Brooklyn, NY, 25 June 2021 (People)
For Lisa Radcliffe, starting a business was a family affair.
In fact, the idea for PunkinFutz, the company she launched in 2016 as a way of putting a playful twist on toys and accessories for children with adaptive needs, sprouted during a routine visit to fit her son Buster, then 3, for orthotics.
Born at just 26 weeks, and with neuromuscular challenges, Buster had to wear clunky, plastic braces that often scared other children.
“I told the orthopedist that if orthotics looked like superhero gear, every kid would want to wear them,” the Brooklyn-based Radcliffe, 56, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “And he said, ‘That’s a good idea. Somebody should do that.'”
Leaving her full-time tech job behind, Radcliffe became that somebody with the launch of PunkinFutz — named after a sweet childhood nickname from her father — in 2016. She and husband David, 66, maintain operations, while Buster, now 12, has pitched in as a product model, and daughter Maddie, 25, has helped create product packaging.
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