Every great business starts with a need and for Ana Guzmán, that need sparked Binibi, a bilingual book company for children. On today’s episode of The Female Founder, she shares her journey to entrepreneurship and building a brand that empowers families across the world.
After becoming a mother, Guzmán wanted bilingual books to help her daughter learn both English and Spanish from an early age. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she and her childhood friend, Luciana Yarhi, decided to create their own solution. They launched Binibi, a bilingual book company designed to support families raising bilingual children.
Guzmán grew up in El Salvador, speaking Spanish at home and English at school. As an adult, she realized being bilingual had profoundly shaped her life, and she wanted the same for her children. Recognizing a significant shortage of high-quality Spanish-learning books and seeing that the U.S. is projected to become the largest Spanish-speaking country by 2050, she identified a clear market need and the opportunity to fill it.
Before launching Binibi, Guzmán worked at Squarespace in a corporate role. Though she had always wanted to start her own business, leaving a structured and relatively secure career was intimidating. Ultimately, her passion for addressing this market gap outweighed her fears, and she made the leap into entrepreneurship.
Starting a product-based business brought challenges across product development, manufacturing, and retailing. Fortunately, her co-founder had extensive experience in product design and paper packaging manufacturing, while Guzmán applied her R&D and tech skills to interview prospective customers and understand their needs.
"Start small and set smaller goals for yourself, and you'll see eventually how far you've come."
The biggest lesson Guzmán learned in bringing their books to life is that everything is harder than it seems and requires patience. Coming from the corporate world, she was used to quick results, but building a business from the ground up shifted her perspective. She now focuses on the long-term vision, taking one step at a time.
Funding is a major hurdle for new businesses. Guzmán initially used income from a part-time job to support Binibi before launching a Kickstarter campaign. The campaign surpassed its $10,000 goal in less than four hours, allowing them to purchase their first batch of inventory.
For entrepreneurs considering Kickstarter, Guzmán emphasizes preparation: clearly communicate the brand story and vision, connect with the audience, and invest time in planning the campaign. In addition to direct-to-consumer sales on its website, Binibi also sells on Amazon. Success on the platform requires building the brand first through high-quality images, compelling content, and a story that stands out.
Balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood is challenging. Guzmán, mother of two young children, focuses on the understanding that she cannot be everything to everyone at all times. Some days require more attention to the business, others to her children, but overall, she maintains balance by prioritizing what matters most each day.
She encourages fellow entrepreneurs to take things day by day and accept that perfection is unrealistic. For those starting a business, she recommends creating smaller milestones and working backward to reach them. When she started Binibi, she set achievable goals amid the pandemic and caring for a newborn daughter, a strategy that allowed her to make steady progress.
Guzmán’s advice to her younger self would be to have more confidence. Challenges are inevitable, and a lack of confidence in oneself or the vision can impede progress. Belief in oneself, she says, is essential for maintaining momentum and achieving long-term goals.
ASBN, from startup to success, we are your go-to resource for small business news, expert advice, information, and event coverage.
