Laura Modi

Founder & CEO at Bobbie

Laura Modi is the founder and CEO of Bobbie, the first female-founded organic infant formula company in the US, and former Director of Hospitality at Airbnb.

The Org Builder The Operator

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 80%

Execution & Craft 70%

Data & Experimentation 30%

Growth & Distribution 60%

Team & Leadership 85%

User Empathy & Research 90%

Key Themes

founder-led brand building customer-first crisis management disrupting legacy industries culture as competitive advantage storytelling and vision alignment risk-taking and conviction

Episode Summary

Laura Modi shares the story of founding Bobbie, an organic infant formula company disrupting a 40-year-old duopoly, and the gut-wrenching decision to shut down her website during the formula shortage to protect existing customers. She draws on lessons from Airbnb about culture-building, storytelling, and putting users first.

Leadership Principles

→ Put existing customers first, even if it means turning off growth
→ Personal connections within teams are imperative for building a lasting business
→ You can't take a big leap without first taking a major risk

Notable Quotes

"We need to turn off our site and stop growing the business."
— Her head of growth's recommendation during the formula shortage crisis to protect existing subscribers

"I feel like we have failed to breastfeed. And the alternative is that I need to give her a medical solution to survive, which it's milk."
— Describing the personal experience that led her to found Bobbie and challenge the stigma around formula

"Energy at Airbnb was the currency. Unless you had that energy, nothing was happening."
— Reflecting on what she learned about culture-building at Airbnb and brought to Bobbie

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