Sandra Oh Lin: Founder/CEO of KiwiCo
Introduction
Sandra Lin is currently the CEO of KiwiCo, which she started in 2011. KiwiCo delivers hands-on projects for kids to encourage their creative confidence and thinking. Although they just celebrated shipping their 50 millionth crate, the journey has not been easy and a lot of little moments have led to where she is now.
Lin majored in chemical engineering and minored in economics and biology at Case Western Reserve University. Wanting to keep her options open after graduating, she chose to major in chemical engineering because of its broad applications; jobs for chemical engineers range from work at oil refineries to technical marketing. In addition, she pursued a variety of internships in college to gain exposure to different career options. The goal for Lin was to gain as much training as possible through exploration.
Following college, Lin worked at Procter and Gamble and a few startups before deciding to attend business school at Harvard University. After graduating , Lin worked in ecommerce at PayPal for almost 5 years and then transitioned within the company to eBay where she ran the fashion business as a General Manager. With the thought that she would join a smaller company, Lin left eBay after 7 and a half years.
At this time, Lin was eager to do hands-on activities with her older children who were 2 and 4 years old. The idea came from her own fond experiences of her mom doing activities with her when she was younger. Lin wanted to spend quality time with her children, and these memories served as inspiration for how she could do so. These activities also allowed her children to grow their creativity, confidence, problem solving skills, and critical thinking skills. Lin was able to use her engineering background to create these projects to promote engagement and learning. The first project she designed came from the heart because she wanted to empower her children by giving them agency over a project. Eventually, Lin started inviting friends with children to do these activities as well. During a project session, a friend told her that she should start a business around the fun activities. That is when KiwiCo was born. It came out of true customer need. “It's not that I architected things so that I would end up starting this company, starting KiwiCo. But if you look at my path, even though it wasn't necessarily like a straight one, a lot of the things that I did helped connect to contribute to where I am today.”
In 2011, Lin launched KiwiCo. She was experienced in, and had an affinity for, consumer products and Ecommerce and naturally gravitated towards the customer facing aspects of the business. She loved figuring out the needs of the customer and then being able to fulfill them. However, fully understanding KiwiCo’s customers posed a bit of a challenge because they didn’t have just one consumer base, but two. There are the adults - grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, friends - who are purchasing the products, and of course, the children who are interacting with them. They had to simultaneously show adults the value of their project crates, while making them interesting and fun enough to hold the children’s attention. Market research also posed a challenge. Little kids are not going to tell you with intricate detail what they like, or dislike, about a concept and what exactly they are looking for. To adapt to this challenge, KiwiCo has leaned into observational research. They now run a lot of play testing where they watch and try to understand what children gravitate towards, struggle with, and enjoy, and what disinterests them and more.
Mentorship
Lin has experienced mentorship since the beginning of her life, and even if that mentorship wasn’t always career related, it still gifted her with vital skills. Lin notes that her parents imparted wisdom onto her and the value of a solid work ethic. Lin’s parents were immigrants who came to the country without much. Her experiences and their example of incredible levels of resourcefulness have taught her that opportunities come through hard work and making things happen for yourself.
Later in college, Lin had an economics professor who believed in her more than she believed in herself. Her professor helped open her eyes to the range of opportunities available to her. Lin became president of the Honors Society and ran for other leadership positions she never would have considered. Because she was an engaged and active college student, this professor recommended her for the President’s Award. She didn’t think much of it originally, but she ended up winning the award after almost not attending the ceremony. This moment gave her a lot of confidence and instilled the belief in herself that she could do more and be more, and she did. Years later, she thanked her professor for the special and profound impact he made on her life.
When starting KiwiCo and in the years following, Lin didn’t know how to do everything and needed guidance. She sought out different advisors to help. Over the years, KiwiCo advisors included the former COO of Walmart, an Education Professor at Stanford, and a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
One of their first advisors was the former COO of Walmart who is now a venture capital investor. At KiwiCo’s start, he was able to help with a key aspect of a company’s success: hiring a VP of Operations. He had a lot of experience with identifying great talent and helped Lin find the right people to hire including KiwiCo’s head of operations. His viewpoint was especially valuable for a startup because he was able to foresee and assist in planning for possible challenges that Lin didn’t even know existed.
Another advisor was a Professor of Education at Stanford University. She was able to help KiwiCo codify difficult concepts in fun and engaging ways for children. She was able to really bring those concepts to life for them in a tangible way.
More recently, KiwiCo started working with a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is assisting in the development of KiwiCo's newest line for babies and infants. He is helping them understand early childhood development to ensure their products are on point. He is able to bring his own career knowledge of child development and then KiwiCo’s product designers are able to apply it.
Although she has many advisors and a team, Lin notes that it can be lonely as the CEO. However, Lin believes she is lucky to have a trusted group of executives whom she views as her thought partners. She notes the challenges of having to make decisions for the business, “I think it is a unique challenge… being in a position where you have to make certain decisions with the limited information you have.” In addition, she tries to balance other people's opinions while being really thoughtful and considerate of other data points. Decisions have to be made and she is not necessarily going to be the person that people like all the time. Lin notes, “that’s just the nature of the position that you’re in” and “you have to have a certain level of thick skin.”
Giving Back
Lin is a big believer in building creative confidence, promoting critical thinking, and supporting problem solving, which are embedded in KiwiCo’s company culture and mission. In addition, Lin notes there should also be a level of accountability and ownership over one’s work. Simultaneously, Lin believes in the power of a positive attitude, especially when collaborating because “attitude can be the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.” Lin is also a strong believer that the process is just as important as the end result.
When asked about the qualities of a good mentee, Lin notes, “I would probably say leaning towards learning… and having a good level of curiosity.” She believes that it is important to be able to ask questions, have self awareness, and speak authentically. For Lin, curiosity is so important because “people who are curious and lead with curiosity tend to be open to new ideas and so they are open to learning. They’re also open to talking… assessing and evaluating and either changing their mind or bettering their ideas.”
