A stylist, a variety of brand new clothes sent to your home as often as you like – sounds like a great offer for anyone. Now imagine this for your kids – and this is exactly the premise behind a revolutionary new company called Wittlebee. We’ve seen movies, coffee, and other products delivered to you by subscription. Getting new clothing for your tot by subscription and at a fraction of a cost is a completely fresh idea. Face it, kids quickly outgrow their clothes and you rarely have time to replenish. I remember when I first mentioned Wittlebee in February when they launched. The company has rapidly gained a following since then, largely with their Facebook community of over 10,000 fans as of now. “Putting your kids clothes on autopilot”, as Wittlebee.com promises, is a sweet idea, especially for the under the 5 year old set. Sean Percival is the man behind this company. This internet entrepreneur follows through on his own advice to quickly take the new product to market having successfully been through a few high-profile startups. I asked Sean, CEO of Wittlebee and a new dad, a few questions about the company and business.
What was the biggest motivation for you to start Wittlebee?
As an entrepreneur who became a new parent, I found my interests and passions quickly evolving. I was thinking about my next project and knew I wanted to do something for other parents. I really wanted to make their lives easier and reduce some of the costs and challenges with raising a kid today. Wittlebee was the result.
You must know kids’ language pretty well to come up with little bee… Wittlebee. Did it take long or was it spur of the moment kind of naming?
Credit for the name actually belongs to my wife. After getting really stuck on our naming I asked her for a few ideas. She provided a nice list of options and Wittlebee really jumped out to us. Also the domain name was available (something that’s not always the case today) so we ran with it. It was the perfect mixture of something memorable and adorable.
How did you earn the “Tweethearts” title from LA Weekly?
In the early days of Twitter my wife and I used the platform to openly share a lot about our lives and marriage. This was somewhat new for the time and earned us the name Tweethearts. Our followers seemed to appreciate our candid approach and willingness to share the ups and downs of modern married life.
If you were to build a social media pyramid [alike the food pyramid concept], what would it look like? Where have you seen the most return?
Facebook is definitely at the top of our marketing channels. We have a very active community of moms there and are adding more every week. If you’re looking to reach moms there really is no better platform.
After that it’s Daily Deals, email marketing and Pinterest in that order.
Who do you consider your biggest competitors? What’s your competitive advantage over them?
Currently there isn’t much competition in the marketplace but they’re coming. There are a few sites that focus on used clothes but we only sell new items. Personally my real competition is Gap who has been over charging parents for years now. I’m looking to provide a better product and experience than these legacy kids clothing stores. Oh and I’m going to do it at half their costs as well.
Where do you see the company 5 years from now? What is your long-term goal?
In 5 years we will have a huge subscriber base that exceeds 100,000 members. We aim to be the household name in affordable and high quality kids clothes. In the future, parents will spend less time in retail stores and more time and money online. We plan to be right there to make their lives easier while reducing the costs of keeping your wittle one well stocked with amazing clothes.
How are you going to measure the success of Wittlebee?
Right now I’m optimizing around happiness. Since it’s still early I measure success by how happy our customers are. If we maintain a high level of excitement and satisfaction I feel successful.
Which promotional methods you see as the most important to your brand?
Referral marketing is big for us. Our members tell their other parent friends and that social proof really helps drive new memberships. Most of this happens on Facebook.
How do you make sure the clothing sizes are correct with the frequency of mailings/replenishments?
We provide our members several ways to tell us about their sizing needs. Over time we learn more about each member. We use those learnings to improve the sizing and experience with each box.
We’re a monthly service but allow our members to pause their shipments anytime. We try to be as flexible as possible with that.
How big is your team? Since it truly is a different kind of service, are the jobs at Wittlebee different from a typical retailer or website?
We have 15 employees right now. Our employee makeup is unique. I find talented people from across many different industries. Some have retail experience where others are just moms who get it. I spend a lot of time developing the culture of Wittlebee making this a very special place to work.
I have also turned several of our first customers into our customer service representatives. These are stay at home moms across the nation looking for extra income. They answer our phone and emails from their own home and provide a truly unique experience. Instead of speaking with someone who doesn’t really know the product you’re talking with other moms who really understand the needs of today’s parent.
What’s the biggest challenge for clothing retailers? How does Wittlebee tackle it?
Apparel is somewhat antiquated industry that has yet to fully adapt to new digital world. That’s good for us though because it allows us to innovate. We get a few raised eyebrows from time to time but that’s to be expected. Our business is more efficient than any traditional retailer so they should be a little nervous.
Why did you choose Baby Buggy as your charity? Do you work with any other charities?
We liked what Baby Buggy offered and their local presence here in our hometown of Los Angeles. We’re in talks with other charities but currently they’re our sole partner. Giving back (locally within the US) is very important to me so I hope to do more social good programs in the future.
What advice do you have for parents that want to start their own business?
Start small and don’t dwell on your idea. Take it to market as quickly as possible and let the market validate your idea (or not). Take a chance and push it out there. If you have something amazing you’ll know right away.
Are your kids getting involved in the creative process?
My daughter is a little young to get directly involved but she’s a regular fixture here at the warehouse. She also happens to be the biggest inspiration for me personally so I’m always thinking about her.
If I were to ask your kids, what kind of parents you are, what would they say?
I think she would respond with a resounding dada and a smile. I think my daughter knows that I work a lot but that all that hard work is for her.
Learn more about Sean Percival and Wittlebee at the Wittlebee blog.
