Pflugerville resident Leslie Stiba is
the chief executive officer of Austlen Baby Co., a juvenile products
company. She founded the company to create a stroller that could handle
everything from one child and a water bottle to one child, a baby and a
load of groceries or luggage at the airport. Stiba used to be a global
product manager at Dell Inc. with a background in product development.

“Being
a product developer and also a mother of young twin girls, I struggled
with this need with my strollers where there was never enough storage
for what I needed to carry,” Stiba said. “It wasn’t convenient or easily
accessible, it couldn’t change in the moment.

In 2007, Stiba had the idea to create
the do-it-all stroller. She applied for a patent for her idea, and then
formed Austlen Baby Co.

Her next step was recruiting Patrick
Laffan as co-founder and chief technology officer. Laffan has a
background working for Newell Rubbermaid’s baby and parenting brands,
including Graco, as director of engineering.

“Building a good product takes a great
company,” Stiba said. “So once we decided we were going to bring this
product to market then I started building Austlen, the company.”

The Entourage will retail for about
$849.99 and will ship to stores across the country in early 2016, Stiba
said. One of the first stores the stroller will be available in is
BabyEarth in Round Rock, she said.

The company will hold a launch party at the local store.

Some
people might not like the nearly $900 price tag, Morrison said, but the
stroller would be a “mode of transportation” for people with small
children. “This would be your way to haul your stuff with you while you
go everywhere,” she said.

Source: statesman.com