Jan. 17, 2026

Designing a Business Around Real Human Needs

Designing a Business Around Real Human Needs

In today’s episode, I talk with Fran Maier about building BabyQuip into a trusted marketplace, empowering women entrepreneurs, and creating a business that succeeds by solving real problems for families.

In today’s episode, I sit down with Fran Maier, a serial entrepreneur with three decades of experience and the founder and CEO of BabyQuip. After helping scale Match.com as its first general manager and co founder, Fran turned her attention to a new marketplace built around trust, safety, and real family needs. We talk about how BabyQuip grew from a simple vacation rental problem into a national platform, why empowering women operators matters, and how strong training drives five star experiences. Fran also shares lessons on perseverance, brand building, seasonality, and why customer love and a 90 net promoter score can define long term success.