Our team recently reached out to a forward-thinking company, Kid & Coe, that helps serve families around the world in finding stylish rentals that focus on kid-friendly environments. I guess you can say one of their mottos is “Bring the Kids!”.

“Dream big but act in baby steps at first…” – Zoie Coe

For those of you who have never heard of this company, this isn’t your typical vacation packaging site. Their main focus is being family oriented and we personally love that! Their baby-ready homes include highchairs, cribs, nurseries…and sitter recommendations, while ensuring that safety regulations are top-notch priority.

What’s just as incredible as this service is the Founder, Zoie Coe, and their Director of Communications, Laura Hall. Both women have hearts to help serve the community and make life just a little bit easier for those who want to travel with their loved ones. We had the privilege to interview the two of them about the great things they are doing at Kid & Coe and how it all got started. For those of you parents out there that have the entrepreneur spirit but aren’t sure about the risks…these questions that follow just may be the quick read you need.

With that…I’ll conclude our thoughts here, but below is some useful information and inspiration about their company and the good they are doing in the world for families everywhere.

QUESTIONS FOR ZOIE.

I’ve read some articles on how you got started on Kid & Coe, but I would like to know a little bit more on once you thought of the company and then working through your ideas and executing them while raising two children. A lot of mothers we speak with have a concept of something they would like to pursue, but feel like they can’t for several reasons. What would be your advice to motherly entrepreneurs?

My initial advice would be just get started and ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen by just trying? Dream big but act in baby steps at first – research and outline and lay your ideas on paper and they start to become more concrete. Figure out the three steps that need to be done to take the idea to the next level and then rinse and repeat. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with all that needs to happen to get an idea off the ground, but once you get started with one foot in front of the other, the idea picks up momentum and takes form and before you know it has come to life. You learn as you go along and there’s a wealth of information out there on learning whatever needs to be done.  And surround yourself with great people and verbalize the idea – once it’s out there it’s real!

What has been the most difficult part of the process in starting Kid & Coe? What are some things entrepreneurs can be aware of if they decide to make the jump.

Figuring out a real customer acquisition plan has to be any startup’s top priority – whatever industry and whatever concept needs customers to survive. I think many entrepreneurs are very optimistic by nature – “if we build it they will come!” – but figuring out how and where you will find your customers and then keeping them engaged in your product would be time well spent.

Kid & Coe is such a wonderful idea and I’m sure it’s helping out families across the globe. What was your initial reaction when you landed that first booking of a room?

We had our first booking pretty much the day we launched! There were so many moving parts on the site – calendar functionality, payment processing, host and guest messaging platform – so many details that when the first booking went through and all the cogs worked as intended it was a wonderfully empowering feeling for our whole team.

Any future plans for Kid & Coe? Maybe something our audience can look for in the coming days/months/years? If you don’t feel like you want to share them it’s ok.

We are researching the idea of building out a home swapping feature. A lot of our community has expressed interest in this and it makes sense as so many family travel habits are mirrored.

What’s the number 1 rule that you live out by when it comes to family and business? Maybe a quote or saying you repeat in your head?

“Life is either a great adventure or not at all.” – Amelia Earhart

QUESTIONS FOR LAURA.

How long have you been with the company and what drove you to it?

I’ve been with Kid & Coe for three years, off and on as I took some time out with my second baby last year. I joined after a decade working as a travel journalist in the UK, after meeting Zoie and feeling as enthused as she was about this fantastic idea. Travel with kids can be hard – anything that makes it easier is great.

“I love it when families really connect – when they make friends because of the interaction they’ve had on the site.” – Laura Hall

Being the Director of Communications, what has been the most memorable and influential response that someone using this service has either relayed to you or you have seen demonstrated?

I love seeing the blogs and magazines that I regularly read mention us. That’s a real boost. But even better are the emails that come in from parents saying – “Where have you been all my life?” This happened on a regular basis in the early days and still happens every now and again now. It goes to show that we’ve really found a niche.

What is something positive that parents tend to mention when using this service?

Friendships. I love it when families really connect – when they make friends because of the interaction they’ve had on the site. It’s so enriching – this is an idea that goes beyond finding somewhere to stay while on vacation and can create long-lasting family friends across the world.