Kyte Baby drama and mistakes your startup should avoid
What do baby clothes have to do with your startup?
Bamboo baby clothing company Kyte Baby really screwed up.
Stick with me here! Kyte Baby made a classic, universal mistake.
One of Kyte Baby’s employees adopted a baby who was born prematurely and has to spend weeks or months in the NICU. The employee used her two weeks’ paid parental leave on the condition she return to Kyte Baby for at least six months afterwards. When she asked to work remotely to be with her baby in the hospital, her request was denied.
The employee quit, her sister shared the family’s journey on TikTok, and the rest is internet outrage history.
Lesson 1: Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it okay.
You might, like me, read the story about Kyte Baby and be full of moral outrage. How could they?! A newborn! A premature baby!
Here’s the thing: As far as I can tell, everything Kyte Baby did was totally legal. (I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.) The United States is one of the only countries in the world with no paid parental leave. We do have unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, but it exempts companies with fewer than 50 employees. Kyte Baby appears to have fewer than twenty employees, meaning they are exempt. (Note: It’s absolutely appalling that we don’t have paid leave in the U.S. and that families and companies need to make these decisions. But alas, that’s a topic for another post.)
The people’s court is one thing, but the court of public opinion is another.
Before you make a decision, ask yourself how your company will look if the decision goes viral on social media. Even if it’s legal.
Lesson 2: Your internal values need to match your external values.
Kyte Baby is a baby clothing company selling cute, high quality clothes to parents. It promotes itself as a family run company for families. Its external messaging is consistent across its website, social media, and interviews.
Its internal messaging, at least as expressed to this particular employee, appeared to be, “We do not support families.”
Kyte Baby’s alleged behavior to its employee was:
- In direct contradiction to its brand image
- An action taken against a new mother — when new mothers are their ideal customer
You need to walk the walk inside the company, even if you think no one’s watching. Because your employees definitely are.
Lesson 3: Even small companies sometimes need to bring in the pros.
Your margins are tight, you’re bootstrapping, you’re still waiting for revenue to take off — I get it.
But sometimes it’s just better to pay a pro. This is especially true if you don’t yet have a communications strategy.
Example: Kyte Baby’s CEO her first apology on TikTok. It was scripted, awkward, and felt insincere. And TikTok’s algorithm is designed to create virality. It also lets users remix and comment on other users’ posts…a nightmare for any company that creates mockable content.
The result: An apology apologizing for the apology. Truly, there are few worse PR nightmares.
Now, in addition to any lost sales, Kyte Baby will almost certainly need to hire a crisis communications professional and fund an apology tour.
If you are wading into unfamiliar waters, just hire a pro. They cost a little bit up front but can save you, your reputation, and your wallet in the long run.
Lesson 4: Professionalize from the beginning.
I can’t pretend to know what kind of human resources policies Kyte Baby has in place. But I can point to an interview from DFW Child where CEO Ying Liu talks about how her whole family helps with the company — her children even help in the warehouse.
“None of us have official titles,” she says in the interview.
When I hear “none of us have official titles,” I hear that there is no solid human resources plan in place.
Startups and small businesses are understandably focused on product excellence and customer satisfaction. It can be tempting to make do. But this approach can lead to laziness and sloppiness as the organization grows, opening you up to employee dissatisfaction, liability, and even challenges growing your company.
Formalize your HR practices and employee roles and responsibilities as soon as possible. A little work today will pay off in the long run.
The bottom line: Everything you do communicates your brand
How you communicate matters. How you communicate to your customers matters, how you communicate to employees matters, how you apologize matters.
Kyte Baby’s problems were avoidable. The right approach was not hard, and it would have cost zero dollars (letting the employee work remotely).
As you grow your business, think about how you project your brand. Ensure all your actions match. Make sure you’d be happy to tell your mom or your aunt or your grandma what your personnel decisions are.
You got this!
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