Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kylie Koscoe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kylie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

My business story is an interesting one, as I started as an instructor with Mad Science before I became an owner. The previous owner was looking to sell the business, and after a lot of doubt, I took it over from her. I was unsure at first if I was meant to be a business owner, as I knew very little about how to run a business! I was a performer and had a background in education and marketing, but had never run a business of my own.

When I took over the business, we were a mobile business- traveling to local schools and organizations to do programs. We had a home office, but no physical space for customers to visit. At the time, there was a bakery inside of the Oviedo Mall who that sometimes used a separate storefront as a party room. Our plan was to partner with them to run occasional parties and events on the weekend in their party space,

When the mall learned what we were doing, they offered us the space full-time. At first, I was very hesitant, as the cost of a full-time space was not something I had really built into our budgeting (not to mention the cost of new decor, equipment, tables, chairs, and everything else that was needed to have a physical space). Thankfully, the mall worked with us to give us a very affordable rate, as we would only be using the space a few days out of the month.

We had no idea what having a storefront would do for us. Our sales more than DOUBLED that first year we were open- not just because we had a space to run programs, but by having a storefront, we were able to market our business, even when we weren’t open! We had signs on the door about upcoming programs, and made sure to have flyers always fully stocked outside our front door, so info would always be accessible to anyone in the mall. Locals referred to us as “the Science store that was never open,” but they knew who we were, and because of that, we got tons of new clients that we never could have reached through traditional marketing.

So that risk came with a HUGE reward for us. Sometimes, risks work out, but sometimes they don’t, and in this case, we were very lucky that it was a risk that proved to be very fruitful for our business.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Kylie Koscoe. I majored in Theatre, but also had a background in education and marketing. After college, I found myself auditioning to be a Show instructor for a new company in town called Mad Science. I was an instructor for 6 years before buying out the business. We have since grown into 2 Lab Spaces, one in Oviedo (that we just closed in February of 2024), and one in Ocoee, and have expanded our service area from Seminole and Volusia Counties to just about all of Central and North Florida!. We bring fun and hands-on Science programs to kids all over Florida, with a goal of getting them excited about Science. Most of our programs are geared towards Pre-School and Elementary Students- where we can really get them hyped on Science at a young age, so they take interest and pursue STEM in higher grades.

We have brought programs to THOUSANDS of kids each year, and are proud to say we have seen kids excel and gain confidence in Science through our programs. Many of them have gone on to major in Science in College or have gone into a STEM field. We hope to just be able to plant the seed of excitement about Science in kids so that, as they get older, they aren’t put off by Science, or afraid of taking higher level Science classes, because they realize just how awesome Science is!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I bought Mad Science from the previous owner. I was very lucky to have her self-finance my buying of the business, as, at the time, I had very little money saved up and most likely could not have gotten a loan. I paid $5,000 as a down payment for the business, and was able to pay her monthly out of the business’s cash flow. I was originally on a 5 year plan to pay off her loan, but due to increased business, I was able to pay off the loan within 2 years! I was very grateful that she was able to let me buy the business in this way, as I most likely would not have been able to otherwise.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Our business has been lucky to have pretty consistent cash flow, and we’ve been able to pay our bills without having to take out any loans. There were a few months, however, that caused a lot of stress. We had a massive jump in business, which is always great for revenue, but a lot of our clients were slow to get their payments in to us. We had a lot of staff at that time, and were cutting large paychecks for an increased number of staff. I hadn’t been keeping an eye on our accounts, and didn’t realize how little was in our checking account. A few of our staff’s paychecks bounced, and I was mortified. Thankfully, I did have a little bit in savings that I was able to transfer over so that I re-cut their checks, but for a couple of days, I was very scared that there wasn’t going to be enough to cover. Thankfully, that period didn’t last too long, and checks finally started coming in. But during our busy seasons, it’s always a bit of a balancing act, making sure that we have enough in our accounts to cover all of our expenses, while waiting for checks from our Clients to come in! That tough period definitely made me more aware of checking my accounts more often, and making sure there was always enough in the checking account to cover all bills, and then some!

Contact Info:

• Website: CFL.MadScience.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MADSCIENCECFL
• Facebook: facebook.com/MSCentralFlorida
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@madscienceofnecentralfl1655

Image Credits
Kylie Koscoe