Mandy Haberman is the kind of entrepreneur every woman in business can learn from: inventive, grounded and fiercely protective of her ideas. Her ventures began with a practical problem. Her third child, Emily, was born with Stickler syndrome, a genetic condition that often causes feeding difficulties. When conventional medical devices failed, Haberman decided to design her own solution.

Stickler syndrome can include a cleft palate and a tongue that is too large for an underdeveloped lower jaw, making sucking almost impossible for babies. “Emily had terrible problems with feeding and ended up being fed with a nasogastric tube,” Haberman recalls. “It was hell. She was failing to grow and at one stage the hospital said she wasn’t going to survive.”

After Emily was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital, her condition improved. Although she still could not feed orally, Haberman noticed that Emily enjoyed sucking on a rubber dummy. Using a syringe to deliver milk into the corner of her baby’s mouth while she sucked on the dummy, Haberman found a technique that worked. That moment sparked the idea for a bottle with a long teat that allowed babies with malformed mouths to strip milk along its length, much like hand-milking a cow, rather than relying on ordinary suction.

From kitchen table to global market

A graphic designer by training, Haberman spent five years researching and refining the bottle before launching a company from her kitchen table. The Haberman Feeder became a medical device supplied to hospitals and parents by mail order, and it is still recommended by feeding specialists today as one of the closest bottle alternatives to breastfeeding.

She went on to develop the Anywayup Cup, marketed as the world’s first totally non-spill toddler cup. At its peak the cup was selling tens of thousands of units a week through major UK supermarkets and independent retailers. The brand remains part of her portfolio and is exported alongside the Haberman Feeder.

Haberman’s later work has included new feeding bottles designed for healthy babies, drawing on the same principles that made the Haberman Feeder effective. Her company, based in the UK, continues to design, licence and manufacture products for the nursery market.

How she develops a product

Haberman’s process starts with identifying a genuine need. “Some people come up with an idea and create a need for it, but I look for something that needs a solution – a gap in the market,” she says. Once she has a concept, she carries out preliminary searches on patent databases to see whether anyone else has already solved the problem in the same way. “You can get the searches done professionally, but you can get a feel for what is out there yourself and this saves money,” she advises.

After months of prototyping at the kitchen sink, “sticking things together”, she brings in a design engineer to refine the components. The aim is a product that is effective for the user, feasible to manufacture and economical to produce.

Protecting your ideas

Patents have been central to Haberman’s success. In her early days she applied for protection once she had a rough working model, which meant she sometimes filed twice as the design evolved. Now she works alongside engineers to take the design further before applying, reducing the risk of wasted filings.

She recommends using a patent attorney rather than filing alone. Although a UK patent application can be filed online with the Intellectual Property Office from around £60 in official fees, the drafting stage is highly specialised. A weakly worded patent can leave holes that competitors exploit. Professional advice typically costs several thousand pounds, but Haberman sees it as essential insurance for a valuable asset.

The wording of a patent is a balancing act. If it is too broad, it may clash with existing intellectual property; if it is too narrow, a rival can tweak the design and sidestep protection. Getting this right is particularly important for female founders, who remain under-represented among UK patent holders and can face extra scepticism from larger competitors.

When a giant tries to copy you

Haberman learned the value of a robust patent the hard way. The Anywayup Cup had been on the market for around 18 months and the business had grown to dozens of employees when Jackel International, then producing for the Tommee Tippee brand, launched the Super Seal Cup. Its non-spill valve looked strikingly similar to the Anywayup Cup’s valve, and Haberman’s sales collapsed.

She took Jackel to court. The company argued that the valve design was “obvious” and involved no inventive step, but the judge disagreed. He ruled that although Haberman’s innovation was small and simple, it was effective and sufficiently inventive to deserve patent protection. Jackel was forced to withdraw the infringing product.

“There’s a cynicism [among large companies] about the intellectual property rights of the little guy,” Haberman says. “If they reckon you haven’t got the resources to protect your copyright, they’ll have a pop at you.” The experience transformed her approach to business. “I used to be very meek and mild. It’s amazing what you’re capable of when it comes to the crunch.”

Testing and market research

Before committing to full production, Haberman assesses the market carefully. She asks target customers – in her case, mothers with babies – whether they would pay a particular price for a product that performs in a specific way. If the answer is no, it is back to the drawing board.

Her first stage involves small focus groups of around 20 mothers. The second stage puts a prototype in the hands of one user and her baby to spot immediate practical flaws. After tweaks, the product is tested by five or six more families, then by around 100. Only then is it ready for sale.

Even details such as the product name, colour, lettering size and spelling are scrutinised. Haberman and her design director have been known to print dozens of label variations and stick them on the wall until the right identity emerges.

Licensing, manufacturing and funding

Haberman explores licensing deals with companies that can manufacture and distribute her products at scale. Before any meeting, potential partners must sign a non-disclosure agreement. She has found that the more advanced a prototype is when demonstrated, the easier it is to attract a licensee, because manufacturers dislike investing in unproven concepts.

Manufacturing decisions are driven by cash flow as much as unit cost. Haberman has argued that producing in the UK can be more cost-effective than outsourcing to China once hidden costs are included, such as paying for stock before it is made and waiting longer for payment from retailers. For a small business, that working-capital risk can outweigh any labour-cost saving.

For her later product range she brought in an angel investor to cover development costs, having already committed a substantial sum of her own money. External funding can accelerate growth, but Haberman’s experience shows that it pays to have a clear plan, protected IP and a working prototype before giving away equity.

Lessons for women in business

Haberman’s story offers a practical blueprint for any woman turning an idea into a business:

• Start with a problem you understand deeply.
• Do your own initial patent searches, then hire a professional to protect your IP properly.
• Prototype cheaply before involving engineers, but involve them early enough to make manufacture feasible.
• Test relentlessly with real users and be willing to redesign.
• Do not assume a larger competitor will respect your rights: build a patent you are prepared to defend.
• Compare total costs, including working capital and risk, when choosing where to manufacture.
• Seek investment only when you have de-risked the project as far as possible.

Haberman has always lived modestly, viewing her London home as her pension rather than chasing a lavish lifestyle. Her goal is to build the business to a point where new products are coming to market steadily, then exit through a sale. For women entrepreneurs, her journey is a reminder that a good idea, pursued with patience and legal rigour, can become a lasting business.