Podcast Summary: THE COMPLETE ORAL HISTORY OF THE CAR MOM
The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz
December 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This special solo episode of The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz features Kelly Stumpe recounting the entire journey of "The Car Mom." Kelly offers a heartfelt and detailed oral history, sharing the origins of her brand, pivotal moments, challenges, and successes. The episode is aimed at both long-time followers and new listeners, providing insider stories of building a social media brand as a working mom in the auto industry.

Episode Structure

1. [01:35–12:25] Kelly’s December and Holiday Hosting Tips
2. [13:43–46:10] The Oral History of The Car Mom: From Idea to Community
   • Origins + Launch
   • Early Growth Strategies
   • Business Decisions (Trademark Scams, Monetization, Hiring)
   • Brand Milestones
   • Vision for the Future
   • Reflections on Community and Industry Impact

1. Kelly’s December: Holiday Reflections and Hosting (01:35–12:25)

December Updates & Hosting Advice

• Kelly describes prepping for her annual girls’ night: a "makeup themed, rob-your-neighbor" party with beauty-product gifts.
  • "I just love having a theme... it's the holidays. Everyone gets a little dolled up... I try to make it feel fancy." (03:07)
• Emphasis on the importance of hosting and adult gatherings, even amidst busy schedules and social media fatigue.
• Hosting Tip: "Be the hostess. You don’t have to be the hostess with the mostest, just be a hostess. Set people’s expectations up." (04:53)

Christmas Notes & Mom Hacks

• Mistakes: Forgot return address on Christmas cards, rushed through address book.
  • Solution: "Before I order, spend 20 minutes reviewing my address book... make sure you put your return address on there." (06:02)
• Clothing tip: Buying easily coordinated Gap pocket tees for her sons has made family outfit planning less stressful.
• Holiday shirts: "Just make sure I order every kid a Christmas shirt. Doesn't have to match... just a fun shirt for them." (07:46)
• Quick dinners for busy family weeks:
  • Ham & Cheese Crescent Rolls: "It's such a good, filling meal... just always have that on hand." (09:24)
  • Chicken noodle soup: "Plan to make a big pot for Christmas week, easy to heat up, have the crescent rolls to make it more of a meal." (09:44)
• Fun kid activity: "Candy cane fishing" as a festive, low-effort class party game.

2. The Complete Oral History of The Car Mom (13:43–46:10)

Origins & The Spark (13:43–18:30)

• Kelly reflects on leaving car sales after motherhood:
  • "I felt like I was so good at [selling cars]... Now I was thinking, I'm just going to stay home with the kids and not do anything? That felt like such a juxtaposition from who I was." (14:22)
• Husband Tyler suggests focusing on moms—"just try to sell cars to moms."
• Immediate clarity: "As soon as he said the idea, I knew it was going to be huge... God just laid out the entire vision for the Car Mom." (15:31)
• Sister Elizabeth (Lizz) is looped in from the start and encourages Kelly to launch on social media.

Platform Choice & First Steps (18:30–22:50)

• Considered YouTube, but Instagram felt natural for reaching other moms.
  • "All the moms are on Instagram, doing exactly what I'm doing—scrolling while rocking their baby. So I'm just going to do it where my audience is." (20:11)
• Launched the @thecarmom handle, made a Canva logo, immediately started car reviews.
• Family dealership network gave access to diverse vehicles, allowing for consistent, critical reviews even as a "boss's daughter."
• Early lessons: Received rapid social media feedback for car seat installation missteps, so refocused on car reviews and buying tips.

Early Growth Tactics (22:50–28:55)

• Kelly describes "trolling" Facebook groups to build an audience:
  • "I would try to post literally any Facebook group I could get my hands on... And that honestly... worked really, really well." (24:44)
• Comments on posts with: "Hey, my name's... Hey, I review cars for families, check out my page." Reflects on the effectiveness of the straightforward handle, @thecarmom.
• "If I went on Mercedes' post and said, 'Hey, follow me for car tours for moms,' I would literally do that for hours on my phone." (25:26)
• Social media tip:
  • "Social media is social. If you want to grow, start by being social. Make connections and comment on other creators." (26:32)

Turning the Idea Into a Business (Trademark, Monetization, & Scams) (28:55–36:04)

• Decision to trademark the brand:
  • Tyler supports the vision with $5,000 to invest in equipment and trademarking.
• Trademark scam:
  • Kelly accidentally sends $2,000 to a fake firm.
  • Quote: "I got scammed. I basically paid for sugar water and I cried... It was literally like I lit money on fire. And a lot of money—the money that Tyler gave me to start it." (30:56)
• Recovers, borrows money from her dad to correct the mistake and keep going.

Monetization, First Products, & Audience Growth (36:04–41:30)

• Sets goal: 10,000 followers by her daughter Hattie's birth for Instagram’s swipe-up feature; achieves 14,000.
• First product: Car-buying workbook as a PDF download launched January 2021, sells hundreds on opening day at $10 each.
  • "From June to January, I didn't make a cent... I was negative. I was in the negatives for six months." (38:43)
• Key early supporter: "People were buying it just to support me... I was so grateful for my community."
• Manager, Austin, reaches out via Instagram to represent Kelly—"the text that totally changed my life." First brand deal with Chatbooks.
• YouTube monetization was slow: "The 4,000 [watched] hours took forever... But finally, we were making $40 a day, then sometimes $500 per hit video." (40:24)

Building the Team and Expanding the Brand (41:30–46:10)

• Elizabeth joins full-time; her video production experience was key.
• Overcoming feeling embarrassed:
  • "I think there was a level of me that was a little embarrassed, but I just believed in it so much. I let myself be uncomfortable with it." (41:40)
• Certification:
  • Kelly gets CPST certified: "I could not believe how little I learned... It just wasn't enough." (44:08)
  • Hires Sam, "one of the world's best CPSTs," and builds a mom-centric, flexible team, emphasizing women's excellence:
    • "Corporate America's most underutilized resources... These women who work for me are so brilliant." (45:02)

Notable Career Milestones & Community Impact (42:19–46:10)

• Industry moments:
  • Speaking at National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA): "Talking to dealers about how to make the car buying experience better for women. It's giving mission statement!" (43:10)
  • GM and Ford consulting invites, interviewing the CEO of General Motors—"Pinch me moment."
• Success benchmarks:
  • 100,000 YouTube subscribers and the coveted plaque.
  • Launching the podcast: "One of my favorite platforms to make content on." (45:59)
• Future vision:
  • "I want the Car Mom to be more than just my opinion. I want us to be the car mom—like, we're all the car mom. The car mom is the car moms." (45:29)
  • New website will crowdsource authentic mom reviews—“I want it to feel like Rent the Runway, but for cars.” (46:01)

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• "As soon as he said the idea, I knew it was going to be huge... God just laid out the entire vision for the Car Mom." (15:31)
• "Be the hostess. You don’t even have to be the hostess with the mostest, just be a hostess." (04:53)
• On scams: "I got scammed. I basically paid for sugar water and I cried... It was literally like I lit money on fire." (30:56)
• "Social media is social. If you want to grow, start by being social. Make connections and comment on other creators." (26:32)
• "I want the Car Mom to be more than just my opinion... I want us to be the car mom... The car mom is the car moms." (45:29)
• "Corporate America's most underutilized resources... These women who work for me are so brilliant." (45:02)
• "Talking to dealers about how to make the car buying experience better for women... It's giving mission statement!" (43:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Kelly’s December update & hosting advice: 01:35–07:46
• Holiday mom hacks (clothes, food, games): 07:47–12:25
• Oral History: The Car Mom begins: 13:43
• Origin story, family support, and first reviews: 14:22–20:55
• Early growth via Facebook groups & handle strategy: 22:52–25:26
• Trademark scam and recovery: 30:56
• First product & monetization: 36:04–38:43
• Hiring Elizabeth, YouTube milestones: 41:30–43:10
• Industry highs (e.g., NADA speaking, GM, Ford): 43:10–44:08
• Team-building vision & closing reflections: 45:02–46:10

Episode Tone & Language

Kelly’s voice is warm, chatty, and honest, balancing practical advice with vulnerable storytelling. She shares disappointments and triumphs with candor and humor, and her pride in the community is palpable throughout the episode.

Final Thoughts

This episode provides both an inspiring business case and a behind-the-scenes look at balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship. It’s packed with lessons for creators and moms alike—plus a fun dash of holiday spirit and community cheer.
Kelly closes with gratitude and excitement for the next chapter: “Thank you so much for listening to the Carpool Podcast... I’ll talk to you next time. Love ya.”