My Sister and I Were Raised to Be Entrepreneurs and Started a Business

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bobby Bitton, cofounder and CEO of O Positiv. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My parents always instilled in me the idea that I could take my ideas and bring them to reality. My dad ran his own interior design firm, and my mom was an inventor with multiple patents, so it was no surprise that they raised my sister Brianna and me to follow our creative pursuits.

When Brianna was 13 and I was 11, she came up with an idea for a product that had lip balm on one end and candy on the other. I wanted in on the business, so we worked together to design the device and brainstorm flavors. Our parents helped us to bring the product, Lip Candy, to market.

It wasn’t a huge success, but it was a testament to our family values. We’ve always been extremely close, and our dinner table conversations often centered on innovative ideas one of us had — including the company that Brianna and I now run, O Positiv.

Our parents taught us to think about commercialization

Despite their paths, our parents never pressured us to become entrepreneurs. Brianna had a stint as a musician, and I tried to pursue an acting career. Although our family was comfortably middle class, our parents were always clear that we would need to be self-sufficient and able to support ourselves with whatever career we chose.

When we went into business together, our parents’ emphasis on self-reliance was very helpful. They always helped us keep an eye toward the market. Having a great idea is one thing, but we knew we needed to think about how we could commercialize and monetize those innovations. Much of the challenge of entrepreneurship lies in execution.

Brianna’s health struggles led to our business

Although we’re two years apart, Brianna and I left the house at the same time. Our parents managed to finagle us being roommates. I think that helped our mom sleep better at night.

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Living together brought us even closer. I was very familiar with Brianna’s moods and health. At the time, she was dealing with debilitating hormonal issues. They were severe enough that this was a big family topic. One day, we were talking about her frustrations that there were no proactive natural approaches to women’s hormonal health.

This was about 10 years ago, and at the time, Briana couldn’t find a product she liked to naturally treat PMS, let alone fertility, menopause, and other women’s health issues. We realized that this was a huge opportunity to impact the lives of women like Brianna. It was also a great business idea.

We keep each other’s egos in check

Brianna and I had complementary skills to bring our company, O Positiv, to life. I had studied entrepreneurship and had a good understanding of business. Brianna had the lived experience our customers would share, plus a great intuition for communication and social media.

To this day, our distinct and defined roles remain the key to our success. We both have very strong opinions, so it’s important to understand who’s in charge of what. Since we’re siblings, Brianna and I can have very frank conversations. If someone comes to the table with an ego, the other one is quick to check them.

Ultimately, our family is the north star that guides us. We’re still just as close as we were when we were kids. We live in the same apartment building, and even after a tough day at work, I still want to have dinner or coffee with Brianna. We know we’re on the same team in both family and business, and that makes a lot of challenges easier to overcome.