Teamwork at the Pasadena SBDC provided this company with the right tools for success!

Tooktake is a company founded by Leeanna Gantt and located in Pasadena, California.  Leeanna developed a better system for dispensing medication dosages. During her treatment for breast cancer, she realized that there was a hole in the market for vitamin and medication tracking systems. Most were designed with the elderly in mind, not for young busy people who did not want to count pills or needed options for tracking liquids. In response, Leeanna invented a simple tracking system with dosage reminder labels that can be applied directly to the original bottle. This eliminated the need to transfer the medication to other containers and allowed the system to be used with liquids.

In August of 2021 Leanna approached the Pasadena SBDC asking for assistance with the WOSB certification. She was denied based on missing documents and needed assistance to revise her application. During the introductory call to the PCC SBDC center Annie Wong, the Administrator informed Leeanna of the other services offered. Leeanna then shared her plans to scale her business. In response Annie connected her with Andrew Cohen and Lori Williams, both senior advisors with the center. This team combined their expertise to assist Leeanna with the WOSB application and a business plan.   

Solutions

Over the next several months Leeanna’s online sales continued to grow through Amazon and her website. She was also in the process of getting her product on the shelves in CVS and Walmart. Leeanna understood the importance of profit margins right from the start. Now that she was beginning to sell into retail stores, she wanted to make sure she had her numbers correct. She reached out to Lori Williams to her understand the company’s financial numbers. 

Lori developed a customized spreadsheet that included the selling price and cost to produce for the different sales channels. This was key information to monitor, as each channel had a different set of cost drivers due to changes in packaging, shipping cost, and distribution fees. This spreadsheet allowed her to monitor profit margins within these difference scenarios. Lori taught Leeanna how to analyze financial data through the eyes of a CFO.

Results

As of June of 2022 the Tooktake product line can be found at with CVS, Walmart, Cardinal Health, HSN and City of Hope. As a result, Leeanna’s sales are expected to be close to 1 million by the end of 2022. Unbelievable explosive growth from sales around $150,000 in 2021!

When asked about Leeanna’s success Lori commented, “I was very impressed with her “common sense” approach to the business and the financials. She was making sound business decisions from outsourcing the manufacturing to establishing selling prices and choosing distribution partners. She was just missing some basic business knowledge and financial analysis tools.” The SBDC provided her with the information and resources she needed to turn this company into a great success.