By Carla Jean Whitley
President: Karla Duncan What is it? Head 2 Toe Publications creates developmentally-appropriate educational materials for children, focusing especially on special needs children.
History: Karla Duncan worked as a speech therapist in school systems for years, moving from Georgia to Florida and back to Alabama as she continued in her career and earned a master’s degree at the University of Central Florida. She then began working for another company that sold special education materials. “I definitely found my niche,” she recalls. In 2003 Duncan began dreaming of creating and selling educational products herself, but realized there was a lot of work involved in launching a business.
But after praying about it for some time, in late 2007 she decided to launch Head 2 Toe Publications.
Jumping in with both feet: “We were just going to take it slow,” Duncan says, but that changed when she heard about the Yahoo! Small Business Seeds for Success grant program. Duncan saw a Fox News clip of the Trump Organization Executive Vice President Carolyn Kepcher speaking about the grant, geared toward women entrepreneurs, days before the April 2008 deadline.
Duncan quickly put together an application and was one of three finalists awarded the grant later that month.
Along with money, the program offered Duncan the chance to be mentored by Kepcher and other successful women entrepreneurs.
Though she was not the grand prize winner, Duncan continues to meet with Kepcher, has been able to establish test sites for her products and developed relationships with other organizations. “That’s what jump started our whole … everything,” she says.
What makes it unique? Though Head 2 Toe focuses on materials for special needs children, the company’s products can be used for all children because they address a child’s physical, cognitive and communicative needs. The company’s advisory board includes speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, special education teachers, marketing experts and parents, helping the company to ensure products support the work of various disciplines.
A day in the life: Duncan still works full-time as a speech language pathologist in Birmingham and Montgomery and chose to remain selfemployed because of the scheduling flexibility. Her second full-time job—Head 2 Toe—takes place between other appointments and at night.
Staff size: One; Vice President of Product Development Amy Mace is not technically on staff.
What’s ahead: Head 2 Toe will unveil three new products this spring as Duncan attends trade shows beginning this month. “With special ed, they want to see the product before they can trust it and trust the company,” she explains.
