Photos courtesy of Lovepop

Photos courtesy of Lovepop

When Lovepop cofounders Wombi Rose and John Wise (both MBA 2015) heard Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s entreaty for businesses to assist with sourcing personal protective equipment (PPE), they knew they could help. Both Rose and Wise—who cofounded the greeting card company in 2015—have backgrounds in engineering and manufacturing, and the company has a team in Vietnam that is well-versed in sourcing materials and shipping to the US. “At our core we’re a design and engineering organization focused on applications that are beautiful or have meaningful messages but we also have the capability to go beyond that into different areas,” says Rose. “So we said, ‘What’s the problem statement?’”

To begin the design thinking process, Rose, Lovepop’s CEO, and Wise, its COO, drew on the expertise of HBS classmate Pierce Schiller (MBA 2015), a bioengineer and entrepreneur, and Emilio LaTorre, Lovepop’s head of supply chain. The team also collaborated with working groups at Partners Healthcare (which operates Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and other health care facilities) and the Massachusetts State Government Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (M-ERT) to determine what Lovepop could produce from among the list of PPE needed—N95 respirators, surgical masks, face shields, gowns, hoods, coveralls, and hospital beds—and to assist with the regulatory process.

For three mostly sleepless weeks, the Lovepop team has been exploring production of several types of PPE. They began with N95 respirators, but discovered that while they had the know-how, machinery, and employees to make them, they couldn’t get an adequate supply of the filter that stops virus particles from getting through. Surgical masks also weren’t an option as Vietnam, where Lovepop sources materials, imposed export restrictions on the masks.

They eventually settled on full face shields, which could be made using the industrial laser die-cutters at Lovepop’s manufacturing site, where the company is still creating its intricate 3D pop-up cards. What makes the Lovepop shields distinctive is that they feature one colorful embellishment: a rainbow across the forehead band with the words “I’m here for you”, meant to encourage both the wearer and the patient. As Rose explains: “Lovepop’s mission is to create 1 billion magical moments, so if we see an opportunity to make something just a little bit more meaningful, we’re always going to take it.”

The company is in the process of deploying 10,000 face shields to health care providers and staff in Massachusetts. They also will be available for sale on Lovepop’s website for workforce protection. The company will continue to make the shields, but is now refocused on prototyping disposable gowns and protective coverings, which represent the most urgently needed PPE. The challenge, Rose says, is finding an adequate supply of non-woven polypropylene fabrics at an affordable price and getting the gowns approved.

“One of the hardest things about this health care crisis is recognizing how serious it is. At the same time, you’re seeing all of this energy and optimism and everyone working together in really creative ways,” says Rose. “’Every day we feel like we’re two to three days behind where we need to be, but you just keep going. There’s always something you can do, no matter how small it is—even if it’s just sending notes of appreciation to people, or picking up groceries for a neighbor. Everyone can do something.”

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