This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Sandra Oh Lin, 50, of Los Altos, California. She is the founder and CEO of KiwiCo, a company that provides educational activities for kids meant to spark creativity and problem-solving through hands-on play. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo. Sandra Oh Lin.
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What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
I had just stepped away from seven years at eBay Inc., where I had launched PayPal Mobile and led the eBay fashion business. I was working on a new fashion-related startup idea before I ended up starting KiwiCo in 2011.
Where did you find the inspiration for the side hustle?
When my kids were younger, I tried to find ways for them to exercise their creativity and put their problem-solving skills to work. I wanted them to grow up to feel like they could envision and better the world around them. As an engineer by training, I saw creating and building through hands-on activities as a way to explore, discover and build creative confidence. At the same time, I was drawing on my own childhood — I have such fond memories of making and building things with my mom while I was growing up.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
I started by creating hands-on projects for my kids. Then, I started to share them with friends and family during playdates. The parents and kids were so enthusiastic about the activities that it gave me the confidence to take it further. I laid the groundwork to see if there was a market for a real business. Then, I leveraged my network to start conversations with investors. We raised a little more than $10 million in venture funding. From there, we were able to become profitable and cash flow positive — and fund our own growth.
Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo
Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
I had a strong background in product design (having worked in R&D at Procter & Gamble) and ecommerce (from time at PayPal and eBay). Yet, I didn’t have any direct experience with fulfillment, supply chain and operations. I had a lot to learn. So I made a conscious effort to surround myself with people who were true experts. One example is Mike Smith, who was the COO of Walmart. He provided invaluable guidance, and he even helped interview our VP of operations candidates when we were hiring. Advisors like Mike were so helpful to us at that time.
If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
I had always heard people say that a strong culture is so important to define and cultivate when you build a company. That way, you can point to and reinforce the behavior and values that align. While I was able to grok that academically, I put it aside when I should have addressed it earlier. As a result, some of our hiring was off in the beginning, and we had to course correct, which was costly. It would have been helpful to have put the framework into place from the beginning.
When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
During the pandemic, one of our toughest challenges was sourcing enough supplies to keep up with surging demand. In the years since, we’ve seen our fair share of ups and downs on that front, but one thing has remained constant: the importance of strong, trusted relationships with our suppliers. They’ve been incredible partners through it all, and those collaborations have been key to helping us navigate post-pandemic growth with resilience and adaptability.
Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
I’ll never forget our very first alpha shipment. We had just 19 crates to send out, and it took a team of five of us the entire day to get them boxed and shipped. By the end, we were exhausted and looking at each other like, There has to be a better way. It was a wake-up call that we needed better systems and processes for fulfillment if we were going to scale. We figured it out along the way, but that moment sticks with me as a reminder of how far we’ve come.
Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue?
With our core business being subscription-based, we’ve seen consistent monthly revenue from the beginning. KiwiCo has been profitable and self-funded for many years now. What started in my garage has grown into a company that has shipped more than 50 million crates to families in over 40 countries and created more than 1,500 hands-on products and activities. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come, while still staying true to the heart of why we started: sparking creativity and confidence in kids everywhere.
What does growth and revenue look like now?
To date, KiwiCo has generated more than $1 billion in lifetime revenue. This is something I’m incredibly proud of, not just because of the number itself, but because it represents millions of moments of creativity and discovery for kids and families. Additionally, we launched in Target and Barnes & Noble this past year as part of building our wholesale channels.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
One of my favorite parts of this journey is that my kids not only understand what I do for work but also are involved in helping shape KiwiCo’s products. My kids were the original source of inspiration for the company, and they continue to be critical testers of our products to ensure we’re creating the best hands-on activities for kids to discover and unleash their creativity and explore as they learn about the world around them.
Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo
What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Finding a community of founders can be so helpful. Sharing the challenges and the opportunities that come from building a business with others who are in the same boat can be so valuable. You can gather everything from tangible, actionable advice to empathetic ears that have been there and done that.
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Sandra Oh Lin, 50, of Los Altos, California. She is the founder and CEO of KiwiCo, a company that provides educational activities for kids meant to spark creativity and problem-solving through hands-on play. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo. Sandra Oh Lin.
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