Jessica Rolph
{{short description|American entrepreneur and businesswoman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|image = Jessica Rolph (cropped).jpg
| name = Jessica Rolph
| birth_name = Jessica Alleman Thacher Crolick
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1974}}
| birth_place = Hennepin, Minnesota
| education = B.A., Cornell University
M.A., Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell
| occupation = Entrepreneur
Businesswoman
| title = CEO, Lovevery
former COO, Happy family
| children = 3
}}
Jessica Rolph (born 1974) is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is the CEO and co-founder of Lovevery, co-founder and former chief operating officer of Happy Family, and co-founder of the Climate Collaborative.
Early life and education
Rolph was born in 1974 in Minneapolis, the daughter of George Crolick and Sue (née Thatcher) Crolick.{{Cite web |title=Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000 |url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8258642:8742 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=www.ancestry.com}}{{Citation |last=St. Anthony |first=Neal |title=Happy Family Co-founder has Reason to Smile |date=December 31, 2011 |url=https://www.startribune.com/happy-family-co-founder-has-reason-to-smile/136445433/#:~:text=Jessica%20Rolph%2C%20a%20Minneapolis%20native,happy%20woman%20this%20holiday%20season |website=Star Tribune}} She lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband Decker and their three children.{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 |url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/90980173:70873 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=www.ancestry.com}}
Rolph earned a 1997 B.A. in anthropology at Cornell University and 2004 M.B.A. cum laude from the university's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.{{Citation |last=Stein |first=Jenni |title=The Quality Makers: Jessica Rolph of Lovevery |date=November 11, 2021 |url=https://www.thequalityedit.com/articles/jessica-rolph-lovevery-interview |website=The Quality Edit}}{{Citation |last=Schatz |first=Robin D. |title=Jessica Rolph's Journey from Cornell Student to MBA to Cofounder of Two Best-Selling Brands |date=February 12, 2020 |url=https://business.cornell.edu/hub/2020/02/12/jessica-rolph-mba-cofounder-best-selling-brands/ |website=Cornell Business Feed}}
Career
In 2005, with Shazi Visram, Rolph was a founding partner of Happy Family, the leading organic baby food brand, and she served as its chief operating officer.{{Citation |last=Shah |first=Khushbu |title=Thanks for Making Me a Fighter |date=May 8, 2016 |url=https://www.success.com/thanks-for-making-me-a-fighter/ |website=Success}} Happy Family was ranked the 68th-fastest-growing private company in America on the "Inc. 500" in 2011.{{Citation |last=Cruz |first=Julie |title=Danone Agrees to Buy U.S. Organic Baby-Food Maker Happy Family |date=May 13, 2020 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-05-13/danone-agrees-to-buy-u-s-organic-baby-food-maker-happy-family |website=Bloomberg}} The Kellogg Foundation made a $4.6 million investment in the company in 2012.{{Citation |last=Khemka |first=Anuja |title=Lovevery's Founders Show Us How To Thrive, In Business And As Individuals, In The Pandemic |date=September 17, 2020 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/anujakhemka/2020/09/17/loveverys-founders-show-us-how-to-thrive-in-business-and-as-individuals-in-the-pandemic/?sh=29712f150d81 |website=Forbes}}{{Citation |last=Royle |first=Orianna Rosa |title=How We Recovered After Our First Product Was "A Total Flop" |url=https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/recovered-first-product-a-total-flop/women-in-business/article/1727085 |website=Management Today}} The Danone Group purchased Happy Family from Visram and Rolph in 2013, with the Financial Times estimating its value at between $250 million and $300 million.{{Cite news |date=2013-12-13 |title=Happy Family thrives in Boise |pages=Main1 |work=The Idaho Statesman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98124925/happy-family-thrives-in-boise/ |access-date=2022-03-22}}
Rolph co-founded Lovevery in 2015 with Roderick Morris,{{Citation |last=Cox |first=John |title=Two CEOs Blaze Separate Trails to the Top |date=October 23, 2021 |url=https://www.idahopress.com/townnews/commerce/two-ceos-blaze-separate-trails-to-the-top/article_682398e4-929a-55f3-935e-c5ac43e1f852.html |website=Idaho Press}}{{Citation |last=Daly |first=Anna |title=Boise Startup Grows with Line of Toys and Products for Babies and Toddlers |date=June 30, 2020 |url=https://boisedev.com/news/2020/06/29/boise-toy/ |website=BoiseDev}} focusing on age appropriate, educational developmental toys and play kits,{{Citation |title=CEO of Lovevery Talks About Children and Screens During Coronavirus |date=July 28, 2020 |url=https://www.wfxrtv.com/living-local/ceo-of-lovevery-talks-about-children-and-screens-during-coronavirus/ |website=WFXR}} with the first product released in 2017.{{Citation |last=Driebusch |first=Corrie |title=Trendy Baby-Toy Maker Lovevery Gets $800 Million Valuation |date=October 28, 2021 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trendy-baby-toy-maker-lovevery-gets-800-million-valuation-11635418802?mod=Searchresults_pos2&page=1 |website=The Wall Street Journal}} The products are based on Rolph's initial research into infant brain development, the toys she made on her own, and input from child development experts.{{Citation |last=Bennett |first=Amy |title=The Multi-Million Dollar Child Development Company Shaping the Minds of the Next Generation |date=September 1, 2021 |url=https://real-leaders.com/the-multi-million-dollar-child-development-company-shaping-the-minds-of-the-next-generation/ |website=Real Leaders}} In 2021, the company raised $100M in Series C funding and announced their expansion with the launch of the Lovevery mobile app.
At both companies, Rolph has focused on sustainability, environmentalism, inclusion and equal access.
Climate Collaborative
Rolph co-founded the Climate Collaborative, launched in March 2017, in partnership with Lara Dickinson, Nancy Hirshberg (sister of Gary Hirshberg), and Katherine DiMatteo of the Sustainable Food Trade Association (SFTA).{{Citation |last=Edelman |first=Amelia |title=Lovevery's Jessica Rolph Shares Her Parenting Essentials, Including Emu Lotion & Death Books |date=July 13, 2020 |url=https://www.sheknows.com/feature/lovevery-jessica-rolph-mom-essentials-2286598/ |website=SheKnows}}{{Citation |title=Climate Collaborative Management Board |url=https://www.climatecollaborative.com/jessica_rolph |website=Climate Collaborative}} Stonyfield, Numi Organic Tea, Happy Family, Nature's Path Foods and other companies have joined the Collaborative's environmental efforts.{{Citation |title=Call4ClimateNow |url=https://www.call4climatenow.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820203553/https://www.call4climatenow.com/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 20, 2021 |website=Call 4 Climate Now}}
Awards and honors
Rolph is a Park Leadership Fellow alumna, and a 2013 Henry Crown Aspen Institute Fellow, as well as a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.{{Cite web |title=User Profile |url=https://agln.aspeninstitute.org/profile/3567?_ga=2.28022076.1653480065.1647897875-2097297331.1647897875 |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=AGLN - Aspen Global Leadership Network |language=en}}
In 2020, Rolph was listed as one of Entrepreneur magazine's 100 Powerful Women.{{Citation |title=How 8 Founders are Preparing for Continued Economic Uncertainty |date=October 6, 2020 |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/356964 |website=Entrepreneur}} She and Morris were awarded Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Utah division in 2021.{{Citation |title=EY Announces Winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Utah Region Award |date=July 30, 2021 |url=https://www.ey.com/en_us/news/2021/07/ey-announces-winners-for-the-eoy-2021-utah-region-award |website=Ernst & Young}} Rolph was named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021, given to "a Cornellian who exemplifies entrepreneurial achievement, community service and high ethical standards."{{Citation |last=Hovis |first=Kathy |title=Lovevery Co-Founder Named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year |date=January 12, 2021 |url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/01/lovevery-co-founder-named-cornell-entrepreneur-year |website=Cornell Chronicle}} She was also listed in 2021 as one of Inc.'s100 Female Founders.{{Cite magazine|title=Jessica Rolph, Lovevery, For giving parents better kids' toys--right when they needed them most. |url=https://www.inc.com/profile/jessica-rolph |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317225154/https://www.inc.com/profile/ximena-hartsock |archive-date=March 17, 2022 |access-date=March 20, 2022|website=Inc.}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|id=UhJhbWFP0AY|title=Eclectic Convergence 2021: A Fireside Chat with Jessica Rolph '97, '04 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year}} (Video, 38:43 minutes)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolph, Jessica}}
Category:American chief executives of food industry companies
Category:American chief operating officers
Category:American food company founders
Category:American toy industry businesspeople
Category:American women business executives
Category:American women chief executives