April 2009 Momtrepreneur(s) of the Month: Tamar Rosenthal and Dana Rubinstein of Dapple

Kermit once said, "It's not easy being green." True enough, but thanks to April's Momtrepreneurs of the Month, Tamar Rosenthal and Dana Rubinstein, that job just got a little easier for moms and care givers.

Dana and Tamar are the founders of Dapple-environmentally-friendly, baby-friendly cleaning products. With the arrival of their first babies, they scoured the market for safe and effective products to clean their homes and everything their babies touched. Trouble was nothing met their exacting standards.

Ding! The light bulb went off and the hard work began. These self-proclaimed "Moms with a Mission" were going to create the products they craved.

Instead of focusing on cool graphics and catchy slogans (those would come later) the Dapple founders put their money to work with research. They hired a chemist and found a lab to start testing surfactants and enzymes to find the greenest cleaning agents available.

SLES, paraben, phthalates, dyes-they ran exhaustive tests to see if Dapple could leave these potentially harmful ingredients out of the equation and still get bottles, toys and dishes clean. After years of research and development the ladies had the dish soap of their dreams. Next was a dish washing powder-another success.

With two patent-pending products, it was time to get the message out. As luck would have it, the ladies noticed a contest on the Today Show targeting female entrepreneurs. Dana and Tamar submitted their business plan and they won the Yahoo Small Business Seeds for Success grant program. Dapple's founders beat out hundreds of outstanding female entrepreneurs to nab the grand prize award. Seeds for Success gave the ladies a cash grant and mentoring.

Amazingly, Dana and Tamar were able to balance the needs of their young families (they are forever praising their supportive spouses) while building this thriving business. Breastfeeding and bonding were equally important as branding. They developed an eye-popping website and landed some key accounts (Babies R Us and Diapers.com carry the brand). Now Dapple boasts four products and many believers.

We applaud Dana and Tamar for possessing the rare combination of business savvy and love for the environment and proudly award them the honor of Momtrepreneur of the Month.

The year our business launched: 2008

Hometown: New York, NY

We're most proud of: Taking a risk and starting our own thing.

Recent success: Launching our products nationwide.

What we tell other women looking to launch a new business: Find yourself a great partner who complements your strengths.

When we're not working on Dapple you can find us: On the playground with our kids.

I wish someone had told us: To get some good rest before we launched this business. Because you sure don't get to rest once your business is off the ground.

The person I'd most like to network with is: You! We love chatting to parents everywhere. We also love connecting with other mom and dad entrepreneurs.

The best business book I've read: David Vinjamuri's Accidental Branding

If I had an extra $1000 to invest in my business I'd buy: If it were for sale, more time!

The hardest thing about owning a small business: You are always on.

Best thing about owning a small business: Knowing that I'm doing something I truly believe in.