Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Guthrie.
Hi Rebecca, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Miami and grew up in Coral Gables. I’ve spent most of my career in real estate, you could say I grew up on sand piles visiting construction sites.
In high school, we relocated to Raleigh, NC, and lived there for 3 years, finishing out high school. Then, I went to the College of Charleston. I fell in love with the historic preservation of the city (Charleston), similar to how Coral Gables has maintained its charm. Fast forward, and I spent the last 20 years in and around the mortgage industry, real estate, and technology.
After selling my software company, Preclose, which helped real estate transaction coordinators organize transactions… I went to work at Keller Williams corporate office (the largest real estate company worldwide) as the VP of Strategic Product Development working on strategic technology projects that help real estate agents grow their businesses.
I have 3 kids under the age of 11, with 3 very different hair care needs. On a family vacation going to the Bahamas, I was hit pretty hard with something. Here I was, first generation born in the US and I have been able to build a career in the real estate technology industry but something was missing for me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then, I realized on this same trip I missed that my daughter had outgrown baby shampoo on the trip. It felt like a sign that I needed to refocus.
So, I did what I knew best and began looking into haircare options on the market that represent not just kids, but modern kids. And, began building Captain & Skipper because I didn’t see anything on the market that represented growing kids.
Now, along this journey of building Captain & Skipper, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. As a young mom of 3, battling cancer has been a journey and makes the mission behind the brand even more important.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not exactly.
I was really clear on what a solid children’s product would look like: clean, smells amazing, high-performance detangling, and high-value. We stripped out over 1500 ingredients, which means we had a lot of revisions to the product. We also wanted to add scent to the products that are kid-approved. Every time I asked for cotton candy or driftwood I kept getting something that did not smell like it, and ended up going through four different fragrance houses to get the scents just right. Every time you have a revision, you are looking at 3+ weeks of formulating, testing, and sampling. Launching Captain & Skipper took twice as long as we anticipated to launch.
We also filed a trademark for our original business name, only to be denied by the Trademark office because it was too generic (Magic Hair Kids was the original name). We were already thinking that we wanted to create an enduring brand beyond haircare. So, one day, while we were out on the water on our boat, my husband called my son Skipper. The rest just made sense. We used the name change to rethink the brand, including humor and personal development.
In each of these situations, what could have been roadblocks, we used the opportunity to pivot.
Now, along this journey of building Captain & Skipper, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. It’s one thing to build a business, it’s another to get hit with a cancer diagnosis and continue to push forward. As a young mom of 3, battling cancer has been a journey. It slowed our roll-out of Captain & Skipper, delayed how quickly I could respond and when we got ready to launch, I was hit with intense fatigue after fighting radiation. But, we still moved forward, just at a slower pace and we are happy with how we have launched this year.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve spent my career building businesses in the real estate technology space as both an executive and entrepreneur. But, building a new consumer brand has me with eyes wide open. I’ve been guided working with mentors in the beauty industry that have built million dollar companies.
Despite the pivots we had to make, we just launched Cotton Candy and Driftwood scented Shampoo & Body Wash 2-in-1 and Conditioners for all hair types (including the knotty ones). We stripped out over 1500+ ingredients, kept it clean, and then mixed in the most amazing magical scents for kids.
And, we are now also available on Amazon (to make it as easy as possible to bring Captain & Skipper home).
The brand is more than haircare, our mission is about the connection between parent and child. Our motto is “In this ship together” as the ship could mean multiple things; relationship, ship because we are a water-based brand, or sh!t because parenting can come with challenges. We’re just having fun with it and giving parents and kids permission to have a little fun with shower time.
Chances are every grown-up today has some level of challenge from their childhood and we’re building in ways to build a stronger connection with your child. With positive messaging on each bottle and throughout the brand, we are encouraging parents to introduce affirmations (I am kind, I am strong, I am capable and I am loved) as well as embrace childlike behavior (Dream Big, Play Hard, Create Noise) for a stronger relationship.
This really is the start of building a community of parents with growing kids.
Any big plans?
I’m looking forward to inspiring a new generation of parents and their children through Captain & Skipper. Encouraging parents to lean into what went well in their childhood and what didn’t go so well, and use it as an opportunity to grow. Give our kids the opportunity to develop really healthy self-care habits with products they’ll actually want to use.
We are really excited about introducing Captain & Skipper as a new, yet lasting brand for growing kids.
Pricing:
- Shampoo – $14.99
- Conditioner – $14.99
- Knotty Super Conditioner – $15.99
Contact Info:
- Website: captainandskipper.com
- Instagram: @captainandskipperkids
- Facebook: @captainandskipper
