Big break

Jacqueline Darna is becoming Tampa's poster child of successful startups.

The 31-year-old CEO and medical inventor of No Mo Nausea anti-nausea wristbands continues to impress as she works to expand to big-box stores and teeters on the brink of completing large orders that will make No Mo Nausea a seven-figure company in 2017.

Darna, an anesthesia clinician, came up with her wristbands after a complicated pregnancy led her doctor to suggest she be put in a medically induced coma to stop her postpartum nausea. Darna came up with an all-natural way to reduce the nausea instead — a combination of aromatherapy and acupressure on her wrist that she's since developed and marketed into a line of anti-nausea wristbands. She filed a provisional patent in January 2014, went to production six months later, and within the first 18 months of business was selling to 12 countries in more than 1,000 stores.

During the last two weeks of November, Darna met with Kroger, Target, Walgreens, Buybuy Baby and Babies R Us. “It's been an explosion. This has been awesome,” Darna says.

In October, Darna participated in the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas, which also played host to former Shark Tank investor and Tampa-area entrepreneur Kevin Harrington's new show, “The Big Pitch.”

The No Mo Nausea band cured Harrington's headache live on-air, Darna says. According to Darna, Harrington said, “My dear, you are the best combination of product and presentation that we've ever had on this show.”

Selected as a winner out of 15,000 products at the show, No Mo Nausea will be featured on a 30-minute program in May that will broadcast to 80 million homes spotlighting the best products at ABC Kids Expo. Perhaps even more beneficial, Darna says she can talk to all of the judges on the panel “like they are friends.”

“They are an extra set of diamond mentors,” she says.

Darna has never done television advertising, but looks forward to the response she receives. Thus far, her best response has come from word of mouth and informational coupons from doctors. “I won, but I can't turn down free publicity,” she says.

Since the big break, Darna has had conversations with Moscow Group, which places $2.8 billion of product in Target. She's queued up to hit Target shelves in May 2018.

CVS has also told her that it will put her products in stores in 2017. Natural food store distributor KeHE says it will distribute her product to 30,000 stores.

Though she won't hit her goal of reaching seven figures in sales by the end of 2016, Darna says all of the big deals she was expecting are still on the table. They just take longer to complete than she anticipated.

That said, the company did see a big jump in revenue last quarter, from doubling orders at airport stores and through its pediatric hospitals distribution. It also had a boost from rolling out to 60 Benzer Pharmacy locations.

Entering the big-box market hasn't been easy. “You have to mold yourself to be what they want,” Darna says. Advertising, purchase prices and requirements differ at every store. “It's hard to be everything for everyone, but unless you are flexible, you will drown,” she adds.

She's also learned that before she sells anything, she'll have to pay for the space as well as marketing incentives. Right now, No Mo Nausea can handle launching five big-box retailers with its current capital and inventory. But if a lot of the deals come through at the same time, she might have to go to an investor, bank or a certified women-owned business group that will take a percentage of the purchase order in exchange for fronting the cash.

Though the same investors keep knocking at her door to offer help, for now, Darna is going to continue to ride the wave with what she has. “They are all just a call away.”