Episode 244: From New Balance Heiress to Brand Builder: The Grit Behind Starting from Scratch | Kassia Davis | CEO of P.F. Flyers & Founder of KADA
Kassia Davis walked away from the family business, New Balance, to launch her own path as a brand founder, CEO, and investor. Today, she’s building a portfolio of product-based businesses including KADA, a sustainable women’s apparel brand, and PF Flyers, the iconic sneaker company. In this episode, Kara and Kassia talk about taking control of your career, the reality of startup life, and why Kassia is betting on herself to build something bigger than a title. They cover team building, fundraising, sustainable fashion, and what it really takes to scale a product business in today’s market. If you're in DTC, dreaming of launching your own brand, or trying to build a career with purpose, this one’s for you.
“Have the strength to define your own version of success. Then stay true to that path.”
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
(00:00:00) How Kassia Davis Took the Leap From New Balance to Start Her Own Brand
(00:05:15) Building KADA and Why Sustainable Apparel Is So Hard to Scale
(00:10:30) Reviving PF Flyers and Growing a Product-Based Brand Portfolio
(00:16:00) The Truth About Hiring, Culture, and Managing Startup Teams
(00:21:00) Balancing Identity, Ambition, and Leading as a Female CEO
(00:27:30) What’s Next for KADA, PF Flyers, and Kassia’s Long-Term Vision
I am a firm believer in surrounding yourself with talent. So I know where my passions and my talents lie. I don't pretend that I can do it all. I don't think any entrepreneur should 'cause you just can't.
That's Kassia Davis. I'm Kara Duffy and this is The Powerful Ladies podcast.
Welcome to The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
I'm always excited when I am connected by somebody whose referrals have been fabulous and thank you. When I look on LinkedIn and we're connected by like 44 plus people, I saw that too. So, um, let's jump in and tell everyone where you are, where you are, sorry, who you are, where you are in the world, and what you're up to.
I am Kassia Davis. I'm in Boston, Massachusetts, and I am the founder of a women's clothing brand called Kata, and the owner of a Canvas sneaker brand called p.
Being someone who spent 20 years in sneakers and apparel. Um, this is why we have so many connections and, uh, PF Flyers and New Balance are the two companies I didn't work for.
Of all of them, of course. Um, but, you know, let's just, uh, I wanna jump into your company 'cause it's doing so many incredible things. What is it about working in the sneaker business that you love?
Ooh, that's a great question. Um, well, I grew up with it, so my, my dad is the chairman of New Balance and my mom's the vice chairman, so, um.
It's been in my life for forever. I grew up loving it. Uh, going to work with my dad, going on business trips with him. It just became, you know, second nature to me. After I went to college, I started working in. Family business, which is New Balance. And you know, I, to be honest, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I grew to love it.
I've always loved fashion. Um, I had, I learned, I have a, a passion for product development. Um, and so yeah, I, I, I'm lucky that I love, you know what my family does.
Yeah. I think that there are people, more people now than. Before, like probably when you and I were in college or high school who thought working in footwear or sneakers was an option.
Of course, the Jordan brand and what they've done have like really shown some behind the scenes components, but. I never imagined when I was younger that I would work in sneakers. I thought it would be fashion something. Yeah. I knew I loved making products. I knew I loved problem solving. Um, but I had no idea the richness of my journey that could come from a pair of sneakers.
Um, yes,
sneakers have now become fashion. Like I, I feel like I'm more in the fashion industry than I am in the athletic industry.
Oh, for sure. Especially the, when it switched from, you know, performance orientation to lifestyle orientation. Right. Totally. Like more people are wearing a new balance, running shoes sitting on their couch than they are pounding the pavement, getting ready for the Boston Marathon.
So, um. Completely. So then you know, you grow up in New Balance you have are working in the sneaker world. What happens when you realize I need to go start something on my own and it needs to be in apparel?
That was a long process for me. Um. It all ended up the way that it was supposed to and in in such a positive way.
I have no regrets, but I definitely feel like. As I was growing up, I did things the way I was quote unquote supposed to. I went to the same boarding school, high school that my dad did. I went to college down the street from my parents. I worked at New Balance right after college. Like it was all very familiar to me.
Yeah, and I got to a point in my life and in my career. Uh, I was in my late twenties, so wasn't quite a midlife crisis. Wasn't a quarter life crisis, you know, somewhere in between. I was like, I'm kind of just going through the motions here. I'm not, I'm not that happy, you know, I know I love the industry, but, um, I don't, especially with an older brother in such a male dominated industry, I didn't see myself growing at New Balance, um, to the potential that I knew I could grow.
Um, and, you know, I, I take credit for taking the risk and putting the work in, but if I'm being honest, my husband was a huge support for me. He really opened my eyes to, um, the possibilities. And I think a, a reason why it took me as long as it did to get here was because I just didn't understand. The opportunities that I had, I kind of felt like I had to be in the family business.
Um, and so I did like a year or two of due diligence. I hired my own attorney, I talked to my financial advisor. I did all the work, and then I presented, um. A business plan to my dad and I, I was like, this is what I wanna go do. I wanna do what you did. I have the entrepreneurial DNA in my blood, um, and I'm ready.
And you know, what, what could he say at that point, right? He was like, I, I think more than anything, he was kind of speechless. And my dad's never speechless. He's like, okay, how do we get it done? Um, and so. During my time at New Balance, I realized, you know, I was passionate about footwear, but I actually did more work with apparel than I did with footwear.
Mm-hmm. So, for me, the reason why I started an apparel brand is 'cause I knew more about it. Um, it's where I built all my connections, my network. Um, I, I, I was very familiar with the whole product life cycle.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so that's why I ended up starting my own apparel brand.
So let's tell people about this amazing apparel brand.
Okay.
It's called Kada. Mm-hmm. So first, um, two letters of each of my names. KADA. Um, I started it because I, it, first of all, it's not athletic at all. It's ready to wear everyday wear. I started it because I felt like I, um, didn't have a brand in my closet that kind of build. Uh, or, or, or that kind of could, could cover every staple in her wardrobe.
So, you know, there's a brand that has a perfect tea or a little black dress. Or a, a great, you know, comfy pair of joggers, but there's, there's very rarely a brand you come across that has all of it. Mm-hmm. And so that's what I'm building. I wanna be a one-stop shop for her. It's also, uh, a sustainable brand.
So I started ideating for it during the pandemic. And I, it was really important for me to build a brand that was helping the industry, not hurting it like all these fast fashion brands are. Mm-hmm. And so I've, I've found. A lot of creative ways to incorporate sustainability throughout the whole process.
Um, so really proud of that.
That's the biggest struggle I had working in the industry because I love getting, create new things. I love getting to take an idea and bring it to life. And I also knew that there's no way the planet needed however many millions of sneakers. I was responsible for creating.
Yeah. Yeah. And I know that there's a lot of, a lot of people in the space have that contradiction, like we might be very living very sustainably or minimalistically in our own lives, and it's this catch 22 of how do we continue to create and innovate without feeling. Just like the biggest jerks possible because we're the problem.
Yeah. I'm trying to do the same thing on the PF flyer side. Like, you know, a vulcanized shoe is an environmentalist worst nightmare. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so trying to find ways to make it as sustainable as possible, you know, it's expensive, it's a process, but, but we're starting to do that too on the footwear side.
Well, and it's, it's frustrating as someone who's making sustainable products because. It's important to you or I and so many people who are on product teams. Yeah. And it's taken, I don't like, it's been, I mean, I started in the for space, well, in apparel first, back in like 99. Yeah. So. Since that like nobody has cared enough about sustainability to make it a priority.
It's always like the fifth reason you choose it or the 10th. Right? And it's so heartbreaking 'cause you're like, come on, make that consumer and some people are. Um, but it really does take the brand determining that this is going to be a core value of ours.
It has to be at the center of your strategy otherwise.
You can tell it's, it's inauthentic. It's just a marketing play. And that's not, that's not real core value to your point.
Yeah. Like we have to be doing it whether you care about it or not. Like
beneath it. Exactly. It, yeah. It should be mainstream at this point.
Well, and I think the other part that people who are on the consumer end, there's so many steps in all of these processes from.
The building that you have your offices in to who makes the thread? Like there's so many components, so many people, so many locations. Mm-hmm. And then it really also becomes a question, and I've had some people on this podcast who have talked a lot about it, of like where does your ownership of sustainability start and stop and how like.
Is it the components? Is it the whole chain of everything? It's a really, I think, interesting conversation because there isn't a clear formula yet that everyone can agree on and say, look, we're all certified the same way. Yeah.
I mean, my opinion, it should start at the beginning of the process and yeah.
End at the end of the process. Um, but it's, like I said, it's an investment. Mm-hmm. It's, it's a lot harder to find like fabric mills to partner with, manufacturers to partner with. So, sorry. Bless you. Thank you. Um, you know, and even when you think your clothes are sustainable, okay, then you have to deal with.
Sustainable packaging. Mm-hmm. It's just, it's nonstop and it, it, it's a lot, but, you know, gotta start somewhere. So
how do you balance that? How do you balance the never ending choices to make as the owner of a business that are more on the operations and sourcing side versus how fun it is to have a brand?
I am a firm believer in surrounding yourself with talent. So I know where my passions and my talents lie. I don't pretend that I can do it all. I don't think any entrepreneur should, 'cause you just can't. And so. I mean, I have to be honest with you, I don't like the operations part of it. I don't like the finance part of it.
It's it, they're both arguably the most important parts of a brand. But I have hired people who can do that in their sleep, um, and I compliment them with my talents. Yeah. Do you think, and I, I, sorry. I was just gonna say, I, I like to lead through empowerment and so I, I'm not a micromanager. I let, I let them take the reigns in their area of the business, and I give them freedom and autonomy.
So a lot of it too is about really hiring people that you know you can trust.
It's more fun that way when everyone gets to be Wait. More fun. Yeah. Yeah. Like it's, it's overwhelming. Even if you divide it into five like areas to think about, let alone the hundreds of things you could do every day. How did you find these great people?
Did you already know them? Did you do a deep search?
Um, on the COTA side, my first hire was someone I hired at New Balance. So I actually have been her only boss ever. Love that. So, yeah. Yeah, we have a great relationship. She's the best. Um, she works really hard and, you know, the caught of wheels wouldn't spin without her.
So she, she was my first hire and then I, I hired, uh, one other person from New Balance and then two other people I found on LinkedIn, and I got lucky. And then on PF flyers, uh, I hired people not from New Balance through my network and mm-hmm. Some have been great, some have been not so great. Um, I'm currently hiring a VP of Finance for p FLIs as well as looking for a CEO, which is a huge deal for me.
And I decided to hire a recruiting agency to help me because I, I know how important both of those roles are.
And how long they can take. 'cause it's how, yeah, exactly. I, I think, you know, it's, it's one thing to hire an assistant and people know how long that can take to find someone you trust just to be an assistant.
Mm-hmm. And then expanding into someone who's really gonna lead and take a vision and be a partner. It's, there's, it's like getting married.
It totally is like getting married. Mm-hmm. Um, and I, I, like I said, I've had some bad experiences and it, it feels like a breakup.
Yeah. Well, you get so disappointed.
You blame yourself. Like, for everyone who's listening, like hiring teens and delegating is a common question my clients are asking me about. And I think that there's these illusions that, um, sometimes it is really easy. Someone just falls into your lap and you're, you're so grateful for it. Mm-hmm. And then other times you are.
Spending so much of your time to find this perfect fit. Um, so for everyone who's in that struggle, just keep going. Ask for help.
Yeah. It's the, I I think it's the hardest part of running a brand, like outside of finances. It's, it, it's really hard hiring the right people, keeping everyone happy, maintaining that company culture with such a small team.
Yeah, it's, it's definitely a challenge.
I just did a video, um, that was onto my Instagram about how I help people maintain the soul of a company. It's so easy in product-based businesses that operations or sales or finance suddenly becomes like, how did they become 80% headcount on the Yeah. Or design team has three people.
Yeah. What have you been doing between p fliers and Kata to make sure that the soul of the company stays prioritized and. To me that means, you know, talking to the customer and having that relationship, um, tighter. But like, what does that mean to you and how are you making sure that that stays front and center?
Um, everyone has to be aligned on the vision. That's the most important thing. So on the ADA side, I had a very clear vision and the team bought into it. So I, I would say that's probably the thing that I'm most proud of, is that I've been able to build a team that's empowered to have the same passion for my brand that I have.
Um, and you know, there have been some toxic people on the team and you need to get those people out right away because company culture is most important and we're a startup, so I, I can't. Be competitive with salary. I can't be competitive with benefits, so I need to create an environment that, that people wanna come to every day and that they want, they love being a part of.
And so for me it's about, you know, aligning on a strategy, but also really loving the people they work with in the company culture. Yeah. Um, and then on the PLIs side, it's, it's similar, you know, it's, um. It's aligning on the vision, but also, you know, the, it's, it's more of, um, a senior team with that brand.
And so everyone has had a ton of experience. Is, is really in a great way, really opinionated, um, really vocal. And so again, making sure that, um, there's a strong team dynamic there. I actually. Did an offsite a couple months ago, and I brought my therapist in to do a reset for the team because I just felt like, okay, you guys are all super talented, but we, it, something's not meshing here.
We need to know each other more on a personal level. Um, so I'm gonna force that and it was the best thing I could have done.
Yeah, it's, um, I'll often bring my business coach into our like mid-year check-in meetings and brainstorming sessions for that purpose and, um. There's the, the soft skills of people management are the ones that tend to get skipped over so often.
Mm-hmm. So, I'm so thankful that you're prioritizing that. I wish more people did. Um, there's, I've been in the back of a taxi in Vietnam. And had two senior people arguing and literally they were arguing about, no, the blue line should be outside the yellow. And the other one said, the yellow line should be inside the blue.
I'm like, you are fucking saying the exact same thing. But they were so, yeah, they were so mad at each other that they couldn't even stop to hear what they were actually saying. And. I, like, I lost it and I had to call them out in that moment and they were both me and I was like, guys, good for you.
Yeah.
It's all about strong communication. It really is. Um, and no matter where you are in your career, it's all, there's always room for improvement there.
Yeah. And, and for people who aren't doing their own personal development work, who aren't working on communication, who aren't working on their own neuroses and the way they get in their own way, yeah.
Everyone else can see it. Like we're the last ones to realize how we're being the idiot. Yeah, exactly. So even that, it's, it's, um, it's been great to see people adding in like, okay, no, we're gonna do these courses. No, we're gonna have someone come in and talk about leadership. Yeah. Or what communication really is.
When you look at, um, the journey you've had so far mm-hmm. What are you most proud of for yourself?
Taking the risk? Um, I mentioned earlier, you know, I, I, I was in a male dom. I still am in a male dominated industry, you know, um, I think a huge part of why I made the decision I, I made was because I didn't have.
Females in leadership positions to look up to at New Balance. And so I am proud of myself. I wish I had done it sooner, but you know, I have to trust the timing of my life. But I, I'm, I'm proud of myself for doing it. It was scary, it was bold. A lot of people in my position would, would stay in the comfort of the family business.
And so, um, this, this is what would make me happiest. And, and I'm really happy I did it. And then, you know, I, I already mentioned that. After that, just being able to build a team that mm-hmm. That has the same passion that I have.
I remember what it's like to open up new product and it feels like it's Christmas.
Yeah. Um, does that feeling still exist for you after Yeah, of course. All these years, the two companies, like what? Yeah. What are the days that you are running into the office?
Um, I love to work on product and brand. So I, I love when we get in new samples. I love when we're, you know, an agency's helping us with a new brand strategy.
I love to see the different iterations of that. Um, yeah, yeah. Brand and product are my, are my things.
And for people who don't know what it means to be doing brand and product, how would you explain it to a five-year-old?
Oh, so brand is, you know, coming up with, with your logo, with the colors that represent your brand, um, the messaging that you wanna get across to your consumer.
What does your brand stand for? What do you wanna be known for? Um, and then product is, uh, literally the product that you're building.
Mm-hmm.
And, and the different details and, um, elements that go into that process.
So I'm a, obviously I'm a sneaker kind of nerd. And then I also love heritage brands, but I've always wondered for PFIs in particular, do you guys get a bump in sales whenever there is a big, um, uh, Sandlot.
Sandlot? That's a
great question. Yes. Yes, we do. If we're running low on cash, we're like, it's okay. It's okay. We're we just replenished the sandlot, it's gonna relaunch again next week. We'll be good. Yeah. Um, yeah, we, we can make like 150 grand over a few days just from the Sandlot, which for a startup is a lot of money.
It's huge. It's huge. Yeah. Yeah. Um, you know, it's, it's, I'm so excited that it is a brand that continues to. Surprise people for what it's up to and what it's doing. Because like there is a long list of brands that I would love to buy that Yeah. People have given up on or let out to pasture. And it's such a shame when there's so much storytelling, heritage, so much content to rely on and keep building from.
So when I see brands that are committed to like. All of that and not giving up. It just, it makes me so happy because it's easy to be intimidated by the huge numbers that are showing up in the big brands. Yeah. And there's other stories to be told, and so many mm-hmm. Different niche markets that care about that.
Um, but yeah, there's, I've, I have a, a list of people, of brands, not people that I would love to bring back to life because. There's just gold and like there's content messaging gold in them. Mm-hmm. Yeah,
I totally agree.
When you think about the words powerful and ladies, when they are, what do they mean to you?
And do they change definitions when they're next to each other?
No, they do not change definitions when they're next to each other. Um, to me, powerful. Someone who's powerful is someone, um, who takes control of their life. Who defines what success looks like on their own terms. Someone who has the strength to define their own success.
And that could be being a stay at home mom. That could be, you know, getting a promotion to be a director in a, in a larger brand. Could be being an entrepreneur and starting your own company. But whatever success means to you, stay true to that and, and follow that path.
How have other women in your life.
And impacted the path that you have been on so far.
Um, my mom was a working mom, so great example of someone who could do it all. She, um, was the head of HR at New Balance when my dad hired her, and obviously continued, um, and climb the rinks. Uh, so that was a great example that I grew up with. I had someone, um, who very.
Sadly and suddenly passed away. Um, recently, who was on my board of advisors at PF Flyers, she was the head of product at Converse. Um, and she was a huge inspiration to me trying not to get emotional. Um, she. You know, prioritized her career, but also has had two kids and PRI somehow was able to prioritize her relationships with them as well and had such great relationships with them.
And just, you know, seeing people so close to me in my life that can do it all as has made me feel like I too can do it all.
Mm-hmm. What does having it all mean to you? Um.
Finding a way to do everything you wanna do and maintain your happiness. You can't do it all perfectly, but if you're happy, to me, that's what's most important.
Mm-hmm. I know there's a, a lot of people, I think it's sad aren't trying to figure out what having an all for them means and they're settling for just having a piece of something.
Yeah. Or one area working and. I just want people to know like you can have it all, but only if it's the all that is for you. It can't be your all. I totally agree with that. Your sister's all, and it's hard, right? Because these are people that influence us and we admire what they are doing or up to or have and mm-hmm.
It is, I think. It is a hard kinda lonely path to like really take the time to say like, but what do I want? Like, why do I live here? Mm-hmm. Why do I have this job? Why do I keep forcing myself to do all these crazy things and schedule?
Yeah. I really, I have a 10 month old. I really struggled with postpartum depression and I think a huge part of that was because my identity was all.
About being an entrepreneur before him. Mm-hmm. And then all of a sudden I am at home like nursing a baby boy every hour. And I can't log into my email. I can't because I just, I, I was too tired. I felt like I had to be fully present for him. But I'm not used to just like, sitting on the couch waiting for my baby to be hungry, you know?
Like, yeah. I, it, it, it was such an adjustment for me. Um, and I really struggled with how am I gonna do it all. Mm-hmm. And it took months, but I feel like I'm, I'm getting closer and closer.
It's such a good feeling when it starts to feel, when time starts to feel in alignment with like, what actually matters to you.
Yeah, took a lot of therapy, but whatever it takes, right?
Yeah. No, it's true, it's true. Um, you know, we ask everyone on the podcast where they put themselves on the powerful 80 scale. If zero is your average everyday human and 10 is the most powerful 80 you can imagine,
oh wow.
Where would you put yourself today and on an average day?
So I have built the foundation of where I wanna be. Um, I, I, my ultimate goal is to have a portfolio of brands that I'm really passionate about. So I have two brands in the portfolio now. Maybe we get to somewhere between five to 10.
Mm-hmm.
I have a baby. I would like another baby. Um, so I would say I'm at a three and then I'll, I think I'll pretty quickly get to.
Not the most powerful woman, but maybe, you know, a seven or an eight. I'll be happy with that.
Nice. Maybe I should send you my list of brands to go buy and save.
Yeah, I
do it. You know, often being an entrepreneur is really lonely and it's lonely for a lot of reasons. Partly 'cause you're. Always doing something for the businesses.
Yeah. Um, but it can also be lonely because it's not a path that a lot of people around us take. Right. Um, how have you found other entrepreneurs to have as mentors or peers? What are you doing to build your community so that you remember that other people are doing what you're doing too?
Um. I am constantly meeting new people through my network, and I almost never say no to an introduction in a meeting because Yeah, to your point, it's, it's become so important for me to have that support system and to know that other people are going through this.
Yeah. It changes things when you can have a conversation. Like there's not a lot of people you can probably talk about in your original circle where you're like, yeah, I'm gonna own 10 brands. They're like, why? Yeah,
why would you wanna do that? I, when I, you know, when I left New Balance, a lot of people were like, why'd you do that?
Mm-hmm. Like, you just, you know, been an executive at New Balance and, and gone the. Quote unquote, easy, secure route. But that's not me. Yeah. That's not, that's not what fuels me, so.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, when you look at wrapping up 2023 and starting off 2024, what are you excited about? What are you looking forward to?
Um, on the COTA side, I'm really proud of the product that we built and the brand strategy that we built. What we really need is to ramp up sales. Mm-hmm. So we just hired a sales agency and I'm going to make it my priority to get out to customers, go to trade shows. Mm-hmm. Really get the brand out there because when people touch and feel this brand, they fall in love with it.
It's not, that's not an issue, it's just about getting the exposure. So, so for Kata, um, we really have to, you know, pump the brakes in terms of creating new products. Although it's the most fun part of the brand, um, I, I know that I need to be patient and really focus on sales. And then with p FLIs, we have a lot in the works.
We, uh. Signed, um, an agreement with our first retailer. So they, they placed a PO for November and are working with us through next summer. So I'm really excited about that. And we, um, also just started working with a distributor in Korea. Uh, we're working on some really exciting colabs, so there's a lot to come with that brand too.
And I, it's, I, I've never been more confident in PF flyers than I am in this moment. We're making a lot of progress.
Yeah. Um, I also wanna take a moment and dive into something you said, which I think is really important. Um, I was at, I was head of product for Supra. Mm-hmm. And we had the same thing that you just said, where the marketing wasn't where it needed to be.
The exposure wasn't where it needed to be. We had to focus on sales. We did not need any more product. Mm-hmm. And I got into this huge argument with the owners. About taking our product budget and taking about 70% of it and giving it to marketing. Yeah. And they were like, why would you do that? You need this money.
And I'm like, we just don't like it would be such sure, we can design new things all day long, but if we're just gonna design 'em and throw 'em in the trash, like what's the point? Why are we Yeah. It's so wasteful and it's so harmful. Wasteful. Yeah. It's, it's demoralizing, right? When you're doing all this work for no reason.
And it was such an eye-opening experience for me to realize that people didn't always understand like what was actually causing the machine to go, especially when they were so plugged into like, this is the way we've always done it. And you're like, yeah. But, but can't we all see that like we're sinking?
Like shouldn't we do everything collectively? Like send me on the road like, yeah. Yeah. What do we have to do to make this work? Especially if you believe in something. And so I love that you said that you are pivoting your attention to making sure that the eyeballs are happening for kata and people are realizing what an amazing product and brand this is.
Most people don't think that the solution is to stop one part of a business or, or like put it on ice so that you can make sure all the other ducks in a row so that the flow is happening here. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. I mean, what I always tell the team is the reality is we're still such a small brand that we have yet to get exposed to so many consumers.
And so when someone sees the brand for the first time, they don't know that this is a new product. And so let's continue working on our marketing and our financials and our operations and our sales. And once we get those things, you know, in a great place, then we can, and continue creating new products.
We're just not there right now.
And I even see this with people in service-based businesses where they love making the new thing. And it's like, guys, like I, I'll use Cores as an example. They have two products. Yeah, course and course light. Yeah. And they have a bajillion dollars, so like you don't need more than, yeah, you can get away with one to, you know, to get going.
But it is so hard because the making stuff and the problem solving with the products is the. Exciting part. I know, but it's also really exciting to open a new, um, like retail relationship. Yeah. Or to get new customers. Like when someone, you know what it's like when somebody touches your product for the first time and they're like, why haven't I had this before?
Mm-hmm.
That's what happens to us every time someone touches the product.
Yeah. Um, I definitely wanna make sure that I connect you with some of my stylist clients after. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That'd be
great.
Thank you, but there's, I wish more people knew that getting the eyeballs on your brand was the most important thing and the thing that you have to spend the majority of time doing.
I was preparing a post this morning about, are you. Running a business or are you playing at business? Hmm. And it's so easy to get sucked into the like, oh, I'm gonna organize my office, or I'm gonna create some new plan, or I'm gonna work out an SOP. And it's like that's only okay if we've hit the sales goal.
Right. No, it's so true. You don't get to do all that fun, exciting stuff if you're not bringing the money in.
Yeah. So how, how did you go from someone who loves product and brand to. Like putting on the sales like boots and jacket and like getting ready to go do that work.
I didn't mention this, but I actually worked in sales at New Balance as well, so I, I do have a background in sales and I, I actually love going to meet customers and being on the road, it, it really energizes me so that, that too was part of my background when I was at New Balance, I worked in.
A lot of different areas of the business, and that was strategic because I thought I was gonna, you know, have a seat at the leader leadership table at New Balance. What I didn't realize is that that background would serve me as an entrepreneur as well, so.
Yeah, it's so funny 'cause I did like the opposite.
I never thought I would work for a company. I had an MB in entrepreneurship. Yeah. Couldn't get funding for the company I had in college to keep going. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna use my corporate jobs to make sure I learn everything I can. So that whether it's, so I'm ready to be the CEO of whatever I choose to at some point.
Yeah. That's awesome.
I, I wish I had that mindset earlier. Well, I, I wish a lot of people did because there's so much. Corporate collateral or just life collateral that you get. Mm-hmm. By seeing the different sides, and I'm sure it like myself, it's what makes you a good translator between teams and skillset sets.
'cause you can talk sales, you can talk color charts, you can talk. Mm-hmm. Like I, I didn't realize how important being. A translator slash ambassador was going to be. Yeah. Like whatever room you're in and whoever's not there, you're like, hold on. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Love this idea. The buying team is gonna have a panic attack when we change the calendar, so hold on.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. When you are not working and when you're not being a wife and your mom, how are you filling your cup?
I mean,
you're like,
I'm not, when my son goes to bed, I watch trashy reality tv. I mean, I, you know, I, I, it's important for me to get some me time, but it's hard to get it, you know, on a typical day. Um, I, I exercise every day for my sanity. I love to see. Um, I love to cook. I love to host friends.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and then, like I said, I like reading mindless books and watching mindless TV just to decompress.
Mm-hmm. Yep. I, I definitely, I, as I know, a sign for me that I'm stressed out is that I'm reading like. Horrible ish nonfiction, like mm-hmm. Lifetime movie versions of books. Me too. And that's, I'm like, oh, maybe I need to like, take some time for myself. Yeah. That's what I chose to read versus like the other things I normally read that are like business habits, mindset.
Yeah. Yeah. And we, you know, we love to travel, but it's hard. Mm-hmm. It's with now a baby and, and two businesses. And my husband also has two older kids, so we have a lot going on. We have two labs. A lot going on.
It's full rights. You're
filling it up. It's full. Yeah.
We've also been asking everyone, um, what do you need?
How can we help you? What's on your to-do list or your to manifest list that this community can perhaps help you with?
Uh, spread the word about ADA and P fliers please. Um, and then any other brands that fall into the wellness category that you. That you love or you know, you've met the founders and you've had great conversations with them, make a connection.
I would love to meet them.
Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. For everybody who wants to support you, connect with you, buy from Kata, buy from PF flyers. Where can they do all of those things?
Uh, ada www.tta.com. And for P fliers, www.pliers.com.
Perfect. Well, thank you so much for taking time today to talk to us and share your story.
These are two amazing brands. I'm excited to have the community hear about them if they hadn't before. Uh, and to support you along the way.
Thank you. I really appreciate it, and I, I loved our conversation.
All the links to connect a Kassia, kata, and Pia flyers are in our show notes@thepowerfulladies.com. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening, and if you can leave us a rating and review. Come join us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies, and if you're looking to connect directly with me, visit kara duffy.com or Kara under Duffy on Instagram.
I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Instagram: @kassiadavis
Website: pfflyers.com, wearkada.com
LinkedIn: kassia-davis
Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
