Podcast Summary
Creating Value for a Specific Audience: Kiwico's Success Story: Focusing on a niche audience and providing a unique value proposition can help businesses succeed, even in competitive markets. Company culture and empathetic customer service also contribute to growth.
Building a successful business often requires finding a unique niche and providing value to a specific audience. Sandra O'Linn, the founder of Kiwico, did just that by creating a subscription box service for educational and tactile activities for kids. This business model has generated around $30 billion globally and is expected to reach $73 billion by 2028. However, the competition is fierce, and many companies have struggled to maintain their value and growth. Kiwico has managed to weather the storm by focusing on its niche audience and providing a product that aligns with parents' needs for educational and engaging activities for their children. Another key takeaway is the importance of company culture in growing a business. Insparity, a leading HR provider, emphasizes the significance of building a culture that aligns with business goals and fuels growth. Amica, a mutual insurance company, also prioritizes empathy and personalized service to create a more human connection with their customers. Lastly, being a unique and unconventional founder can also be an asset. Sandra O'Linn, a mompreneur, used her experiences as a mother to create a business that resonated with parents. Her determination and perseverance, even during challenging times, ultimately led to Kiwico's success.
Starting small business leads to valuable experiences: Starting a small business, even for a short time, can provide valuable lessons and opportunities for future success.
Starting a business, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, can lead to valuable experiences and opportunities. The speaker's parents, who were immigrants with limited resources, started a troll doll kiosk in a mall when the speaker was in high school. Although it was only a year or two long, it was the speaker's first experience in retail and sales. The speaker went on to study chemical engineering in college and later worked at Procter & Gamble. When the speaker's husband got a residency in San Francisco, they moved to the West Coast, marking the speaker's first time on the West Coast. The experience of starting the troll doll business may have seemed trivial at the time, but it was a crucial stepping stone in the speaker's personal and professional development.
From corporate to startup scene and motherhood inspired entrepreneurship: Diverse experiences in large corporations, startups, and motherhood shaped one woman's business acumen and led her to found Kiwi Co, a company promoting creativity in children through arts and crafts projects.
The speaker's career journey from a large corporation like Procter & Gamble to the dynamic startup scene during the dot-com boom, and later to senior positions at companies like eBay and PayPal, provided her with diverse experiences that shaped her business acumen and prepared her for entrepreneurship. During this time, she also became a mother and was inspired to encourage her children's creativity, leading her to consider starting a fashion-related social media app for feedback and advice. However, she ultimately decided against it and instead founded Kiwi Co, a company focused on providing arts and crafts projects for children to foster their creativity and be "makers." Her experience in pitching her fashion startup helped her when she later started Kiwi Co and sought investment.
Creating hands-on experiences for children: Providing hands-on DIY projects fosters a sense of accomplishment, creativity, and empowers children. Sandra's personal experiences inspired her to offer similar opportunities to her kids and their friends, creating cherished memories and a community for learning and growth.
Creating hands-on experiences for children can lead to cherished memories and a sense of empowerment. Sandra, the founder of a future business, shared her childhood experiences of making DIY projects with her mom, from origami purses to cardboard television. She longed to provide the same opportunities for her own kids and started hosting playdates where they experimented with various crafts and science projects. When one mom suggested turning it into a business, Sandra considered the idea. Creating opportunities for children to engage in DIY projects can foster a sense of accomplishment and creativity. Sandra's personal experiences inspired her to offer similar experiences to her own kids and their friends. The projects ranged from simple Halloween luminaries to more complex chemistry experiments, allowing for exploration and learning. In today's fast-paced world, providing children with hands-on experiences can be invaluable. Not only do these experiences create cherished memories, but they also offer an opportunity for children to develop essential skills and a sense of empowerment. By inviting friends and their kids over for playdates, Sandra not only saved time but also created a community where children could learn and grow together.
From craft projects to a successful business: Sandra's journey with Kiwi Crate: Clear vision, seeking advice, and focusing on customer needs can lead to a successful business despite challenges
Perseverance and a clear vision can lead to building a successful business, even in the face of challenges. Sandra, the founder of Kiwi Crate, shared her story on How I Built This. In 2010, Sandra's craft projects for kids gained popularity, and she considered turning them into a business. She sought advice from trusted advisors and conducted focus groups to validate the idea. Initially, she worked with a co-founder who was more technical and another technical co-founder, forming a team of three. They wanted to design and deliver hands-on projects to kids through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce experience. The name Kiwi Crate was inspired by a stuffed Kiwi bird they had brought back from New Zealand. As subscription boxes were starting to gain popularity around that time, they looked at models like Birchbox for inspiration but focused on the customer need and learning aspect first. The team's diverse experiences and determination helped them create a program that was both fun and educational for kids. The story of Kiwi Crate highlights the importance of having a clear vision, seeking advice, and staying focused on the customer's needs to build a successful business.
Starting a non-tech business in a tech-dominated area with a strong team and investor connections: Overcoming challenges and securing funding for a consumer products company by focusing on unique approaches and building strong team and investor connections
Starting a non-tech business in a tech-dominated area like Silicon Valley during the app and social media boom was not an easy feat. However, having a strong team with experience from successful companies like PayPal, eBay, and Yahoo, and being able to secure meetings with potential investors due to their network, allowed this team to eventually secure funding for their consumer products company, KiwiCo. The idea for KiwiCo came from extensive testing with kids, where they learned what materials and projects worked best for them. The first three boxes sent out focused on color mixing, with projects like making a picture frame with contact paper and tissue paper squares, and dyeing a tote bag with tissue paper squares. The team's unique approach to learning color mixing, without using traditional methods, set their business apart. Despite facing challenges due to pattern matching and being a "mompreneur," they persisted and secured funding in the summer of 2011.
Establishing a unique value proposition for a kids' science subscription box company: To create a successful business, uniquely source supplies, build an email list, and attend events to spread the word. However, scaling up and setting realistic goals are crucial for long-term success.
When starting a business, especially one that involves unique products, it's crucial to establish a clear value proposition and differentiate from competitors. In the case of this kids' science subscription box company, the founders initially sourced supplies domestically to create a unique experience and avoid appearing like generic items found at retail stores. However, this approach came with challenges, such as scaling up and ordering inventory in large quantities to make the business model economically viable. To build an email list and spread the word, they attended events, collected email addresses, and did some online advertising. Despite initial success, the company grew slower than anticipated, leading them to raise a series A round of funding to fuel growth. However, even with the funding, the business wasn't meeting the investors' expectations, highlighting the importance of setting realistic goals and understanding the market demand.
Expanding a Business for Growth: Pivoting, expanding, teamwork, collaboration, and continuous learning are essential for businesses aiming for growth. Sandra of Kiwi Crates expanded her product lines to cater to a wider audience, while Atlassian's AI-powered software enables teams to work efficiently and Masterclass offers continuous learning opportunities.
When a business isn't experiencing the growth desired, it may be necessary to pivot or expand in order to reach new heights. Sandra, the founder of Kiwi Crates, faced this challenge around 2014. Despite some product market fit, she knew more was needed to make her business stand out and thrive. In response, she launched three new lines: Tinker Crate for older kids focusing on science and engineering, Doodle Crate for art and design, and a line for younger kids called Quality Crate. This expansion helped Kiwi Crates cater to a wider age range and ultimately improve their business. Moreover, the discussion highlighted the importance of teamwork and collaboration in achieving success. Atlassian, a company known for creating software that powers teamwork, is on a mission to make "impossibility a reality" with their AI-powered software. These tools help teams glean insights from data, boost productivity, and make informed decisions, allowing them to accomplish more than they could alone. Additionally, the importance of continuous learning and improvement was emphasized through Masterclass. This platform offers the opportunity to learn from the best in their fields, providing valuable insights and skills that can help individuals grow both personally and professionally. In summary, pivoting, expanding, teamwork, collaboration, and continuous learning are crucial elements for businesses seeking growth and success.
KiwiCo's Holiday Launch of New Product Lines Saved the Company from Financial Troubles: During the holiday season of 2014, KiwiCo launched new product lines, shifted manufacturing overseas to offer free shipping, and eventually reached profitability, shipping out over 20 million crates in the following years.
During the holiday season of 2014, KiwiCo successfully launched three new product lines, which helped them avoid financial dire straits and eventually led them to profitability. Initially, they sourced and kitted all components domestically, but as they scaled, they began sourcing materials and components overseas. This shift in manufacturing allowed them to offer free shipping to consumers by amortizing the cost across multiple crates sent to one household. Ultimately, this strategy contributed significantly to their profitability and enabled them to ship out over 20 million crates in the following years.
Creating unique, engaging crates for educational and imaginative products: Parents value products that promote learning and creativity for their children, even if they cost more, as they prioritize preparing their kids for the future.
The company's success hinged on its ability to create and market educational and imaginative products in unique, engaging crates. This strategy resonated with parents who wanted their children to be prepared for the future and encouraged creativity. The marketing campaigns emphasized the idea of new discoveries and experiences, and parents responded positively, leading to the company's growth and profitability around 2016. Despite the prevalence of data suggesting consumers prioritize price over other factors, the company's success indicates that parents do care about the potential for their children to learn and grow through play. Additionally, parents today are concerned about preparing their children to be productive citizens in a complex world and are looking for ways to encourage innovation and creativity. The use of technology can be a valuable tool in achieving these goals, but it's essential to strike a balance between screen time and hands-on, interactive experiences.
Maintaining the value of tactile experiences for kids: KiwiCo's success lies in offering hands-on projects that provide fun and delight, countering digital distractions, and aiming to become a household brand like Lego.
The tactile experiences offered by KiwiCo, a company that provides hands-on projects for kids, hold a unique value in a digital age. The founder, Sandra Olin, emphasizes the importance of maintaining the fun and delight of physical projects to keep children engaged. She aims to build KiwiCo into a household brand, similar to Lego, and attributes her success to a combination of hard work and good fortune. Despite the challenges of competing against digital distractions, KiwiCo continues to thrive by focusing on creating engaging, tangible experiences for kids.
The Swan: A Reality TV Fail: The Swan, a controversial beauty pageant-style competition, showcased women's transformations but resulted in isolation, berating, and ranking based on appearances, highlighting ethical dilemmas and negative impacts of reality TV.
The early 2000s saw a surge of controversial reality TV shows, with The Swan being a prime example of a pop culture fail. The Swan, which aired on CBS, was a beauty pageant-style competition where women underwent extensive physical transformations and were then judged. However, the show quickly turned into a viewing nightmare as the women were isolated, berated, and ranked based on their appearances. Misha Brown, the host of Wundery's podcast, The Big Flop, discussed this topic with comedians on the show, trying to answer the age-old question of who thought this was a good idea. The Swan serves as a reminder of the ethical dilemmas and negative impacts that can arise from reality TV shows, and highlights the importance of critical reflection and evaluation of media content. Listen to The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts for more insights on this and other pop culture fails.
