pair created the British Baby Box, which is made of cardboard, recyclable, easily portable and waterproof, and a mattress to go with it.
Simons then started working with charities, councils and NHS trusts to supply the boxes, filled with clothes, toys and other essentials to new mums.
“We set up the company from scratch and we never had our own company before. I was literally pulling on people around me to help me set it up at minimal cost because we didn’t want to spend a lot of money,” she says.
“We did everything off a shoestring because I think that it just took me back to my roots.”
Growing up in a pub in Essex with an alcoholic step-dad made life tough for Simons, forcing her to leave home at 16 and fend for herself.
After getting a corporate job and scrimping and saving with her brother, the pair managed to buy a house – but when he died suddenly in a motorbike accident, Simons’ attitude shifted.
“Nobody was going to provide for me, so I just had to get on with it. It was a defining time in my life. I was just driven to succeed and told myself I need to make sure I look after myself,” she says.
She and Purse funded their business themselves, setting it up with just £5,000, and are still the sole owners.
In their first year they made £1,600 – and last year they made around £800,000.
But getting the British standard pushed through was one of their proudest moments. Simons says it meant “so much” because it proved their work and product was credible.
“There had never been a British standard for a baby box and I had so many people who would say to me ‘oh I’ll just go down to Tesco and get a box to put my baby in’ and I knew our product was a lot more than that,” she adds.
“We know we are making a difference.”
While Simons is navigating reaching the people in power, she has also been helping other women to climb the entrepreneurial tree.
Giving her advice for those thinking of taking the plunge and starting a business, she says research is key.
“Practically, it is all about doing your research and understanding the market before you bring a new product to it,” she explains.
“You need to slow down and not get carried away – find out where you are going to get your product from and who your customer base is before setting up your website.”
She says it’s important to remember to be passionate about your product and that nobody knows it better than you do.
Her last bit of advice: “Money doesn’t bring happiness, it just brings choices, and if you are just throwing money at your business, it doesn’t mean it will be a success.”
