History
- 1991
- Gab dodges college homework (swearing never to have a job that requires math) by making lip balm. Her strategy fails because too many people like the balm. Soon she's selling it in local stores and math comes in pretty handy.
- 1996
- Told she "doesn't know what she's doing", Gab takes her business out of the kitchen and into a business incubator (apparently its not as hot as those other kinds of incubators, which is a good thing) and moves to Maine.
- 1997
- Gab makes an appearance on QVC and sells more Lip Lube in 4 minutes than she sold in all of 1996 (yet again, math comes in handy). She takes the money from those sales and whips up her first batch of her Shea Butter balm (then called Elephant Lube) which is soon featured in over 30 international magazines.
- 1999
- Gab (who now knows a lot more about what she is doing) wins the Small Business Administrations' Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
- 2000-2002
- The Mad Gab's family grows steadily and now provides ongoing work for a group of local developmentally challenged adults. All of this helps the company land the Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility Eagle Feather award. Gab discovers the horrors of paraffin and starts making soy wax candles.
- 2004-2005
- After years of listening to feedback, Mad Gab's launches into a complete repackaging of its product line. It's a lot of work but the results make it worthwhile, whimsical, fun and feminine.
- 2006
- Gab's products are selling like crazy around the US and abroad. Bear Foot Balm joins the Mad Gab's menagerie with a POW of peppermint for tired feet. Working Mother magazine features Gab talking about the powers of a business plan. My how times change!
- 2007-2008
- Consumer demand wins and Moose Smooch in tubes is added to the line up, with SPF to boot!! As if that wasn't enough to keep Mad Gab's busy, a line of lip balms featuring cute animals and aquatic animals joins the mix and make a huge splash in zoo's, aquariums, children's museums, toy stores, general gift shops. More products are in the works for 2009 and beyond!