Ricardo Geromel - Forbes, 8/22/2012
During a spring break vacation in Rio de Janeiro in 2010, as his wife and 2-year-old son were playing on Copacabana beach, Kimball Thomas was sent out to buy diapers. It took three tries to even track down a store with diapers in stock–and provided a hugely lucrative inspiration.
Back home in Boston, Thomas, 33, described the experience to his cousin, Davis Smith, 34. Both were one year into M.B.A. programs, Harvard and Wharton, respectively, and looking for a business idea before graduation. In this case, the idea was simply replicating what works in America: starting a Brazilian variation of Diapers.com.
Launched last October, they hit the million-diapers-sold mark within six months. In less than two years Baby.com.br has gone from a derivative idea to 124 employees (120 of whom are Brazilians), with $22.5 million raised over two rounds.
