A Coquitlam woman who successfully took on the fearsome Dragons' Den panel in 2011 will be back on the airwaves next week for an update about the success of her product, Easy Daysies.
Elaine Comeau launched the magnetic schedules for kids from her kitchen table in 2008 and saw the business grow quickly through word of mouth. It was at a Toronto trade show that a retailer suggested Comeau appeal to the Dragons for help, and with her kitchen overtaken with products and shipping materials Comeau took the leap.
"I was extremely nervous," Comeau said of the day she entered the studio with her husband and three children.
But the Dragons were both impressed and delighted by Comeau's pitch (it's listed in the show's Top 10 most heartwarming pitches) and fell into a rare bidding war for a piece of Easy Daysies.
A former elementary school teacher, Comeau was inspired to create Easy Daysies after making similar visual schedules for parents for nearly a decade. She had a hunch that the parents' demand must mean there was a market for the product — and she was right.
"Children intrinsically want to know what's happening next," Comeau said, and having a visual schedule allows even preschool-aged children to prepare for the upcoming transition to the next activity with less stress, less anxiety, fewer tantrums and a lot more co-operation.
The process of moving each magnet from the "To Do" list over to the "Done" side gives children the same gratifying lift that adults feel when we cross items off our task lists. Kids learn the confidence-boosting rewards of accomplishing their responsibilities, as opposed to being bribed with a candy or toy to complete a task.
"My goal is to make kids love learning," Comeau said. "It's teaching children a life skill."
Easy Daysies schedules are designed to hold only up to about six to eight task magnets — any more would be too overwhelming for most children, Comeau said.
The light blue colour of the magnets was chosen after Comeau researched scientific studies showing it was the most calming colour for youngsters.
And while the starter kit includes most of the magnets a family would need, covering everything from morning routines to setting the dinner table, add-on kits are available for help with potty training, after-school sports and and other activities.
Comeau is also about to launch additional kits for school-aged children and adults, particularly those with dementia, special needs or brain injuries (the magnets include things like "Take Medication," "Water Plants," "Shopping" and "Appointments").
Shortly after its launch, Easy Daysies was named the #1 Must-Have for back-to-school in Parents Magazine (among many other awards) and soon it was being sold in stores across Canada and in the U.S.
The winning investment from Dragons Kevin O'Leary and Jim Treliving meant Comeau was able to move the packaging and distribution to a specialized company, and it's also allowed Comeau to make good on her goal of having Easy Daysies licensed by another company for manufacturing.
But how has Comeau weathered the transition from the world of lesson-planning, grading and classroom corralling to a successful entrepreneur grappling with manufacturing and distribution concerns, product placement and retail relationships?
Comeau credits the support her husband, Ron Comeau, a photographer who learned website design to build the Easy Daysies site, and said despite a few ups and downs over the past several years, it all comes down to staying honest and authentic — even if it means cancelling a long-awaited introductory call with Staples because it conflicted with her son's Grade 1 concert.
And it's the feedback from parents that means the world to her.
"What keeps me going is the emails, from a mom of three kids with autism under the age of seven who said, 'I am so thankful, I don't have to talk, talk, talk,'" Comeau said through tears, and from the foster parents who said Easy Daysies brought a new sense of calm to their household, and from the mother of a non-verbal child who uses the magnets as her words.
"It's a lot of work and a lot of learning as we go," Comeau said, adding with a laugh, "And I haven't slept in about five years."
• The latest update on Easy Daysies airs on CBC's Dragons' Den on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. Visit www.cbc.ca/dragonsden or www.easydaysies.com for more info.
