Kin is a new breed of creative company using kinship to unleash business and culture as forces for good in our world. Founded in 2019 by Kwame Taylor-Hayford and Sophie Ozoux, Kin pushes the boundaries of creativity and innovation to channel purpose for brands including Mailchimp, Delta Airlines, Emerge, Conservation International and The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights.

When the SXSW Film Festival was cancelled, Kin was called in to help Mailchimp find alternative ways for film-makers to get the word out. Oscilloscope and Mailchimp (along with Code + Theory) have created a digital home for an incredible slate of short films so these filmmakers can still share their visions with the world. Films from the festival lineup will be available to stream globally starting Wednesday, March 25 at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT at www.mailchimp.com/presents/SXSW. 

I caught up with them to find out more about their work philosophy and this project.

Afdhel Aziz: Kwame and Sophie, welcome. Please tell us about why you decided to co-found Kin together, and what your purpose and philosophy is?

Kwame Taylor-Hayford and Sophie Ozoux: After many years at some great agencies and brand side, we wanted to put our collective experience to work in service of creativity, innovation and purpose. We saw kinship... true partnership, collaboration and friendship... as the missing ingredient in most relationships so we've set out to address that. Creativity alone is not enough. Kinship is a critical ingredient to address the world’s biggest challenges.

Aziz: I couldn’t agree more! Tell us about how you discovered and articulated MailChimp's purpose?

Kwame and Sophie: The truth is Mailchimp as a company has always had a clear purpose and focus. From its inception both Ben and Dan, the children of entrepreneurs, wanted to help small businesses get past survival and achieve self reliance. It's with that as a core value that they grew Mailchimp, an impressive company that does so much for its customers, employees and community. Our job was to help further clarify their citizenship efforts and develop a strong, smart, communication platform to share their impactful work with the world.