Northeast Wisconsin entrepreneur aims to provide that “on cloud nine” feeling

Rachel Sankey

Past Staff

November 14, 2023

DE PERE – When Lindsay Arndt, a mother to three boys and De Pere resident, spent time living with her family in Arkansas, she discovered a business in the area providing custom sleepover experiences to children.

Arndt said she knew she wanted to start a similar business when the family returned to De Pere last year.

“I thought it was so unique and fun,” she said. “When we moved back to the area – my husband and I are both from here – about a year ago, I kept thinking we needed something like that here… And then finally, I was like, ‘I’m going to do it.’”

And, in August of this year, Arndt did just that – with the opening of On Cloud 920, a custom sleepover service to families in the Greater Green Bay area and beyond.

Starting up the business
Arndt said her love for DIY made it an easy decision to start her own business.

“I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart,” she said. “Back in the day, I had my own Etsy store… so it’s always been an internal part (of me).”

But, like with many things, it can take a village to put a business together, and Arndt said building On Cloud 920 was no different.

“I would love to say my husband and I are handy, but we’re not,” she laughed. “I knew someone local who is great at woodworking, so I got in contact with him, and he was able to custom-make the A-frame tents (we needed) to start the business.”

Arndt said she also reached out to a seamstress she knows to make the covers for the tents.

“The initial part (of getting the business off the ground) was a big collaboration with people throughout the community,” she said. “I’m grateful for their help (with) getting things organized (that) I wasn’t able to do myself.”

After Arndt completed the “less glamorous,” yet critical, parts of starting a business, which included creating an LLC and getting the back-end technology set up, she said it was time to delve into one of the more creative aspects of the business – the themes.

Though On Cloud 920 offers a selection of boy and girl themes, Arndt said she wanted to offer the opportunity to intermix themes, “because not every girl loves unicorns and not every boy loves spaceships.”

“You could have a (Green Bay) Packers theme next to a Taylor Swift theme next to a rocket theme,” she said. 

On Cloud 920 offers a variety of different themes to choose from, such as a Taylor Swift theme, a gaming theme and a unicorn theme. Photo Courtesy of On Cloud 920

Some of the themes offered include Level Up (gaming-themed), Frozen (winter-themed), Lavender DayZzz (Taylor Swift-themed) and Blast Off (space-themed).

Arndt said parents also have the option to incorporate add-ons to the tents, such as custom name tags, snack baskets and balloon toppers.

Just as the sleepover themes include a touch of Arndt’s creativity, she said the name of the business did as well.

Arndt said her background in marketing and communications – serving as vice president of communications and digital services at O’Connor Connective – came in handy when coming up with a name.

“I am a lover of all puns and word plays and things like that,” she said. “I wanted something unique to our area, so the 920. And then for the experience, I was like, ‘on cloud nine means you’re having a great time.’ It was a way for me to tie my passions into creating the name for the business as well.”

The process
Arndt said making sure the custom sleepover experience is as amazing for children as it is for their parents is crucial – which means making the process nice and easy on the parents’ end.

Clients go to On Cloud 920’s website (oncloud920.com), fill out a contact form where they choose their dates and theme and then add any additional notes.

Once dates are secured and pick up and drop off times are concrete, Arndt said parents can relax and leave the rest to her.

“I come in and set up – it usually takes about an hour,” she said. “And then I leave you with all the beauty, and hopefully, they can surprise their kids or loved ones with the experience (and then I will come pick up everything the next day). That’s it. You don’t have to clean anything or take anything down.”

Arndt said the travel fee varies depending on how far she must go to set up.

Parties that are more than 60 miles from De Pere must contact her before booking. 

Between clients, Arndt said everything is disinfected and cleaned, and items are replaced if need be.

“Luckily, things have been holding up well,” she said. “I’ll always leave an extra air pump or some extra batteries with the homeowner just in case something happens.”

Since starting the business two months ago, Arndt said it’s been a joy to receive feedback from the kids who are being celebrated.

Set up and take down of the tents and other sleepover decor is all handled by owner Lindsay Arndt. Photo Courtesy of On Cloud 920

“It’s fun to hear people get excited about something they haven’t seen before, it’s just very, I think, new to this area,” she said. “I love hearing from the kids who are like, ‘I want to do this again for my birthday,’ or ‘can I do this again for Christmas?’”

Arndt said she’s also unexpectedly received feedback from parents who say the sleepovers give them some “release.”

“(The kids) can lounge, do their own thing and they want to watch movies, (so parents) can get their stuff done, too,” she said. “It’s great to have an escape for the kids so the parents can also have their time, too.”

Making memories
In a time where “life is hard and everybody has things going on,” Arndt said it’s important to her that On Cloud 920 provides an opportunity for children to have fun.

“I think we need to take time to pause and celebrate – not only birthdays, but if it’s the last day of school, or if it’s the day you got your tonsils out,” she said. “(On Cloud 920) makes the experience happen when you don’t have time for it. I think there’s a key moment in these years to create unexpected memories, and I want to be able to help do that.”

As of right now, Arndt said On Cloud 920 offers up to five tents per sleepover, but said eventually, she would like to be able to offer 10 tents. 

The owner said she also purposefully left the business name open-ended, as it provides her with the freedom to add different offerings in the future.

“I would love to do poolside cabana setups in the summer,” she said. “That would be fun.”

Giving back
One of the biggest reasons Arndt said she started her business was for the community aspect, which has led her to give back since starting On Cloud 920.

“A passion (of mine) is giving back to the community, so I’ve donated sleepovers to a Big Brothers Big Sisters event,” she said. “I donated a sleepover to another event that supports Children’s Wisconsin, and I’m doing another event for a local nonprofit called Lovin’ The Skin I’m In. I love the business part of (On Cloud 920), but I also love the community part of it.”

For complete details on what On Cloud 920 offers, visit its website or Facebook page.