Confessions of a Female Founder with Meghan Episode: Bootstrapped and Booming with Kitsch’s Cassandra Morales Thurswell Release Date: May 20, 2025 Host: Megan (Lemonada Media)

Introduction

In this inspiring episode of Confessions of a Female Founder, hosted by Megan from Lemonada Media, listeners are introduced to Cassandra Morales Thurswell, affectionately known as Cassie—a tenacious entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Kitsch. Known for scaling Kitsch into a leading brand in the hair care and beauty industry without taking a single dollar of investment capital, Cassie's journey offers valuable insights into bootstrapping, strategic growth, and maintaining a people-centric business ethos.

Early Entrepreneurial Spark

Cassie’s entrepreneurial spirit was ignited early in her life, influenced significantly by her parents’ business endeavors. She shares,

“My stepdad was an orthodontist, and my mom and my stepdad were in business together, and they offered us the opportunity to make an allowance to make retainers. And I think this is my first memory of being very entrepreneurial.”
[09:25]

This hands-on experience in her childhood fostered a deep appreciation for personalized customer experiences—a thread that would run through her future ventures, including Kitsch.

Launching Kitsch: A Bootstrapped Journey

Cassie delves into the inception of Kitsch, highlighting the importance of control and hands-on involvement in the early stages:

“It started with hair ties because I could hand make it. It was something that I could be in complete control over. I was making the packaging, I was hand making the product. I was the manufacturer, I was the salesperson. It was 100, 100% me.”
[12:18]

Bootstrapping Kitsch meant Cassie and her husband Jeremy had to be meticulous with their decisions, ensuring every opportunity was profitable. She emphasizes the necessity of patience over speed in a culture obsessed with rapid growth:

“Financing your own company forces a very different kind of rhythm. It invites you to choose patience over speed.”
[03:34]

Major Milestones and Strategic Growth

One of the pivotal moments in Kitsch's growth was securing a significant order from Nordstrom Kids:

“The first opportunity was Nordstrom Kids... I had a less than truckload and I'm loading these cartons out, processing orders.”
[19:27]

This $13,000 order manufactured out of her living room marked a turning point, leading to further opportunities with retailers like Ulta. Cassie recounts how strategic relationship-building replaced expensive expos like CosmoProf:

“I was like, I can't do CosmoProf... I would love to take you out to lunch... And she said yes.”
[21:14]

The success from these strategic moves allowed Kitsch to expand its product line beyond hair ties to a comprehensive range of hair care accessories, embodying the brand's ethos of enhancing daily hair routines.

Personal Life and Its Impact on Business

Cassie's journey as a founder is intricately linked with her personal life, particularly her experience as a mother. She opens up about the challenges of balancing rapid business growth with motherhood, especially during her daughter Tula's early years:

“I had some really intense postpartum anxiety... It was a crippling growth period for me. It was so hard. I felt like I wasn't good at anything.”
[26:32]

However, as Tula grew older and became more communicative, Cassie found a new equilibrium, which positively influenced both her personal well-being and her approach to business:

“When [Tula] turned seven, I had done so much work around that I woke up one day and I was like, ah, I've arrived. I know what I'm doing.”
[31:36]

Cassie also highlights how she nurtures Tula's entrepreneurial spirit, encouraging her to develop her own business ideas while instilling values of charity and service.

Leadership, Management, and Setting Boundaries

Transitioning from a solo founder to leading a growing company, Cassie discusses the evolution of her leadership style. She admits to early challenges in management and people-pleasing tendencies:

“The people pleasing in my interpersonal life was complicated... I had a hard time giving good feedback because I wanted them to like me.”
[36:48]

Through self-reflection and a commitment to her business ethos, Cassie learned to set healthy boundaries and delegate responsibilities effectively:

“If the founder becomes the CEO and the business continues to grow, what they were best at starts to become their most difficult area of the business.”
[37:56]

This realization led her to build a trustworthy team, allowing her to focus on broader business strategies while empowering others to excel in their roles.

Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Sensible Optimism

Cassie attributes her resilience and ability to navigate challenges to what she calls “sensible optimism.” This mindset allows her to face difficulties head-on while maintaining a focus on desired outcomes:

“It's not about avoiding all the hard problems. It's about knowing that you'll get through them and continuing to focus on what you are wanting the outcome to be.”
[41:43]

Her practice of writing journal entries from the future served as a motivational tool, some of which have remarkably mirrored her actual achievements:

“I have journal entries where I'm like, we're the fastest growing brand at Target. We weren't in Target yet. And we just found out this last fall that we were a top 25 fastest growing brand in all of beauty.”
[41:36]

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Cassie offers heartfelt advice to budding entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of vision, patience, and authenticity. She encourages founders to:

1. Focus on Customer Experience: Building products that people love and need encourages repeat business and loyalty.
2. Embrace Failure as Learning: Her early struggles, including her dyslexia, taught her resilience and the importance of overcoming foundational challenges.
3. Set Healthy Boundaries: Balancing personal and professional life is crucial for sustained success and well-being.
4. Maintain Sensible Optimism: Believing in the possibility of overcoming obstacles fosters a resilient and adaptive business mindset.

Conclusion

Cassandra Morales Thurswell's journey with Kitsch exemplifies the power of bootstrapping, strategic growth, and a steadfast commitment to serving customers. Her story is a testament to what can be achieved with determination, thoughtful planning, and an unwavering vision. As Cassie aptly puts it:

“It's about being of service, making great products that people love and reorder because I genuinely believe that reorders are what make a business.”
[11:00]

This episode not only sheds light on the intricacies of growing a business without external investments but also highlights the profound personal growth that accompanies entrepreneurial ventures.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Patience Over Speed in Bootstrapping:

  "Financing your own company forces a very different kind of rhythm. It invites you to choose patience over speed."
  [03:34]

• Embracing Sensible Optimism:

  "It's not about avoiding all the hard problems. It's about knowing that you'll get through them and continuing to focus on what you are wanting the outcome to be."
  [41:43]

• Customer-Centric Ethos:

  "From day one, it was always the kitchen's always been people centric. We've always been people centric."
  [10:21]

• Delegating for Growth:

  "I need to make sure that I have the strongest product developers, and I had to release control over it too. You're better at this than me. I will let you do that."
  [38:18]

Final Thoughts

Cassie’s story is a beacon for female entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of building a successful brand from the ground up. Her ability to stay true to her vision, coupled with her adaptability and resilience, offers a blueprint for sustained growth and personal fulfillment in the entrepreneurial landscape.