Lisa Toner (pictured) is building a variation on the subscription gift box idea with her startup, called Ettch. The box is filled with confidence-boosting notes, worksheets and other ditties aimed at empowering children and teenagers to feel better themselves.

Lisa operates Ettch from Dublin. When not working on her 2017 startup, she leads a global marketing team in HubSpot and she volunteers at Childline. “Ettch is still in its infancy and I’m currently testing out products. Someday, I hope it will become my full-time gig,” she says.

An Ettch box can be ordered from the firm’s website and costs €20. It can be tailored to gender and is aimed at children and young teens. Contents also include a notebook, therapeutic colouring book, and self-affirming badges and cards. Lisa explains that the Ettch business model originally offered multi-month subscriptions.

“However, most customers were purchasing the one-month box, so now I only offer a once-off gift box. All of our products were handmade by small business owners on Etsy. Many of these business owners are therapists, or have experienced and survived poor mental health themselves.”

Lisa came up with the idea for Ettch after reading a book called Clarity by Jamie Smart. “That book had a profound effect on me.

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"I stopped stressing about situations I couldn’t control and became very at peace with myself. I also wished I had learned this when I was being bullied as a teenager or as a young adult. Then I realised how powerful it would be to teach this to children. After six months toying with ideas, I decided on the subscription box.”

Lisa contends that as well as helping to tackle depression and anxiety in children, Ettch can also tap into a potentially big market of parents eager to promote their children’s self-esteem. “I’m also planning to launch a guided journal for children aged 8+, teaching them to the virtues of gratitude, kindness and perspective.”

Ettch boxes are being sold via the website in Ireland and UK. Lisa hopes to expand to further markets with her guided journal, which has just launched and is on sale through her firm's website, priced at €15.44.

“I love a challenge and I love to be busy, so this lifestyle suits me well,” says Lisa. “It’s certainly not for everyone though. If you’re going to invest yourself in a business make sure it’s the right one for you because it does consume your life.”