You can’t remove “mom” from the founding story of Slumberkins. Best friends and behavioral-health experts Callie and Kelly were on maternity leave at the same time, and spent a lot of those early months together, leaning on each other for all the support that new moms need. And then During all those long walks and nap times, they had an idea. What if they created characters and stories to teach social-emotional skills to young children? With a tiny bit of seed money and childcare help from Kelly’s parents, the two started sewing, and Slumberkin’s was born. What started as a passion project has blossomed into a full-blown world of educational wonder, with sales and success surpassing their wildest dreams, and a big-time TV series currently in production.