Alana Oxfeld + Cheryl Gonzalez, Founders of State of Kid
Name: Alana Oxfeld + Cheryl Gonzalez
Founder: State of Kid
Who are Alana and Cheryl and what do they do?
Alana is a 15-year marketing and strategic communications veteran with a specialty in high-growth startup brands. Prior to State of Kid, she served as a senior member of the team that sold Bai Beverages to Dr. Pepper Snapple for $1.7B. Alana is mom to six-year-old Spencer.
Cheryl has held key management roles in businesses serving the children’s market, both as Vice President of Sales & Operations at Fridababy and Head of Sales & Operations at littlehipstar, a European e-commerce concept shop. Cheryl is mom to six-year-old Ryan and three-yearold Nina.
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
State of Kid is a new brick-and-mortar concept that brings the most sought-after children’s retail brands and the most in-demand class instructors together under one roof. With three locations in Miami, State of Kid features a curated collection of clothing, accessories and decor, as well as educational workshops for parents and enrichment activities for kids.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
My business partner, Alana, and I met through our husbands and immediately clicked. We bonded over being busy moms who shared many of the same interests and struggles, specifically the difficulty of finding specific resources for our kids. I was pregnant with my second child, and we began to discuss what we wanted in an ideal world, and, just like that, the concept for State of Kid (SOK) was born. Being a FoundHER means we keep parents at the forefront and feel a great sense of pride to be able to create a place where so many families have found their own tribe and support system.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
We constantly share the idea that there's never a "best time" to start. We constantly try to foster a tribe of resources and are always willing to cross-collaborate with local female disruptors. When we first started our business, our kids were toddlers. Waiting until they were older and in school full-time might have been easier, but we realized the pain points we wanted to solve in Miami were universal. If we waited for the right age for our children to start our business, we’d never have launched State of Kid. And we would have missed out on an opportunity to help others facing this universal challenge.
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
When we started our first joint venture–State of Kid, we each had our individual fears. As successful working moms we felt the shift that occurs when you’re the boss. Being a small business owner means more responsibilities, pressure, and longer hours. But we took the plunge, and launched our kid-centered business and waited on no one to start.
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
We both have very complimentary skill sets from our previous work experience; Alana is geared toward the communications side of things while Cheryl takes care of those intricate details as she has served as the VP of Sales and Operations elsewhere before.
How did you land your first client?
We've always had a mom tribe and we approached the creation of our space to identify the gaps we knew were in the kid-business industry. Our first few moms were friends of friends and before we knew it we had started our little tribe.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
We all want to have things go perfectly, but that will rarely be the case. Perfectionism can be the downfall of a startup because it’s unrealistic. There will be obstacles, but don’t let them get you down. You can't let the pressure of perfectionism be the enemy of your progress. For example, our first studio space was small, but we made it work. It allowed us to learn from our mistakes and evolve to achieve better things. When we designed our second space, we had the experience to build on. Regardless of the space, when we see kids smiling, getting messy, laughing, singing, and forming bonds –, it’s gratifying.
What would you do differently if you were starting your business today?
Building trust with your team is critical. Hire people that complement your style and are genuinely passionate about what you are building. We both love to be in control, but that doesn’t mean that we can do it all — as much as we’ve tried! We learned early that delegating with trust and transparency, builds a better team culture. We’ve found that by leaning on others — our husbands, friends, employees, caregivers, and community — we can balance work, life, and our children. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but if you’re in the game for the long haul, it will be worth learning early on.
What are three strategies you use to market your business, grow brand awareness and generate bottom line growth?
“Think Like a Kid.” We’re around kids all day. We have a chance to observe them and see how they interact with each other and handle obstacles. Their enthusiasm, fearlessness and straightforward problem-solving techniques inspire us and teach us new things every single day.
What was an obstacle you overcame to get your business where it is today?
It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect. Perfectionism can be the downfall of many businesses and particularly startups. Make it work, no matter what and don’t let the obstacles get you down.
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