Megan Skeath is the founder and designer behind Mama Coco, a Los Angeles-based babywear brand built from one very real parenting frustration: why were newborn clothes making exhausted parents’ lives harder instead of easier? After becoming a first-time mom and navigating the challenges of a NICU stay with her son, Megan found herself overwhelmed by snaps, zippers, noisy Velcro, and babywear that seemed designed more for aesthetics than actual function. What began as late-night frustration during 2 a.m. diaper changes quickly turned into a mission to rethink babywear from the ground up.
In 2019, she launched Mama Coco with a focus on intuitive, fastener-free essentials that prioritize comfort, simplicity, and real-life usability for parents. The brand’s patented Cocoon Swaddle and signature Winged Bodysuit were designed to make dressing babies calmer, quieter, and easier, especially during middle-of-the-night changes or NICU care. Megan’s approach combines elevated design with deep empathy for the postpartum experience, creating products that are not only beautiful but genuinely supportive during one of the most exhausting and emotional stages of parenthood.
Since launching, Mama Coco has grown into a trusted brand among parents, doulas, NICU nurses, and caregivers looking for baby essentials that solve real problems instead of creating new ones. Megan continues to lead the company with a hands-on, parent-first mindset, focused on thoughtful innovation, intentional growth, and making life with a newborn feel just a little softer and less overwhelming.
Takeaways:
Megan Skeath built Mama Coco after becoming frustrated with overly complicated baby clothes during late-night newborn care and NICU experiences with her firstborn son.
Mama Coco’s patented Cocoon Swaddle and signature Winged Bodysuit were designed to eliminate snaps, noisy Velcro, and complicated fasteners during middle-of-the-night diaper changes.
Megan grew the business without a fashion design background, teaching herself product development, fabrics, fit, and manufacturing through lived experience and hands-on learning.
One of Mama Coco’s most successful marketing tools was a simple iPhone video demonstrating the Cocoon Swaddle with a friend’s baby, proving that authentic content often outperforms highly polished campaigns.
Megan credits much of the brand’s growth to listening directly to parents, doulas, NICU nurses, and caregivers rather than chasing trends within the babywear industry.
After experimenting with expanding the product line, Megan made the difficult decision to refocus on Mama Coco’s core bestselling essentials — a move that strengthened margins, simplified operations, and clarified the brand’s identity.
Megan believes the future of babywear lies in functional, sensory-conscious, and genuinely parent-first design rather than products created purely for aesthetics.
Her biggest advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: start before you feel ready and focus on progress over perfection.
“I think women underestimate how powerful lived experience can be. Sometimes the best businesses come from the moments that break you a little.” – Megan Skeath
Can you start by introducing yourself and telling us in your own words about your inspiring story?
I’m Megan Skeath, and I founded Mama Coco because I believe baby clothes should work for parents, not against them. After my first child spent time in the NICU, I saw firsthand how overwhelming those early days are. I became obsessed with replacing noisy Velcro and frustrating snaps with something intuitive, silent, and incredibly soft.
I started Mama Coco from lived experience, not from a fashion background. I taught myself everything as I went, fabrics, fit, manufacturing, product development, because I believed deeply in the idea. I started sketching designs that focused on simplicity, softness, and functionality for real parents, especially during middle-of-the-night changes and those fragile early newborn weeks. Over time, that turned into our patented Cocoon Swaddle and our Winged Bodysuit. The brand grew slowly and intentionally through social media, word of mouth, and parents sharing their experiences with our products.
Today, we help families navigate the “beautiful chaos” of the newborn stage with essentials that actually make sense. We’re not just selling babywear; we’re giving parents back a few extra minutes of peace and a lot less stress.
What made you decide to turn your idea into a business?
Honestly, frustration. My journey into this business really began after becoming a first-time mom and experiencing the reality of postpartum life firsthand. My son spent time in the NICU, and I found myself constantly frustrated by how complicated baby clothes were, snaps, zippers, noisy Velcro, all during moments when you’re exhausted and emotionally drained. I kept thinking, “Why hasn’t anyone designed this better?” That question stayed with me, and eventually I decided to stop waiting for someone else to solve the problem and do it myself.
I saw a gap that felt incredibly obvious once I became a mom. Babywear was heavily focused on aesthetics, but not enough attention was being paid to functionality for parents themselves. I didn’t originally set out to become an entrepreneur; I just genuinely felt there had to be a better solution. Once I started designing products and seeing how much they helped other parents, I realized this could become something much bigger than my own experience.
How did you market your business when it was brand new?
In the very beginning, it was mostly family, friends, and organic word of mouth. Then, social media became a huge driver for us, especially Instagram and Facebook advertising. Video content worked incredibly well because our products are unique and easier to understand when people see them in action. One of our best-performing pieces of content was literally a simple iPhone video I filmed myself showing a friend how to use the Cocoon Swaddle with her baby. No production team, no fancy setup, just authentic content that connected with parents because it felt real.
If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be?
Start before you feel ready. I think people wait for the perfect timing, the perfect plan, or the perfect level of confidence, and that moment usually never comes. So much of building a business is learning as you go. Progress matters more than perfection.
We all face challenges. Looking back, what have been some of the biggest challenges and obstacles you’ve had to navigate?
One of the biggest challenges was managing growth while bootstrapping the business. Inventory and cash flow were incredibly stressful in the early days, especially when products would sell out faster than I could restock them. I also had to learn how to wear every hat at once while balancing motherhood at the same time. Another challenge was learning when to simplify. At one point, I expanded into additional clothing styles that looked beautiful in showrooms, but they weren’t our strongest sellers and tied up cash flow. Letting go of products I personally loved was difficult, but refocusing on our core hero products ultimately made the brand much stronger.
Can you share some of the most important lessons you’ve learned from your successes and failures in business?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that simplicity almost always wins. The products people connect with most are the ones that genuinely solve a problem clearly and effectively. I’ve also learned to trust my intuition. Every time I ignored my gut to follow outside opinions too closely, it usually led me away from what made the brand special in the first place. And finally, authenticity matters more than polished perfection. Real stories and honest experiences connect with people far more deeply than overly curated marketing ever will.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Stop waiting for permission. I spent a lot of time early on second-guessing myself or feeling like I needed to know everything before taking action. I would tell myself that you learn by doing, not by overthinking. I’d also remind myself that building something meaningful slowly is still success.
Which female leader do you admire, and why?
Sara Blakely. I really admire how she built Spanx from a simple idea rooted in solving a real, everyday problem for women. She trusted her instincts even when people didn’t immediately understand the vision, and she built an incredibly successful brand without losing that sense of authenticity and relatability. That kind of resilience and belief in your own idea is really inspiring to me.
Do you have a favorite quote or motto that inspires you?
More of an inspirational mantra: “Trust yourself”. When I started Mama Coco, I had no roadmap. I just trusted my instincts as a mom and built something real from that.
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Melissa Stewart is the founder of SheOwnsIt.com. She is a Purveyor of Possibility, Entrepreneur Advocate and Coffee Addict. She believes that behind every successful woman is her story. What's your story?
