Hardware Podcasts

KiwiCo: Sandra Oh Lin

How I Built This · 25 Dec 2023 · 52m

What this episode covers

Sandra Oh Lin, founder of KiwiCo, explains how she transitioned from a high-level career at eBay and PayPal to launching a subscription box company for kids' science and craft projects. She details the early challenges of prototyping in her garage, securing seed funding despite being a 'mompreneur' in Silicon Valley, and the critical pivot to expanding product lines (Tinker Crate, Doodle Crate, Quala Crate) to achieve profitability. Oh Lin highlights the operational evolution from domestic sourcing and internal kitting to overseas manufacturing, resulting in over 50 million crates shipped and a self-sustaining business model.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
KiwiCo, eBay, PayPal, Procter & Gamble, Birchbox, Barkbox, Blue Apron
Products
Tinker Crate, Doodle Crate, Quala Crate, Kiwi Crate
Also
Sandra Oh Lin

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