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Meet Alice Horn of VillaKey in CIC Miami

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Alice Horn.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Alice. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always been passionate about entrepreneurship and helping others. As a young mom, I started my first nonprofit venture, KidVentures, teaching entrepreneurship to young children. The project allowed them to develop and run their own classroom business, marketing artistic products they created. Launched as a pilot project in one school, the nonprofit grew to serve students throughout Miami-Dade County, including some of its poorest communities.

In 2006, I was appointed to serve as Founding Executive Director of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida). I was excited to watch as the program grew to over 3,500 students per year, making it the largest local youth entrepreneurship program in the US. We had countless success stories, including many young people who are still running their businesses, or involved in productive careers.

While my nonprofit journey was incredibly rewarding, after 10 years I was itching for change. In 2016 I made the decision to join our family business with my husband and son, then called Resort Homes of Florida. The business started as a vacation rental website for homes in Orlando, helping all types of families make vacation memories together. ​Then we noticed that quite a few reviews on the site were left by moms of kids with autism. These moms were grateful, that they had found a quiet, safe and nurturing place to go on vacation. Some had never been on vacation before. They were thrilled to get away, just like any typical family.

This business resonated especially for me because I, too had been touched by autism as a child. My father was on the spectrum. Recognizing the autism community was underserved by the hospitality industry, our family started VillaKey, a national travel platform for families living with autism. In spite of the rapid growth in autism cases (15% increase in the last two years alone), in the hospitality industry overall there is a widespread lack of understanding about the needs of families impacted by developmental disorders. This means it is very difficult for the families to make memories and spend time together on vacation.

For me, this was a full circle moment. I now had the opportunity to lead and participate in a mission-based business, combining my entrepreneurial strengths with my nonprofit background. Better yet, I could do this working alongside my family.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I transitioned from a non-profit to a for-profit enterprise I felt well-prepared. After all, I had been running an organization teaching entrepreneurship for over 10 years. Little did I realize what a steep and humbling learning curve was ahead of me. While I understood the principles of entrepreneurship, I needed so many new technical and other skills to build VillaKey. I am forever grateful to all the mentors and learning opportunities at the CIC where we are based, to Dan Grech and the folks at BizHack where I learned the fundamentals of digital marketing, to the mentors at Rokk3rlabs and Platform Miami, and to the VillaKey advisory members who teach us every step of the way. Every milestone brings a new hurdle, and the only way to overcome these hurdles is to have an incredibly supportive network.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the VillaKey story. Tell us more about the business.
VillaKey is a travel platform for families living with autism. For our vulnerable families, we saw a special need for a platform which provides peace of mind through 1) A curated, hand-picked selection of homes that fit their unique needs; 2) Staff and property managers who are certified in the requirements of autism travel and can assist them; and 3) Special guidance and tools to assist travelers as they make their choices.

Many children with autism have heightened sensitivity to sounds, bright lights, and smells. Our homes are in quiet communities, are decorated for comfort and feature a home-like ambiance. Dimmers are used on most lights to prevent visual discomfort. Only fragrance-free cleaning products are used. Some children also have food allergies and other sensitivities. Every home has a fully equipped kitchen allowing parents to cook specialized meals. We work only with professional property managers (not individual owners) who manage 20+ homes or more to ensure consistency and quality of homes. Property managers must be certified in autism travel and sign an agreement to ensure they are willing to comply with autism-friendly requirements.

Our welcome kits will provide simple toys, safety alarms to prevent children wandering off, and other childproofing items. In addition to providing access to a selection of autism-friendly homes, VillaKey also provides planning tools for parents, such as social narratives (e-books) to prepare the children for their vacation.

For many families living with autism, going on vacation is out of reach financially. VillaKey Cares contributes a percentage of profits to ensure deserving autism families can make vacation memories.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
For me, good luck comes as a result of a great deal of patience, preparation, perseverance – and then knowing when to leap for a specific opportunity. I am currently in conversations with a potential investor that I originally met in completely different circumstances. Its good luck that we reconnected, but it came as a result of years of building relationships in many different settings.

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Image Credit:
Photos: Victor Princiotta

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