Jessica Rolph

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.

Jessica Rolph
Born
Jessica Alleman Thacher Crolick

1974 (age 47–48)
Hennepin, Minnesota
EducationB.A., Cornell University
M.A., Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell
OccupationEntrepreneur
Businesswoman
TitleCEO, Lovevery
former COO, Happy family
Children3

Early life and education

Rolph was born in 1974 in Minneapolis, the daughter of George Crolick and Sue (née Thatcher) Crolick.[1][2] She lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband Decker and their three children.[3]

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.[4][5]

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.[5][6] Happy Family was ranked the 68th-fastest-growing private company in America on the "Inc. 500" in 2011.[2][7] The Kellogg Foundation made a $4.6 million investment in the company in 2012.[8][9] The Danone Group purchased Happy Family from Visrah and Rolph in 2013, with the Financial Times estimating its value at between $250 million and $300 million.[10]

Rolph co-founded Lovevery in 2015 with Roderick Morris,[11][12] focusing on age appropriate, educational developmental toys and play kits,[13][14] with the first product released in 2017.[15] 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.[16] In 2021, the company raised $100M in Series C funding and announced their expansion with the launch of the Lovevery mobile app.[15]

At both companies, Rolph has focused on sustainability, environmentalism, inclusion and equal access.[16]

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).[15][17][18] Stonyfield, Numi Organic Tea, Happy Family, Nature's Path Foods and other companies have joined the Collaborative's environmental efforts.[19]

Awards and honors

Rolph is a Park Leadership Fellow alumna,[5] and a 2013 Henry Crown Aspen Institute Fellow, as well as a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.[20]

In 2020, Rolph was listed as one of Entrepreneur magazine's 100 Powerful Women.[21] She and Morris were awarded Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Utah division in 2021.[22] Rolph was named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021, given to "a Cornellian who exemplifies entrepreneurial achievement, community service and high ethical standards."[23] She was also listed in 2021 as one of Inc.'s100 Female Founders.[24]

References
  1. "Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  2. St. Anthony, Neal (December 31, 2011), "Happy Family Co-founder has Reason to Smile", Star Tribune
  3. "Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019". www.ancestry.com. 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  4. Stein, Jenni (November 11, 2021), "The Quality Makers: Jessica Rolph of Lovevery", The Quality Edit
  5. Schatz, Robin D. (February 12, 2020), "Jessica Rolph's Journey from Cornell Student to MBA to Cofounder of Two Best-Selling Brands", Cornell Business Feed
  6. Shah, Khushbu (May 8, 2016), "Thanks for Making Me a Fighter", Success
  7. Cruz, Julie (May 13, 2020), "Danone Agrees to Buy U.S. Organic Baby-Food Maker Happy Family", Bloomberg
  8. Khemka, Anuja (September 17, 2020), "Lovevery's Founders Show Us How To Thrive, In Business And As Individuals, In The Pandemic", Forbes
  9. Royle, Orianna Rosa, "How We Recovered After Our First Product Was "A Total Flop"", Management Today
  10. "Happy Family thrives in Boise". The Idaho Statesman. December 13, 2013. pp. Main1. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  11. Cox, John (October 23, 2021), "Two CEOs Blaze Separate Trails to the Top", Idaho Press
  12. Daly, Anna (June 30, 2020), "Boise Startup Grows with Line of Toys and Products for Babies and Toddlers", BoiseDev
  13. "CEO of Lovevery Talks About Children and Screens During Coronavirus", WFXR, July 28, 2020
  14. Leigh, Dana (September 23, 2021), "Meet Jessica Rolph, Co-Founder and CEO at Early Learning Toy Company: Lovevery", TechRound
  15. Driebusch, Corrie (October 28, 2021), "Trendy Baby-Toy Maker Lovevery Gets $800 Million Valuation", The Wall Street Journal
  16. Bennett, Amy (September 1, 2021), "The Multi-Million Dollar Child Development Company Shaping the Minds of the Next Generation", Real Leaders
  17. Edelman, Amelia (July 13, 2020), "Lovevery's Jessica Rolph Shares Her Parenting Essentials, Including Emu Lotion & Death Books", SheKnows
  18. "Climate Collaborative Management Board", Climate Collaborative
  19. "Call4ClimateNow", Call 4 Climate Now
  20. "User Profile". AGLN - Aspen Global Leadership Network. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  21. "How 8 Founders are Preparing for Continued Economic Uncertainty", Entrepreneur, October 6, 2020
  22. "EY Announces Winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Utah Region Award", Ernst & Young, July 30, 2021
  23. Hovis, Kathy (January 12, 2021), "Lovevery Co-Founder Named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year", Cornell Chronicle
  24. "Jessica Rolph, Lovevery, For giving parents better kids' toys--right when they needed them most". Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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