How Curious Jane is bringing camp to kids this summer

Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Brian Sozzi speak with Curious Jane owner Samantha Razook about the camp’s pivot to go virtual this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, the coronavirus pandemic is certainly setting the tone for a different kind of summer for both parents and children. Summer camps have been forced to pivot and figure out a way to entertain kids under much stricter guidelines. Some camps will open under safety guidelines, others are going virtual.

Joining us now to discuss is Curious Jane camp owner Samantha Razook. Samantha, good to see you. Thank you for being here. Full disclosure, by the way. My daughter has spent many summer with Curious Jane, and we are so sad that we're not going to be able to do that in person this summer. So tell us how-- how are things going to look for kids who come to Curious Jane this summer?

SAMANTHA RAZOOK: Yes, absolutely. So actually, Curious Jane is coming to kids, so that's a change instead of kids coming to Curious Jane. And I would say that in early March, we saw a complete halt to our registrations as people saw what was on the horizon. And generally, just to give you context for what we're talking about here, we run about 2,000 weeks of camp each summer. So we work with a lot of girls, a lot of staff members.

And all of our programs are classroom-based, so they're taking place in a classroom, and it's all hands-on activities and project making, which means a lot of eyes. So in mid-May, we really needed to make a decision. We were working down both tracks of in-person camps or how do we serve our families and expand our business during this time?

We needed to make a decision that was best for the communities, for the safety and health of our communities. And we decided to repackage all of these different projects and content that we've created over the years and turn them into-- it's a three-part experience for-- for Curious Jane coming to campers. So it is a project kit, like a big box of supplies for everything that kids need to make the projects over a week.

We really focused on types of projects that would promote independent working, so not requiring a lot of hands-on help from families. So our project kits, we have DIY videos, so children or families can access them anytime to go through the projects themselves, if on a particular day, they're not ready to be engaged in a screen or they have other plans. And then we have translated our curriculum to some really cool storylines, games, scavenger hunts, and tutorials that will take place in Zoom sessions.

And I will say that it's kind of fun. We now have people who have either wrote-- relocated for the summer or who are connecting from a different area, a friend in Colorado, a friend in, you know, on Long Island who are doing camp "together" and able to be part of the same groups.

BRIAN SOZZI: Samantha, that's what I wanted to ask you. Do you-- do you think these virtual camps are the future of camping, even once things get back to some form of normal?

SAMANTHA RAZOOK: Yeah. I don't-- I don't think that they're the future of camping. I think that camp, and residential camps, and outdoor camps, and even in-person classroom-based camps have such a strong part of childhood and people's lives. But I think in many things that we're seeing in other parts of the, you know, constraints and impacts that COVID has placed on us, we're seeing new areas of ingenuity.

And that doesn't just mean ingenuity from businesses as far as what type of programs they can deliver, but also, like, ingenuity on the parts of families as far as oh, OK, here's a way that I can engage with my children that is different from before or that we hadn't been setup as before. So I think, and hope, that both will co-exist in the future, right? So we'll be able to continue offering kids and programming online and then there's also a place for the camp experience.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Samantha, at the end of the day, you're a small business. And I'm curious if you applied for a PPP loan? Did you get it? And I also know that your rates have had to be basically slashed in half as you go virtual. Is that enough to keep your business going?

SAMANTHA RAZOOK: That is an excellent question. So yes, we did receive a PPP. Our three main costs of running camps-- and camps I should be clear. I think for all camps, it's a 10-month, 2-month model. You take deposits and revenues for 10 months, and you have costs associated with that in order to prepare for and run camps for two months.

And when you can't deliver those two months of service due to whatever reasons-- you know, in September, camps can't just reopen. They're waiting for the next summer. We did receive a PPP. It was modest, and it was right for our business.

And yes, we significantly slashed our rates almost in half for two reasons. One, the significant cost of space rental and staff was reduced on our end, so we didn't feel right to continue to, you know, apply that fee to families. And we wanted to make it-- we wanted to just cover our costs and make it as doable as possible for families to be able to participate.

BRIAN SOZZI: All right, we'll leave it there. Curious Jane camp owner Samantha Razook, good luck this summer. Thanks for coming on this morning.

SAMANTHA RAZOOK: Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you to both of you.

BRIAN SOZZI: Appreciate it.