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00:00:01
S3E5 Cameron Armstrong
171 Plays8 months ago
Thanks for listening to our episode with Cameron Armstrong (founder of Kitty and Vibe!).
Stay in touch with Meredith.
✨Follow Meredith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-farley/
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✨Email Meredith: [email protected]
We loved talking to Cameron.
✨Check out their great site here: https://www.kittyandvibe.com/
✨✨✨ Want to check out Kitty and Vibe’s great stuff? Use our code CONTENTPEOPLE to get 20% off! ✨✨✨
✨Follow Cameron on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-armstrong-a623b3a2/
✨Follow Kitty and Vibe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitty_and_vibe/
✨Follow Kitty and Vibe on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kitty_and_vibe?lang=en
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Transcript
Introduction to Kitty and Vibe and its unique approach to sizing
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey guys, welcome to Content People. I'm your host Meredith Farley.
00:00:18
Speaker
Cameron, thank you so much for joining Content People. I'm absolutely thrilled to have you. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. A huge fan of Kitty and Vibe. So I think a lot of people listening might know you. I have to say too, one of the women on my team is 26. And I think when I was doing this with you, it was the first time where she ever thought I was maybe a little bit cool. Oh my gosh, that's a huge compliment.
00:00:45
Speaker
Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah, like cool through osmosis perhaps. For anyone who's not familiar with you and Kitty and Vibe, could you introduce yourself? Absolutely. I'm Cameron Armstrong, founder of Kitty and Vibe. We launched in 2018, so just over five years and built the brand originally in New York City, but now we are based in Austin. So what does Kitty and Vibe sell?
00:01:10
Speaker
Canadian Vibe is first and foremost an inclusive swimwear brand. I think over the years we're really evolving day in, day out into more of a lifestyle brand, but we are known for our swimwear. We are known for our sizing metric. For those that aren't familiar, we are the first to make swimsuit and bikinis based on your butt size.
00:01:28
Speaker
And this is very unique in its first market, but it is really a way in which we make a much more tailored fit for swimsuits. And yeah, we offer bikinis, one-pieces, play dresses, and we just started expanding into other categories that I can tell you a little bit about how we made those decisions. But first and foremost, we're known as a swimwear brand.
00:01:51
Speaker
It, when you talk about butt sizes, I think that's ingenious. How have we not been doing that up till now? It seems important and so simple. I know. And it's so funny because I remember when I first came up with the idea for this, I was talking to a patent lawyer because that was the first thing I was trying to do is get a patent for the sizing metric. And he was talking about how the best, most ingenious ideas are the most obvious ones, but nobody's come up with them yet.
00:02:19
Speaker
So when they feel just that clicking moment of, wow, how have I never thought about this before? How hasn't anybody done this before? That's when you know, you're really on. Yeah. You guys are definitely onto something though. I know we'll talk about it later. I have to say I'm really tempted by some of the PJs that I saw you have now too. What was the inspiration
Inspiration and personal experiences behind the brand's creation
00:02:36
Speaker
for it? What made you think I want to revolutionize how we sell and size swimwear? It's such a good question. I think there were many different.
00:02:46
Speaker
personal life experiences that fed into this and also just a moment in time where I was really getting excited about the idea of revolutionizing swimwear. So I'll take you back to 2017, I'd say. This is a time really the peak of the beginning of direct to consumer. And I was seeing so many incredible female founders pioneering new businesses.
00:03:09
Speaker
But a lot of those businesses or I should say, and a lot of those businesses were taking products that had been around forever and just creating a fresh spin on them. So you think of mattresses with Casper and suitcases with the way and toothbrushes with quip. It was just like these household items.
00:03:27
Speaker
and these things that everybody has in their ownership, but they needed a fresh perspective. And I was looking at swim. And for me personally, I had never had a swimsuit that was my ride or die swimsuit. I never had something that I was like, Oh, I can't wait to wear that. It was quite the opposite
Addressing industry issues with innovative sizing methods
00:03:44
Speaker
of, Oh, I don't really want to read to my drawer and get this garment. And this is really a pain in the ass to shop for. And I talked to so many other.
00:03:54
Speaker
And I was just struck by the negativity that surrounded the category and the product itself. So much more so than anything else you own. Like the way that you react towards a swimsuit is very different than a pair of jeans or underwear. And I think it's because it's the least amount of clothing we wear in public. It is the most that your body is vulnerably on display. And you just really feel that like spotlight on you when you're wearing a swimsuit and
00:04:19
Speaker
I just feel we deserve to feel beautiful and confident in that swimsuit. And I think the industry was really doing us a disservice and not giving us the best options nor empathizing with the fact that it's difficult to shop for. So when I set out to dive into this, I remember.
00:04:37
Speaker
trying to go into a couple of boutiques and shopping for swimsuits in person. And I was just like, oh, this is so not fun. You can paint the picture. You're in a boutique. You pick out a couple sizes. Of course, one's a large, one's an extra small because no brand has consistent sizing. And you take it into a fitting room where there's horrible lighting and you're getting naked in this weird little room. And then the lady outside, come on.
00:05:04
Speaker
Oh, let me see it. This is terrible. And I didn't buy anything. And then I went online and ordered a couple and the tops were way too big, bottoms were way too small. And I just thought, this is dumb. I'm trying to give my money to a product. And it seems so basic, yet I can't find one that I love.
00:05:23
Speaker
So the next thing I did was start holding focus groups in my apartment in New York. I invited women over for brunch on a Saturday and had like muffins and mimosas. And I was like, can you just come talk to me about your swimsuit experience? And it was really great because I just had this think tank where I got all these women together and we started just complaining about what we didn't like. And.
00:05:48
Speaker
That's when I started just intuitively measuring people. I was like, okay, I feel like this is a good place to start. Like getting your hands dirty per se. Okay. Let me just tangibly see what's going on here. And I started measuring all of my friends and I found that the inseam size is the biggest differentiator. So I'd have two friends with identical hip sizes. So around they would order the same swimsuit bottoms could be the same size hips, but one person's inseam. So.
00:06:16
Speaker
I'd consider the inseam, the belly button through her legs to the top of the tailbone would be like three inches longer than the other. So the person that those two women that would order the same swimsuit, one would have way too much fabric because their inseam was shorter and thus the swimsuit would sag. And then the other person would never have enough fabric and then they couldn't get enough coverage on the seat.
00:06:37
Speaker
I was like, this is crazy. Obviously we're three-dimensional figures, so we should be able to shop something that caters to these different dimensions. So that's how the kiddie size was born, which is really incorporating that inseam size into every
Community-driven marketing and customer engagement
00:06:50
Speaker
hip size. So as you shop our range, say you wear a medium. If you're a medium with a smaller inseam or typically smaller booty, you'd be M1, medium with a longer inseam, larger booty, you'd be M2. There's so much that you just covered there.
00:07:07
Speaker
It was a long rant just then. No, I loved it. I was thinking, I feel like when you're talking about it, I'm thinking when I was a little kid, I had so many swimsuits and I loved all of them. They were so colorful and I didn't think twice about it, but then something happens and then
00:07:26
Speaker
I feel like probably for the last six years, I've had one bathing suit at a time that I've held on to for three to four years and I hate it and it doesn't fit right. And I tug my heartstrings around when is that shift for us? When you are a child and you just aren't thinking about it and you're so much more focused and having fun in the water and everything else around you.
00:07:46
Speaker
versus how you look wearing that, that it is heartbreaking. Like when did that shit and I really hope with Kitty and vibe, we can get back to that sentiment of you're just not focused on what you're wearing anymore. You're just living in the present moment because you feel comfortable and you feel safe in what you're wearing and fairly think that's a goal of what we're trying to tap into.
00:08:06
Speaker
I feel like you guys are really achieving that in one, the sizing options to find something that fits you right, which is good and comfortable in anything. And then two, like the colors and the patterns are so cool. The designers you work with to figure out these prints, I love them. And it's so vibrant. And then also just the photos and it's women having fun. It's not women that's overly focused on how they look. It looks like women having focused on how they feel, which I really like. Yeah.
00:08:35
Speaker
I that brought up so many thoughts in my head, but I think you're nodding to the fact that Canadian vibe is very
00:08:45
Speaker
accessible in the sense that I think so often, especially in a social media world, there is a cool factor in this aspirational type of marketing where you feel like you can attain. This is so chic and sexy and it just, you can attain it, but you want it so you buy it because you're trying to achieve that. We flip that on its head and we say, no, this, this can be, you can feel this way and you should feel empowered.
00:09:10
Speaker
And we do that through our community driven marketing, which is just shown through every touch point of the brand. So as you go into our website, like you said, you real models and that's because they're actually our customers. They're actually fans of the brand. So any campaign that we do, we only utilize people that have applied to model for us. So on our website, we have an open application. Anybody can model for us. And when we're doing a photo shoot, we just filter for that city and contact women who applied and our
00:09:39
Speaker
application is actually now at over 4000 people have applied to model for us. And it's my favorite part of my slack because the applications thing into our, our slap channel, and I just got one at tunnel so 20 minutes ago.
00:09:57
Speaker
And it says, what makes you want to model for Kitty in Vibe? I adore the inclusivity of your brand when it comes to the glorious model showcase. It's something you don't see often, but when I see it from Kitty in Vibe, Oh my God. Okay. I just give me chills. I saw it from Kitty in Vibe. It gives me that inner child in me who always wanted to model more than one.
00:10:16
Speaker
any ounce of hope, the open and comforting environment the brand carries, eases every doubt I've had that says I couldn't be a plus-size model. Oh my god, that is, we're listening? That's crazy. Isn't that crazy? But seriously Meredith, we get, I don't know, around 10 or 15 applications a day.
00:10:33
Speaker
Oh my God. Okay. I'm going to ask you because it's not just for show of like, you see a brand sometimes like one summer they'll do an open casting call and it's, Oh my God, this is your chance. No, we do this at every photo shoot. So it's actually a realistic opportunity that this person could be chosen because we only, we do it for every single photo shoot that we host.
00:10:58
Speaker
I might ask you to screenshot and send me that because that would be incredible promo material for this. I feel and I want to get so into the brand and community. There's so much, I love what you guys are doing.
00:11:16
Speaker
Hey guys, interrupting this interview for 10 seconds to talk about Medbury. Medbury is a social media agency that I founded in 2023 and we produced this podcast. Our promise is pretty simple. We create social media strategies that really, really work. We offer of LinkedIn, Instagram, and newsletter management for founders, execs, entrepreneurs, public figures, and brands. Our clients often see significant results within just a few weeks of us working
Cameron's transition from marketing to fashion entrepreneurship
00:11:43
Speaker
together. We're fun to work with and we'd love to help you.
00:11:46
Speaker
You can check out our website, sign up for our newsletter, or shoot us an email. Everything's in the show notes. Okay, back to the interview.
00:12:01
Speaker
There's so much to mine there, but before we do, I have a couple more operational questions. Yeah, let's do it. First, I'm really curious, how did you get started? Did you know anything about clothing manufacturing? It sounds like you had this intuitive sense and the focus group sounds so interesting and you're like, there's a big grip in the market here, but then how did you make that happen?
00:12:23
Speaker
You know, I actually had no experience in designer fashion. I was working in marketing at the time I started my career at L'Oreal. So I was working on Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent. And so I had a really incredible experience early in my career on how to build a global footprint and also how to bring a product to market in a specific location. So that was just.
00:12:48
Speaker
really, this isn't important. We don't need to talk about this. You can take out this part. Okay. So I'll just back up and say, I did not have experience in designer fashion. I started my career at L'Oreal, which was really valuable opportunity. But when it came to designing a physical product, I did not have that experience, but I did have the curiosity to your point of, I feel like I had that drive and that fire of just wanting to get out there and finding these answers that I was searching for. So starting with the focus groups and
00:13:18
Speaker
The first step, people always ask like, how did you get started or how did you make the first step? What was your first step? My first step was getting on the F train and taking it to the garment district and just walking around. I was like, okay, I'm going to go find some swimsuit fabric.
00:13:34
Speaker
And just took the subway up and walked around and got, I remember getting a colored part of just a really standard swimsuit fabric from a place that I had Googled. And I was so proud. I just went home with such a spring in my step because I was like, I did it. I made the first move and now I have colors to choose from. Granted, I did not work with that supplier or anything, but it was just something tangible in my hands. Oh, you're doing this. You're actually, you're going to be able to do this.
00:14:01
Speaker
And so that's the first step that I took. And from there, I looked for a manufacturing partner and found an incredible partner that is still the partner behind Canadian Vibe making all of our suits today. And it was a perfect marriage because I came with the brains of the business and marketing and they brought the actual design and manufacturing
Daily operations and team evolution at Kitty and Vibe
00:14:24
Speaker
piece. So we really just stayed in our lane. So I think this is framed behind me. I can send you a picture of this.
00:14:30
Speaker
as well, if we want to put where people to see, these are the very first sketches that I made. These are like my first sketches of the logo and sketches of the styles that I wanted to develop. So I had a vision, but I had no idea how to make an underwire swimsuit top. So that's what I did is brought these sketches and then found somebody that could really bring it to life. Well, what's the next question? You answered it. I was like, did you have experience? Like how did you manifest something tangible? Yeah. And I really love that story. I love that.
00:15:00
Speaker
I think it might resonate with a lot of people. It resonates with me. I worked in product before I ran MedBarry. For a couple years, I was a chief product officer. One thing I always found comforting was how
00:15:14
Speaker
iterative and quickly things evolved. And we're looking back at old scopes of work. We pitched to clients for products that six months or a year later were so different, but like that document was maybe like a version for me of that sketch for you, but always such a healthy reminder that you just have to start somewhere.
00:15:35
Speaker
And it will help if you keep taking steps. And I love that you have that framed. And I could see this story maybe inspiring someone who's, I don't know how to move this forward, but I can come up with one teeny tiny thing to do. Teeny tiny thing. Exactly. That's so true. Like you want to start a podcast place in order for a microphone. If you want to, you just got to do one, one thing and that will just lead to the next thing. And it will just start to fuel that fire inside of you.
00:16:01
Speaker
Okay, so what is a day in the life like for you right now, five years later? Gosh, it's such a good question. And the truth is that no day looks exactly the same. I'd say the biggest difference from when I started five years ago versus now is I actually had people to talk to my first year or two. It was just myself and our manufacturer and maybe
00:16:26
Speaker
I don't know, one freelancer or something that I would use to, to work on a particular project. But now I actually have people day in and day out working on Kitty invite, which is so incredible. And I'm also in our office space in Austin, surrounded by our product and our samples and our swatches, which is so exciting. Whereas when I started, which honestly, I'm so happy to have.
00:16:52
Speaker
those humble beginnings of the first 4,500 orders I packed by hand from my closet in Brooklyn. So I was like, in a teeny tiny closet, just packing orders every day. I wouldn't change that for the world. There was something so special for
00:17:11
Speaker
Every product that went to a customer's hands, I touched first and it was just that, that felt very connecting to our community in the early days. But I would say a day in the life for me now is.
00:17:25
Speaker
really working on operational things. I still manage majority of our finances and ops of getting the product from the factory to our warehouse, etc. So doing a lot of operational work and which is honestly echoes what I did at L'Oreal as well. And then creative wise we have
00:17:45
Speaker
a couple of freelancers that help us with graphic design and paid media, et cetera. So we have great partners, but no two days look the same. I have to be honest. I, I think as a solo founder and leading this company, sometimes I really crave, I'm like, I would love a performance review where I would love to know what my job description is because we wear so many different hats, but that's what keeps it interesting.
00:18:10
Speaker
Yeah. Do you, can you envision five years ahead or are you like, no, you can't do it. There's so many unknowns. Or does it feel more clear to you? I think five years ahead, I see myself more in a strictly marketing role, like more of a CMO type role.
00:18:27
Speaker
I love the inception of a campaign. I love coming up with the storytelling. I love figuring out who this product is being sold to, how we're going to market it. That is so fascinating to me. So yeah, I think I see myself most evolving in a purely marketing role versus a CEO type role.
00:18:50
Speaker
That it may, it seems like that side of things comes really naturally for you and you have an incredible at it, which is the perfect segue because I really want to ask about Instagram.
Social media strategy and authentic engagement
00:19:02
Speaker
You have built an incredible community there and I want to get into it. Like first off, how many followers does Kitty and five have? Like a ton.
00:19:12
Speaker
We have, yeah, we're just over 70,000 on Instagram and I think around 130,000 on TikTok. Oh my gosh. And they're so engaged, which I think is a real differentiator compared to maybe have some numbers, but the comments and can you just talk to me a little bit about how you figured this community out and how you grew up?
00:19:34
Speaker
Yes. And I think the engagement is so much more important than the follower count these days. If you have 2000 followers on Instagram, but they are actually engaged, that's so much more valuable than having a hundred thousand followers that aren't engaged. So I think for people that are starting out that maybe feel, I don't know, comparison anxiety of not having a big following yet, doesn't matter. What matters is, are the people that are following you actually care of what you're putting out?
00:19:58
Speaker
So for us, I think our secret sauce was the dialogue that we created with our community followers, customers. And what I mean by that is if you're engaging with Kati and Vibe, it's not a one-way
00:20:14
Speaker
relationship, you're actually going to get something back. So we've spent so much time and energy in putting into our kind of just customer happiness, but a lot of that is just any DM we get.
00:20:29
Speaker
We are going to respond and it's probably going to be either myself or my marketing manager, Sarah. And we're not just going to send the heart emoji. We're going to actually send you something back or I'm known to send voicemails back to customers. I really have put so much time into just creating this two-way relationship. And I think that's what has helped us be so sticky is it's not just, again, that aspirational feel of, Oh, you see this.
00:20:56
Speaker
like a really cute bag on, I don't know, I don't want to call any brand name out, but something where you comment or you send them a DM and you're never going to hear anything back. That's just not as fulfilling as, Oh, you actually will get a response and we care about what you say. And we take that to the next step with our co-creation. And that came as a result of me not having experience in designer fashion. So when I was creating the first.
00:21:21
Speaker
line of Kitty and Vibe, I made a survey and sent it out to as many people as I could get to take the survey. And it asked, okay, what types of styles do you prefer? What colors do you prefer? What month do you like to shop in? Just getting all of that feedback. And it's still in the DNA of the brand today. So any product that we launch goes up first for co-creation surveys through email surveying and Instagram polling, where people can actually vote on what we launched and majority wins. So.
00:21:51
Speaker
people really feel like they're helping us design our products. And I think having that onus is so much more or is really beneficial into them actually purchasing the product because they felt like they helped design it. So I think the magic of our community and how we've created it is because of that dialogue that we've set in place with our customer and the consistency with it.
00:22:17
Speaker
I can see that creating a sense of connection with the brand to feel like your feedback and your notes are heard and meaningful and that you get a response back. Like people say community on social media, but like that's truly creating a two-way street community. Do you notice like stronger sales when the products have been
00:22:43
Speaker
When there's been a lot of engagement around the co-creation, does it seem to coil? Oh, yeah, a hundred percent. And what's really fascinating is we always see specifically, so our repeat customer rate is super high in total 32%. But when we launch a new collection, it spikes to 45%.
00:23:01
Speaker
And that's because in those first two weeks, the people that voted on the product are the first to want to buy it. And what's really fascinating is we always see at least the first 30 days of a new collection matches perfectly the data that we got from the co-creation survey. So say, for example, we're launching a print in two different colorways and we asked which one
00:23:24
Speaker
they like more and it's a 70-30 split. We bought that in the inventory with the 70-30 split and the sales are identically 70-30. And it's only after we start opening it up to paid media and other channels that are our direct community that we might see those numbers shift, but they really do echo as a whole what our community is asking for, which is so helpful in placing really smart inventory buys, which is crucial if you are an inventory heavy company.
00:23:52
Speaker
And some, I think a proof point for us is I've never had to dump a product. So we've sold everything a hundred percent. It's wild. I feel like there's two levels of innovation happening here. There's the sizing, but then there's this incredible like community feedback design purchase model.
00:24:11
Speaker
So if someone listening, say they're a founder or they're working for a brand and they're really trying to get things moving and they're finding it a little difficult, is there some kind of brass tacks advice you have for someone to say, do this, don't do that when trying to build and engage an Instagram community?
00:24:32
Speaker
Yeah, I think the number one goal and rule is don't strictly talk at people. There's so much of that going on all the time. We're just like infiltrated nonstop with just media thrown at you. And I think when all of a sudden you have a media thrown at you that actually asks you a question or wants to know what you think, it allows you to have that
00:24:53
Speaker
longer thumb stop and you say, Oh, this account wants to know what I think. And I feel that really helps set you apart if you just aren't always talking at people. So that would be my number one rule. And then also not being afraid to evolve. I think.
00:25:10
Speaker
it's hard to keep up these days because what's winning on social media, it feels like changes every 30 days almost. You hit a stride in a groove and then all of a sudden things start to not perform. So you really have to be willing to match what's working on social, which can be very exhausting. But as long as you look at it as an opportunity to innovate, I think that is what you have to do to win. Being good at social media,
00:25:39
Speaker
and investing chunks of time and money or both into it is, it seems to be increasingly imperative for business. Isn't it funny? I feel like when we started Kitty and Vibe, what performed the best was like the most aesthetic, beautiful content. And that's all been stripped away over the last five days, like people, five days, five years. I think now it's so much more of the raw and the real that people crave.
00:26:05
Speaker
because that's been the biggest issue with social media is it's just not a realistic depiction of someone's real life. It's just this rosy view. And I think people are so much more attached if they feel like it's an honest perspective. And so much of that comes with taking away only the editorial if you're a business account, only the editorial. People get so much more excited if they're seeing the co-workers in the office and what it's really like to work there.
00:26:34
Speaker
There's just so much hunger for that realistic point of view. So I'm curious how that's going to evolve in another five years. I can't even imagine. It is interesting. I wonder if we'll start to see almost in the same way with like fashion, like things come back. Come back. Yeah. Like all of a sudden the aesthetic grid is hot again. Who knows?
00:27:00
Speaker
So for you from your perspective, how do you think that social media has powered kitty and vibes growth?
00:27:08
Speaker
I think the biggest gift, especially as you're starting out, it's free. Like the fact that you can make an Instagram account and a TikTok account and you don't have to pay for it. And you can just start building a curated present online. That doesn't cost you money. It's pretty amazing. And when I started out, we completely bootstrapped the brand for the first several years. So I think social media was, it was such a gift. I look back at founders that started, I think.
00:27:35
Speaker
one that always comes to mind is Sarah Blakely starting Spanx pre-social media. And she's going to these retailers and meme-ins and trying to sell her product. And that is just, that drive and grit is just so impressive to me because nowadays, honestly, it's quite easy to start. You can sign up for Shopify and create these accounts and you can just go for it. And granted, obviously it's getting quite crowded.
00:28:03
Speaker
because of how accessible it is to start. So you still have to have a cutting edge product or reason for being for people to start listening to you. But the barrier for entry is a lot lower. It's funny when you were talking earlier about packing boxes from your closet in Brooklyn, I was thinking Sarah Blakely.
00:28:20
Speaker
Like some parallel between you. You've done so much. I love the brand. I want to talk about the products in a little bit and see if there's anything we can keep our eyes peeled for in the next couple of months.
Overcoming challenges and reflecting on entrepreneurial journey
00:28:31
Speaker
But before then, do you have any advice? Are there three bits of advice you'd give your younger self five years ago? Mentioned comparison anxiety earlier. I think that's really.
00:28:43
Speaker
an easy trap to fall into that I still struggle with. Just spending too much energy looking outward and seeing where your peers are. I think for me, I really did start Kidney and vibe in this boom of direct to consumer. And I didn't follow the model of
00:29:00
Speaker
raising a lot of money to start the business. I decided to build a community and a customer base first before going out and raising money, which was not the sexy thing to do. I feel like the headlines were X company raises X money in their series A. And I just, I've spent way too much time and energy comparing myself to these businesses. And I think honestly, it's only now that I'm really realizing how useless that was to spend the energy there because a lot of those companies
00:29:30
Speaker
are now closing, which is a really, which is heartbreaking, but it just goes to show there isn't a singular path for building a business. There are many different ways in which you can do it. And as long as you have conviction and excitement around the way you're doing it, that's what really matters. And so I think a biggest space
00:29:50
Speaker
advice I'd give myself is just like tune out that noise and don't spend your energy just mulling over these milestones that other people are hitting and recognize the milestones that you're hitting yourself, however big or small. I think I would also say
00:30:07
Speaker
As you're starting out, it's interesting how much involuntary feedback you receive. People are just like, oh, it's cool, but like, why don't you name it this? Or why don't you do this? And people just perk up when you're starting out. And I think because it's not, it hasn't been proven yet, they feel like they have more permission to give you feedback. And I think I had so many people that didn't like the name, Kitty and Vibe.
00:30:35
Speaker
And they were like, I don't get it. I don't think it's a good idea. You should name it something else. And now people all the time are like, so catchy. It's so cheeky. How'd you come up with this? And so I think really as you're starting out, it's important to also tune out that noise and just listen to your inner gut and intuition because you know your product and your idea better than anybody else. And let's see a third piece of advice. What else would I tell myself?
00:31:07
Speaker
This is, I'm trying to think of the best way to articulate it, but I think now that I'm six years past having those first focus groups, I sometimes am just craving that drive again and that fearlessness. I really feel like when I started Kitty in Five, I, for better or for worse, did not have fear. Like I had no,
00:31:33
Speaker
part of me that was wondering, what if this doesn't work out? That was not in my headspace. Who knows if I was just super naive and I was just blinded by the excitement, but there was no part of me that was like, this won't work. I had a hundred percent conviction this is going to work. And I think as now the business is further along, I am less risk averse or am more risk averse. What is the right one?
00:31:57
Speaker
I'm now more risk-averse and I'm craving just that spark and that fearlessness that I had when I was first starting out. So I'm not sure what that is. Maybe it's giving myself the advice of when I was in that head space, write down how that feels. What does that feel like in your body? What does that feel like in your mind? Just keep track of your journey in building this. I think I asked myself these days, how was I so brave? And I wish that I could tap into that.
00:32:27
Speaker
part of me and I think I'm trying to do exercises to get back into that headspace but maybe it's the advice of keeping track of just how you're feeling throughout this journey because it's so funny like as an entrepreneur they have these maps you can google like meme of entrepreneur life and you just see this and you're like one day I'm on top of the world I'm the smartest person on the planet the next day you're like I'm failure I should quit
00:32:52
Speaker
the next day your back comes again and it's just crazy and I think it would help if you have a bit more of a record of that to remind yourself when you're in the depths and the valleys that you oh it's gonna start it's just a matter of time it's just the ride that you're on
00:33:07
Speaker
Yes. Oh my God. I have so much to say to all those points. I actually was listening to a podcast interview with Matthew McConaughey. Did you ever listen to his book, Green Lights? No. I just loved his voice. So it was just like a really fun listen, but he was talking about exactly what you're saying where like his hit the book. He, I guess he did, he had 37 years of journaling and he was like, you have journal like the good times too, to remind yourself what it feels like and like where you had was at.
00:33:36
Speaker
which really jumped out at me, but when you're talking about all of the advice that you get, I, I was in the shower this morning, actually thinking about this and I was like, should I just do something where for four weeks, I'm just not open to feedback. Yeah, I think to your point, like when you're,
00:34:05
Speaker
I think as women in general, I don't know if it's inherent or something that's culturally cultivated in us to be really concerned with what other people think and other people's perspectives.
00:34:18
Speaker
And I'm like, I've spent my whole life being probably too open to feedback. How might it feel to just like hone in for a few weeks? I think that's really, but I also too, I'm sure there's a balance as well. Cause I'm thinking of that version of you that went to go pick up like your first sample of fabric. It's hard to be open and learning and evolving. And so finding the balance between.
00:34:42
Speaker
learning as you go and need to kind of educate yourself versus sorting through what's useful versus unuseful feedback. It's a lot of energy. It's a lot of work and it's hard. It is. Yeah. Yeah. No, I totally agree. But, and then, yeah, I get the roller coaster. I hear it. I also do want to appreciate how, I think there are a lot of founders who
00:35:05
Speaker
would get interviewed and be like, everything's great all the time. Thanks for asking. And I just, I'm grateful for it because I think it helps other people feel less crazy. And it's very kind of you to be so open about it. And in some ways I feel like it really mirrors the authenticity of the brand you've created. And I'm just really appreciative. Thank you.
00:35:28
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. No, I think it's so important. And it's amazing as soon as you open the window a little bit to the, that true honesty, how quickly other people are open to as well. And you're like, Oh wow, you're feeling this too. I always love when I meet a new founder and you can tell if they're going to have that energy. Nope, everything's great. I'm success story. And I want to have a world or you just get that little nugget and you're like, Oh, maybe they're going to be honest.
00:35:56
Speaker
of wealth they're struggling with. And as soon as you both allow yourself together, you're like, oh, I feel so much better. I'm not alone in this. Let's help each other. I'm struggling with different things. Let's lift each other up. We're going to pull ourselves out of it. It's so beneficial. Yeah. So I think that's really important.
00:36:13
Speaker
All right. So I am definitely buying some of your pajamas. I think they're so cute. And I need to get a new swimsuit too.
Brand expansion into loungewear and enhancing customer experience
00:36:21
Speaker
So for anyone listening, what should they look at? What's going to be happening? Great question. Okay. So like I said, our, we're known for our swimsuits, but we are building out these other categories, which came as a result of our customers asking for us to bring our vibes, which by the way, our prints we refer to as vibes since Kitty and vibe.
00:36:41
Speaker
And that was a way to personify the product a little bit more so it can feel more like a friend than an enemy. So all of our prints have a kind of persona that go along with it. When you order a swimsuit, it comes to your doorstep with a matching playlist that goes with the vibe of your suit and some instructions on how to get into a positive mental space before you try on the swimsuit. So people are very attached to their prints.
00:37:05
Speaker
to our prints and our vibes. So we took our vibes and we brought them to other categories, first two pajamas and sleepwear, which are great for the holidays because they're much more capable than bikini. But for Valentine's Day, we will have our first collection go live that has both
00:37:20
Speaker
swim and lounge wear. So I'm really excited for our customers and listeners here to be able to see our product in multiple different expressions at the same time. So that will be very fun. And we have a jam-packed season this year of lots of different products coming out. So pretty much if you check kittyandvibe.com, I would say every two weeks we'll have something new. So be sure to check us out as you buy a new swimsuit for the season.
00:37:45
Speaker
Yeah, we'll definitely check out the vibes. So for anyone listening, we will put a link in the show notes so that you can check out the site, check out the PJs, check out the lounge wear, check out the suits. So for all of the listeners, we're also going to give you $20 off any order. So you'll just use code content people for $20 off. Amazing. We'll put that in the show notes.
00:38:08
Speaker
Anything else, Cameron, that you wish I'd asked or that you'd want to say? Trying to think. Maybe it goes throughout the theme that we've talked about as just being vulnerable, being honest and being kind. Our mission at Kitty and vibe is kind is my vibe. And we define that by being kind to yourself.
00:38:24
Speaker
your body and others and I really feel as you're on your life journey what we believe is if you are able to feel that confidence and that self-love within yourself which for us is we think a really great fitting swimsuit can help unlock that confidence that's what we're trying to do is awaken and fuel that inner self-love once you feel that self-love you're so much more likely to be able to be kind to others when you feel good you do good so I think just
00:38:53
Speaker
a nice little reminder in my vibe. You can hold back however you please, but just remember to be kind to yourself when you can. I love that. I'm going to hold that today. Thank you. Please do. All right, Cameron. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
00:39:13
Speaker
Hey content people, do you mind if I call you that? If you like the show, there are a few ways you can stay in touch and support us. The first is you can subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts. That way you won't miss an episode. The second is you can leave a five star rating and a review.
00:39:30
Speaker
Those make a really big impact. I know they're kind of a pain and they take a little bit of time, but if you're feeling generous and you've been listening to the show, I'd appreciate it so much. And the third is you could sign up for the Content People newsletter. The link is in the show notes. We share news about the show and episodes. And I also write a lot about the intersection between work and creativity, which is kind of at the heart of so many of these Content People conversations. We also love feedback if you want to
00:39:57
Speaker
request a guest or a topic, pitch yourself to be on the show, advertise with us, learn more about Medberry social media, or otherwise just be in touch, shoot me an email. I would love to hear from you. It's Meredith at medberryagency.com. That's M-E-D-B-U-R-Y agency.com. I will throw that in the show notes too. All right, until next time.