How A Mom Turned Being Cool Into A Career

Cool Mom Picks co-founder Kristen Chase. (Courtesy of Kristen Chase)

It’s a spectacular day in paradise — Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, that is. Kristen Chase and her four children are splashing around in an infinity pool overlooking the Caribbean sea. Earlier that morning, they had breakfast with Sponge Bob and Dora the Explorer at the new Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts, an all-inclusive property that recently rolled out the orange carpet to guests.
It’s just another day in the life of the CEO and co-founder of Cool Mom Picks, the go-to website for family-friendly advice on everything from amazing vacation spots to chic diaper bags. Parents Magazine called it ”the online arbiter of cool for the swingset crowd.” And Martha Stewart also lavished the praise: “The best in gifts, gear and everything new and cool for moms.”
But it was a long and often challenging road to get here.

Chase and her four kids at the Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Courtesy of Kristen Chase)

Some 10 years ago, Chase was working as a music professor in Mississippi. ”I was super career focused. I was a director. I created and organized a bachelor’s program in music therapy, and I was working 15- to 16-hour days,” says the former workaholic, who didn’t plan to get pregnant at that point in her career (surprise!)

She had no idea what to do. “I felt super isolated. I did not have any mom friends. My daughter was extremely difficult: She never slept, and it was incredibly hard for me.” So Chase started a site called Motherhood Uncensored and began blogging about her experiences. “It was my uncensored thoughts about motherhood — way before people were doing the bad mommy stuff.”
Chase attracted a following of moms who could relate to her honesty about the ups and downs of motherhood. Soon, she discovered another audience: high-powered women executives who wanted to stay home with their kids but also contribute financially by selling cool things on Etsy.
“I said, ‘It would be really neat to have a blog where moms could go to find cool sh*t. And that’s what I called it — Cool Mom Sh*t.”
Yes, for real. Chase created a site called Cool Mom Sh*t (spelled out!). “Because I am literal,” she says.

Goofing off with her kids. (Courtesy of Kristen Chase)

She invited other bloggers to contribute, including former New York advertising creative director Liz Gumbinner, whom she had befriended online. Gumbinner was running a blog called Mom-101 and suggested to Chase that they should become business partners.
But after a short time, they were running into an issue: “The people we featured were very excited but couldn’t put our name on the press page because it was ‘sh*t.’” So the duo changed the name to Cool Mom Picks — and the site took off. Their matter-of-fact tone and knack for curation struck a chord with readers.
This being the digital age, the co-founders of Cool Mom Picks didn’t meet in person until about five months after launching the site at a BlogHer conference. As Chase puts it:  “It’s a true internet love story without the love part.”
Here, Chase shares the behind-the-scenes of creating a successful parenting website and gives a sneak peek into what makes her one of the coolest moms on the planet who is able to take her kids on business trips to spots like the Dominican Republic. You can also read her picks for the best family vacations ever here.

Checking out the sunset at Nickelodeon Hotels in Punta Cana. (Courtesy of Laura Begley Bloom)

Laura Begley Bloom: Why do you think you were such a success?
Kristen Chase: We wanted it to be a funny, interesting, fast read for moms to make their lives easier and cooler. The whole idea was that we were finding these cool, handmade, artisan items when baby stuff was really uncool. Everything was pink little elephants and blue little giraffes, and you couldn’t find anything in black. Now it’s everywhere. Gray? Forget it — at that time nothing was gender neutral.
Begley Bloom: What’s your rags-to-riches revenue story?
Chase: We started it as a silly idea. Now, Liz and I are both single moms, we are the sole bread winners in our households, and we are able to support ourselves. We have about 15 employees, as well, that we are supporting. Without putting numbers on it, I would say we’re doing quite well.
Begley Bloom: How many readers do you have?
Chase: We have almost a million unique visitors a month. In 2010 we launched Cool Mom Tech, and then in 2015 we launched Cool Mom Eats. Travel is next. We have a podcast. We’re adding video. We do a lot of in-person things. It’s really become more of an online network for parents.
Begley Bloom: What’s your staff like?
Chase: We have everything from tech- and webmaster types to an ad sales team, plus four editors and seven or eight freelancers. They’re all moms. One is an aunt, something we added this year — our first dedicated aunt. We don’t have any dads. What’s interesting is we do have a lot of dads who read our site, but we have just kept it with a mom-voice. So a mom-to-mom, or mom-to-parent, kind of voice.

Getting slimed at Nickelodeon. (Courtesy of Kristen Chase)

Begley Bloom: How long did it take before you quit your day job?
Chase: I was married, Liz was partnered. I had left teaching and had the ability to cultivate and grow this because my ex was a pilot and we had a steady income. Liz, on the other hand, was still freelancing pretty heavily as a creative director and then actually worked full-time for a few years at Deutsch, while she was doing this, so it was insane.
Begley Bloom: It’s amazing that you’ve been able to grow it into such a strong brand.
Chase: I think it still feels like a start-up. Which is challenging when you’ve been around for so long. It shouldn’t be that way, and I think we learned that when we started Cool Mom Eats, because when we started Cool Mom Picks there was no social media. Quite frankly, it was a lot easier to grow what was originally a blog at that time. Now there’s so much noise out there. Even if you have a unique voice, it can be very hard to cut through.
Begley Bloom: In what way does it feel like a start-up?
Chase: We’re self-funded. We don’t have an office. We joke around that our office is the internet. Liz is on the top floor in New York, and I’m on the bottom floor in Philadelphia. Our ad sales team is on the top floor in Boulder. Also, we do a lot of everything, which I think you find in a start-up. So I’ll be thinking, “I should not be fixing photos, but I am.” I’m the CEO, and I’m fixing code on a post. I just handed off some of the social media, but for the longest time, I have been doing the social media. We don’t have an intern shooting out tweets. That’s us, that’s our voice.

In a travel-friendly dress by Sonnet James, which Chase featured on Cool Mom Picks. (Courtesy of Kristen Chase)

Begley Bloom: What do you love about your job?
Chase: It’s amazing for me to be able to work from home, especially with four kids running around and doing everything that I do. We love supporting businesses, especially small businesses, and family-run businesses. We’ve given a lot of businesses their start. I think that we have such a strong empathy for moms. I always say if I wasn’t laughing I’d be crying because parenting is so hard. Anything we can do to get people to laugh and to make life easier is awesome.
Begley Bloom: What is it about travel that you love?
Chase: I grew up overseas: I lived in South Africa for four years as a child, and I traveled a ton. I feel like the experience is invaluable — the memories that you create and providing your kids with a diverse cultural experience, especially considering I live in a small town in Pennsylvania. Yesterday my son was running around with a kid from Canada and another one from England. That’s what excites me about travel.

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