Cassandra Thurswell is one of the few who started with nothing but a dream, a few dollars and some determination and was able to turn it into a successful business. After working in many different fields including waitressing, retainer assembly, and managing a cupcake shop, she ended up in a jewelry store where she learned the value of taking ownership of her job and putting her all into it. After making improvements that helped grow the business she was working for, she caught the entrepreneur bug and decided to pursue starting her own company. As she explains, she had no plan going into this business, but received the support she needed from her husband and launched into the adventure of starting something new. She financed her venture with some money she had saved, a maxed out credit card, and some frugal living.
She decided that she wanted to start a business that she would find value in herself, and went in the direction of beauty and haircare. She started on her living room floor, hand making knotted hair ties, eventually getting orders big enough that her husband needed to quit his job to help her. That has turned into a trendy beuaty business carrying hair care products, skin care tools, and hair accessories, and has collabed with big names like elf, Disney, Harry Potter, and Hello Kitty. Her heatless curling set even went viral on TikTok!
However, this wasn’t her only business venture, just the first one that succeeded. As she said in an interview, this was her 8th business. She is a testament to the beauty of not giving up! In the same interview, when asked what her best piece of advice would be for people starting a business, she said that it was important to be 100% sure of your “why” and be sure that it is strong enough to sustain you through the highs and lows of your venture. As she said, make sure your actions align with your “why”. For example, if you want to be extremely wealthy or have a huge house, but entrepreneurship might not be the best way to get there! She said, “Your ‘why’ should be strong enough to be willing to live with very little for a period of time in service of your dream. I never felt like a victim to the struggles and menial tasks when starting Kitsch, I saw it as an investment in my future and made a game out of it”. This is one of the best pieces of advice I have heard from successful entrepreneurs – it’s not for everyone and for every goal! Cassandra Thurswell’s story shows how valuable determination, confidence, a strong “why”, and support are in starting a successful business!
See her interview here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/viviannunez/2019/10/30/for-cassandra-thurswell-starting-kitsch-came-down-to-trusting-her-intuition/ and her store here: https://www.mykitsch.com/
I really enjoyed reading about Cassandra’s story, and your post is very thorough and very well written. The whole journey that she took to get to her business is really interesting, but I especially love her point about the “why” of the venture. I think that’s so accurate for entrepreneurs and something really important to remember. Overall, though, her story is very inspiring, and you did a great job writing about it!
This is so cool! I think it is really impactful that her path was twisty. She just started by imagining where she could go and was fueled by her “why.” Her “why” allowed for her to press forward despite any challenges or hardships. She persisted and never gave up.
Great post! I loved reading about how the founder took risks and gave up her finaital stability to pursue an entrepreneurial career. I can’t imagine how scary it would be to leave job security behind and pursue a startup facing the unknown of the outcome. I personally love this brand and have used both the shampoo and conditioner bars. Kitsch’s hair care bars are better than others on the market, and are a large component of the brand’s success.