Sara Schiller: Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Sloomoo

Episode 494

In this episode, Sara Schiller, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Sloomoo, shares all about her journey building this sensory entertainment company. A creative and immersive brand known for its innovative and delightful slime experiences, Sara co-founded Sloomoo to provide a unique and tactile way for individuals of all ages to explore their creativity. Now in four cities, offering a range of sensory experiences, workshops, and products that engage and inspire. Sara emphasizes the need for mindfulness and creativity in daily life and shares advice for aspiring founders to take action and be fearless in pursuing their ideas. This is a terrific episode that you won’t want to miss. Now on this episode of #TheKaraGoldinShow.

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Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be, I want to be just want to make sure you will get knocked down but just make sure you don’t get knocked down knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control control control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go Let’s go. Hi, everyone, its Kara Goldin from the Kara Goldin show. I am so excited to have our next guest. Here we have Farah Schiller, who is the co founder and CO CEO of Sloomoo. And if you don’t know what Sloomoo is, you are going to find out and you are going to be so excited and definitely want to go to one of their incredible centers that they have. But Sloomoo is a creative and immersive brand known for its innovative and delightful. Get ready for it slime experience. So Sarah co founded Sloomoo to provide a unique and tactile way for individuals of all ages, not just for kids, to explore their creativity. And in the last 18 months, Lumo has expanded into four cities and has become a leading name in the world of sensory entertainment. I had never heard of sensory entertainment, and I’m super excited about this. We’re going to get more from Sara directly and, and really about her journey and founding co founding this company, but also just overall why she decided to do this and and all of the things around the brand that you’re going to be so excited to hear about. So welcome, Sarah.

Sara Schiller 2:01
Thank you excited to be here. Very,

Kara Goldin 2:04
very excited to have you. So can you share the inspiration behind starting Sloomoo? What led you to create a brand centered around sensory experience with slime? Yeah,

Sara Schiller 2:17
so there’s multiple factors that go into this. And I think as an entrepreneur, it’s so hard that you need a lot of motivating things to get you through getting stuff started. Karen, my co founder and I have been friends now for 16 years. And she was with me during two really rough moments of my life. The first was when my oldest daughter, I have two one now 16 And 12 was diagnosed with a rare genetic syndrome called Angelman syndrome. That severely limited her ability to use her hands to use language to do any activities of daily living. And then, about nine years ago, my husband of 17 years, had massive bilateral strokes and he became severely disabled and very limited in activities that he could do. So Karen was with me on that journey. And she herself went through some really rough time, she lost her husband to mental health issues, and she lost her cousin in the Parkland School shooting. And she went into a major major depression and had a friend come over with her 10 year old who brought slime. And Karen said, I want to find out what slime of today is, ended up diving in and four hours realized later, she realized she felt better and had been playing and felt joy. And she called me up and she’s like, Sarah, you gotta get some of this. And what happened to Karen and I, we both became adults was known as an adult climber. But we also realized we were in our late 40s that we we needed and wanted to bring this to the world, like everyone needed to get a little bit of this. And little did we know of course, that we were heading into a pandemic because we started in 2019. But that people are now faced with really an there’s an epidemic of loneliness. And you know, the numbers of depression at all ages are going up. And we’ve really found that slime is a way for people to tap into that joy to play again, to get off their device and use their hands and tap into off force of your senses for the five. So what started out as it really a personal a level of fun, we were able to say let’s bring this to the world. So

Kara Goldin 4:50
you’re based in New York City. Was that your first like how did you go about actually creating your first environment?

Sara Schiller 5:00
One of the amazing things and this is so important when you have a co founder is that we have a Venn diagram of a skill set. So I’ve focused on business management, hospitality, the guests experience, Karen, on marketing and talent, focusing on Instagram talent, and the two of us really met in the middle of building a brand. So we always knew in the beginning that and that’s why we’re called Sloomoo Institute, not a slime Institute, because we’re building a brand. And once we set up that that brand was focused on joy, play, sensory play, we were able very, very quickly to raise the money, identify the space, build out the experience, it’s all it’s all immersive hands on that from concept to opening our doors was less than a year.

Kara Goldin 5:52
Wow. That’s amazing. That’s, that’s super, super amazing. So did you actually build what where was your first center then? So

Sara Schiller 6:02
it was in Soho. And originally it was intended to just be a six month pop up. And I think the day that we opened our doors, we realized that this was a real business. And there was more there than we thought we had to really skinny down during the pandemic, but we had grossed $5 million in revenue. In the first four months, we had welcomed over 100,000 visitors. So we the numbers were there, we just had to make it through. Who knew it’s going to be a year long, really tough time. And we’re we’re use that time to really do some of the strategy work for how to make this not just a pop up, but a real full time business, and how do we grow it?

Kara Goldin 6:47
And what were you doing before this?

Sara Schiller 6:51
Yeah, so I have my MBA in finance. And I was a management consultant. I also worked for Starwood Hotels, focused on branding and the guest experience. But I left Starwood in 2008, and I opened up my own company called Meet hospitality, where I revolutionize how people gather for meetings. So we had five locations in New York City that were soft seating, contemporary art, great food, great technology. And that business really fueled and ignited my passion as an entrepreneur. I love building things. And I love the the idea that you can have other people experience or enjoy what your vision is.

Kara Goldin 7:38
I love that experience, though. Because typically, people would think something like slime is just for kids. But obviously, you’re bringing together adults, I probably during the pandemic, you were even seeing this where, you know, teams were coming together and wanting to create with your slime, and lots of people were doing zoom team meetings over the time. So I love that you saw that there was something beyond the demographic of kids. And this idea of sensory experiences. Using slime is just it’s kind of brilliant. I’ve definitely seen your location in Soho, and in New York. And as we discussed, I guess you’re in four cities, you’re going into a bunch of other cities as well.

Sara Schiller 8:30
Yeah. And we, we realized that adults would be into it. But we didn’t really realize the amount of corporate corporate business team team building off sites that we would attract also, now what now first, we’re huge proponents of it. But this idea that when your hands are busy, and you’re not being distracted by your phone or device, it actually makes people pay more attention in meetings and more, more attention to the person that they’re speaking with. So we started having meetings and bringing slime and people were saying this is the best meeting I’ve gone to all year. So it’s it’s really tapping into that, you know, allowing people we say to connect with themselves to really kind of all that garbage in your brain goes away and then connect with others because you’re looking at them in the eye and you’re not being drawn towards your phone.

Kara Goldin 9:32
Yeah, definitely. Well, I think you’ve you’ve touched on this, that there’s this need to for tactile experiences and, and definitely it’s it’s a lot of fun. For sure. What is one of the stories that you’ve maybe heard from some of your customers how this has just sort of been one of the most fun afternoons or that they’ve had. I’d love to hear anything that you’ve heard from consumers. Yeah,

Sara Schiller 9:58
we have some great some great stories, one of our favorites is a grandmother who came. And, you know, sometimes we get pushback, like, I don’t want to buy a ticket, because I’m not going to touch the slime. I’m just here with my grandchildren, and I’m not going to do anything. And this one grandmother, at the end wrote us a note. Instead, I realized that I needed this even more than my grandchildren, I had more fun than they did. And I’m coming back with my girlfriends for our girls night out to for us to play and have fun and have joy. And we we hear that over and over again. And you can almost change in the person, whether it’s the dad who walks in with their arms crossed, saying like, Oh, I’m not going to touch this, you know, 10 minutes later, their elbow, deep and slime. We also have had, and this has been a really interesting byproduct of what we created is really diverse families coming in with people who might have children on the autism spectrum, adults on the autism spectrum, or really, any sort of disability coming in and seeing our workforce because we have a inclusive workforce, but also finding out how accessible the space is. And that you know, you don’t you anyone can play when it comes down to it and that the families feel so welcome. In our space. We had a school where all the children were in, in wheelchairs, and the director was was literally crying when she was leaving, saying, This is the first time we’ve had a class really be able to engage in an experience. That’s

Kara Goldin 11:50
awesome. So you’re in New York, Los Angeles, or you’re opening in Los Angeles, where in Los Angeles are you going into?

Sara Schiller 11:58
We’re going into South Fairfax, right across from the growth. That will be later on in the summer. We just opened in Houston at the marquee entertainment center. And that’s a really fun, gorgeous spot. And then we’re in on North Chicago and Buckhead in Atlanta. So we’re, we’re spread out across the US.

Kara Goldin 12:21
That’s awesome. Do you foresee plans in the future where you’re going to be going international?

Sara Schiller 12:29
So right now, we, we own all of our locations in North America, we are going to look strategic to lead a license internationally, the cultural implications and just construction and everything would be really difficult for us to do it ourselves. So we’re looking for partners, who would licensed the brand. So strategically, that’s that’s a big initiative. For us. There’s a lot of regions across the world that we think are we know would be perfect for slomo. In particular, Korea, Japan, they’re Singapore, they’re slime crazy countries. And then a lot of the countries in the Middle East that have large, large number of families as a percentage of the population, and are looking for indoors, things to do.

Kara Goldin 13:22
Yeah, no, I think it’s going to be huge, for sure. So when I think about this, even though you had the experience, working on meetings and companies, I mean, this is such a different chapter in your life. And it sounds like a very different chapter for your co founder to how did you get the courage to go and do something that is so audacious, as, you know, working on slime? How did you think about it?

Sara Schiller 13:53
It’s interesting, because we’ve done something that’s never been done before. And that’s such a rarity on the planet to be able to do. We don’t no one had ever created a slime kitchen that’s making 600 gallons of slime a day. No one had created some of the experiences we have where like, you can slingshot slime, you can walk on slime, and we have a custom DIY bar. So we probably have what I think is a good dose of fearlessness that I think all entrepreneurs have and you have to have, which is enough fearlessness, but that you’re not reckless. So having the ability to run financial models look at the bottom line, focusing on building a brand what’s critical what isn’t what do you include using that brand lens to make all decisions? Having someone like Karen, who’s an expert in influencer marketing and allowed us to get off the ground using her her natural skill set. It all came together, wrapped in this package of fearlessness. And one of the things I say to our team all the time is, now that we’re bigger, and we know better, that we can’t operate from a position of fear, we can be smart, and we can use data, make great decisions, but we can’t operate from a position of fear because you won’t really continue to grow or innovate.

Kara Goldin 15:25
Yeah, no, it’s such great advice. And you’ve obviously, you know, been a successful entrepreneur and grown another company in the past. So you know, that, you know, firsthand, and I totally agree. So, you’re not just in the business of creating experiences, but you’re also in, you know, which is kind of a service business, but you’re also in the physical product business, you talked about creating these vats of Flyme. How fun would that be, on many levels, but is what is probably the most challenging thing that you have to deal with, with this company? I mean, you’ve got a lot of different components that probably, you know, the consumer just sees this bright, fun experience, you’ve got to get that right. But there’s a lot of pieces here, there’s direct to consumer, there’s, you know, the employees, there’s, you know, making sure that the environments are safe, like, what is something that you think, like, I had no idea how hard it was gonna be?

Sara Schiller 16:31
Yeah, well, the, the I think many people in this immersive experience business would say this, we say the slime is the star. That’s like what everyone comes for. But the people are, who make them memories, our staff, and having hiring the right staff, training them, retaining them in an environment that has been just so rocky for for many years now is probably one of our biggest challenges. And, you know, we’re, we’re seasonal business, so we have fluctuations and in our workforce. So think as a team. That’s one of our things that we’re constantly focused on is, how do we hire better? How do we train better? How do we hire for not only what we want the guests experience to be, but also so that they stay with us for a long time, and we don’t have to retrain again. Yeah, so that’s like, that’s a big piece. I think the the other piece that we had no idea was going to be so complicated was this procurement piece, like just getting the 10s of 1000s of gallons of glue we partner with Elmers are such a great partner. And we’ve been so lucky to have them. Getting that glue, getting it into the space, and then all the different atoms, there’s 4 million different combinations you can imagine. With the with each line, there’s different scents, there’s different textures. It all adds up to playing with your senses. And the procurement piece in particular coming out of the pandemic was a beast. I

Kara Goldin 18:15
bet no, I can only imagine. I mean, it must have been crazy. So when do you think about developing new products, though? And inside of flu? I mean, is that all the time?

Sara Schiller 18:27
Yeah. So there’s, there’s really two kinds of products. There’s our actual slime that we’re selling both in our retail stores on location and online. And that slime, we’re constantly creating new cute creatures and scents and combinations, and doing drops and creating a reason for people to come back to slim and buy more slime. But then there’s also the experience piece because you don’t want people to buy a ticket once and never come back. And we want reasons for people to come back and repeat business. And we’re looking to activate the space in simple ways. So we might have on our Simon repeat wall where you you put slides up on the wall and add to the history of our spaces, the opportunity to write what you’re grateful for if we’re around Thanksgiving, and stick it up on the wall and people take photos. So there’s your simple things, but really meaningful for people that we can activate in the space. And then we’re constantly looking at new mini experiences along the way. So a great example of of what we’d launched in Houston was Frou Frou fields. That’s the name and you go up to this huge wall and he put on a blindfold. Everyone could do it or one or two members of your fit friends or family can do it. And you go on the wall and you feel different pieces. And you can try to guess what they are. And what’s so interesting, right? Whenever you shut off one sense, another sense becomes more highly activated. And I think especially with sight, people forget what it’s like not to see and how much fun it is to discover things. We have simple things like a basketball, or a squishy, but we also have grass. And, you know, different beans. So it’s, it’s pretty cool that we’ve created another way for people to tap into their senses, and play and discover.

Kara Goldin 20:39
So one of the things that you mentioned was social media, and influencers and how you all have really deployed to build this brand. Can you share a little bit like what’s worked for you, I know that you’ve had some very notable celebrities that have that have stepped up and said, how great the experience I would guess, like, it’s, it’s kind of perfect for Instagram, right for people. I think like, just to experience that people want to show pictures of slime right with their friends. I mean, who wouldn’t? or their family? I mean, or their co workers, whatever. I bet. You know, that’s been huge for you guys. Yeah.

Sara Schiller 21:26
And we’re really lucky in the sense that we’ve, we’ve had a lot of celebrities and influencers come to us. So people have major major illest celebrities just gone online and bought tickets and, and have shown up and have posted and that for us is obviously the most rewarding, because we know that we’re in this zeitgeist of culture and, and conversation. But we’re also working at at all levels. It’s not just the the A listers, right. Like, we want to tap into the, the mommy blogger who is in Atlanta, or the LGBTQ, you know, influencer, who is in Chicago, like, we’re working all the time to get our message of joy, play and inclusion out there. So that when we’re reaching out and saying, Hey, you should come visit us people really understand that it’s not just a kid’s toy, that it’s actually something much, much broader.

Kara Goldin 22:39
So your brand really emphasizes mindfulness and creativity. You touched on this a bit, but how can anyone kind of incorporate sensory play into their lives? Maybe they’re not working? Maybe they’re part of different groups that they see that this is an opportunity, how else can they really, you know, partner with you guys in some way or, or work with, with you in some way? To really get increased creativity, I

Sara Schiller 23:10
guess? Yeah. So I’ll highlight a couple of things. Two things is our like, we have the corporate initiatives. One is with Goldie Hans Mind Up Foundation. And she’s focused on bringing mindfulness in particular to school children and underserved communities around the US and that’s a really important partnership for us because mental health and mental well being is at the core of playing with slime and tapping into your, your inner sense of joy. We also have, as I mentioned, our neuro diverse workforce, and that’s really critical to us to let people know that their child has will have an opportunity to get meaningful employment and we work with local agencies to to hire train, provide people with the supports they need from an inclusivity standpoint. But then there’s just the what I would say the really simple level of if you if you visit Sloomoo Institute, you leave with a slime so every ticket you leave with a slime so you have something that you can go home and play with. And we found this is most meaningful to the 16 or 17 year old, who’s a little bit dated, but is forced to go with their sister or brother and ends up using it as a study tool or you know, something to keep them engaged while they’re studying all through through students through college. So just the act of playing with slime itself provides distressing and relaxation. We also have really, really fun products that allow you to custom make your own different types of slime. So we have slime building kids being kids, and other ways that you can start to experiment and learn how to make slime if you want to go down that route.

Kara Goldin 25:12
And they are so much fun for sure. Yeah, it’s, it’s really awesome. So what’s the best advice for any founder or potential founder out there someone thinking about starting their own company, knowing what you know, today. Now you’ve got a couple under your belt, and very different experiences, but you’re a seasoned entrepreneur founder. Now what what would you say is sort of like the best advice that you would give to somebody? Yeah, but

Sara Schiller 25:43
my advice is, get it 80%, right. And go, the last 20% will cost you either so much time or so much money, that you might not even get the product project or product off the ground. You know, get it out there, start listening to your your customers, or your guests get feedback, and keep being flexible and agile in order to adapt and change. And it’s, it’s that is in based in being fearless, right? Because what what creates that over analysis is the fear that we don’t have it right? Or maybe it’s this or maybe it’s that. I know, Karen and I say if we’d hesitated for a minute, we would have we would have never even done the business who would who would do such a crazy thing as to create assignments to do. So it’s better like the financial model, which I made very high level. I looked at almost two years later. And I said to Karen, you wasn’t so far off, when it came down to it right like the the extra 10 pages of Excel would not have made the business any better or more profitable or any wiser. It was us getting out there and doing it.

Kara Goldin 26:59
Well, I’m so happy you did so Sarah Schiller, co founder and CO CEO of Sloomoo, definitely check out their locations. But also check out their website. We’ll have all the info in the show notes. But thank you, Sarah, for sharing all about your brand and your wisdom and your journey. Really appreciate it and good luck with everything.

Sara Schiller 27:18
Thank you so much. Great to be here.

Kara Goldin 27:20
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would, please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. I would love to hear from you too, so feel free to DM me. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal, best selling book undaunted, where I share more about my journey including founding and building hint. We are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks for listening and good bye for now.

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