OPERATORS Podcast — Episode Summary

Episode Title: 8 Failed Businesses Before Kitsch’s Beauty Empire

Date: March 3, 2026
Guests: Cassandra & Jeremy Thurswell (Kitsch)
Hosts: OPERATORS: Mike Beckham, Sean

Episode Overview

This episode explores the remarkable journey of Cassandra and Jeremy Thurswell, the founders behind Kitsch—now a multi-hundred-million dollar brand offering haircare and beauty essentials. Sharing the candid details of eight entrepreneurial failures, the couple discusses the resilience, frugality, scrappiness, and partnership that led to Kitsch’s ultimate breakthrough. The conversation digs deep into their personal story, their dynamic as married co-founders, critical pivots (including a legendary China “sting operation” and COVID-era scrambles), and lessons on leadership, humility, and building a company culture founded on trust and service.

Key Themes and Discussion Points

1. From Eight Failures to a Household Name

• Entrepreneurial Roots and Persistence

  • Cassandra shares her humble career path ("My resume is terrible. It's almost comical. Worked at a cupcake shop, Kitsch..." – Cassandra, 06:00), describing entrepreneurial parents and her involvement in multiple small businesses from age 12.
  • Her eight “failed” businesses taught her invaluable lessons and built her grit:
    “If I went through all eight, you'd be like, ‘Oh, that wasn't a real business.’ But to me, they were all real businesses.” (Cassandra, 06:50)

• The Birth of Kitsch

  • Originated from hand-making hair ties in their apartment, while doing door-to-door and trade show sales.
  • The scrappy, slow, day-by-day progress set the foundation:

    “It was very much a slow incremental mindset...how do we get through the day? How do we get through the week?” (Cassandra, 18:19)

2. The Power of Partnership — Love, Risk, and Contrasts

• How Cassandra and Jeremy Met and Collaborated

  • Jeremy, a rising TV writer, encouraged Cassandra post-career disappointment:

    “Jeremy was really the one…you just got to toss them in the pool.” (Cassandra, 14:08)

  • Both experienced being overlooked/passed over, channeling this disappointment into founding the company (16:32).

• Complementary Risk Profiles

  • Their risk appetites differ: Jeremy is “biased to action” and intuitive; Cassandra takes big bets on rebranding and category pivots.
    “Jeremy’s risks are terrifying to me...some of the risks I take drive Jeremy crazy.” (Cassandra, 15:35)

• Working as a Married Couple

  • The balance relies on daily connection and deep trust, not grand gestures:

    “We spend time together daily...connections every day.” (Cassandra, 37:55)

  • Disagreement is treated as strength, not weakness:

    “True partnership is hearing the other person's perspective, realizing there’s another way of looking at it.” (Jeremy, 43:09)

3. Scrappiness and Adaptability

• Legendary Honeymoon/China “Sting”

  • To combat vendor fraud, they turned their honeymoon into a surprise, high-stakes factory investigation:

    “We just burst through the door...The factory owner is chain-smoking cigarettes...” (Jeremy, 27:43)

  • They confiscated computers as leverage over unpaid orders and proof of vendor wrongdoing, showing guts and resourcefulness (27:19–29:27).

• Pandemic Pivots / Existential Crises

  • During COVID, overnight Kitsch pivoted to manufacture millions of masks, risking everything financially:

    “How are we going to fund all these masks...all of our retail POs have been canceled...I look over at him and he gets a nosebleed. He's so stressed.” (Cassandra, 00:00, 59:17)

  • They mortgaged their house and liquidated assets but survived by prioritizing others (“when we put other people first.” – Jeremy, 61:40).

4. Company Culture and Leadership

• Servant Leadership and Humility

  • As the team grew, Cassandra and Jeremy shifted to servant leadership, prioritizing hiring people smarter than themselves:

    “Now it really feels to me like the company belongs to everyone here...I work to support all the other people.” (Jeremy, 47:45)

• Self-Awareness and Continuous Growth

  • Willingly admitting weaknesses and hiring around them.
  • “You want to be all things to everyone. But that’s not really our role…find your zone of genius.” (Jeremy, 49:58)

• Handling Conflict and Disagreement

  • Healthy disagreement is normalized (“I disagree...”); best decisions come when both partners finally agree (43:09–43:22).
  • Company culture encourages “what’s right” over “who’s right”; egos are downplayed in favor of team results (44:40).

• Relational, Not Transactional

  • Letting employees go is handled with dignity; the importance lies in how people are treated, not transactionally processed (53:47–55:06).
  • “The word is grace. You move with some grace through the world.” (Sean, 55:06)

5. Product Strategy and Scaling

• Customer-Centric Expansion

  • Kitsch’s growth came not from flashy innovation but “doing commodity beauty products better,” always with the customer in mind:

    “What we call the art of incrementality...make it giftable, make it cute, keep it impulse price point, encourage retailers to put it near the register.” (Cassandra, 70:15)

  • Each new product (pillowcases, spa headbands, eventually shampoo bars) was a natural extension, requiring only small behavior shifts from customers.

  • The dry shampoo bars and solid haircare products became hero items ("Over a million units a month of shampoo bars." – Jeremy, 72:57).

• Iterative Excellence

  • Early versions were flawed (“Apple ][e” vs iPhone analogy); relentless iteration based on customer feedback (73:26–75:17).
  • Net promoter score is a top product health metric (“If it’s not 4.5 stars or higher, we’re not doing our job.” – Cassandra, 75:17)

• Resourcefulness Over Funding

  • Scarcity became a superpower:

    “I'm more afraid to start the business with a lot of money than…with very little money.” (Jeremy, 68:27)
    “Scarcity creates focus.” (Mike, 68:28)

6. Metrics, Mindset, and Reflections

• Dashboards and Metrics (87:24–87:45)

  • Cassandra: Net promoter score, POS reports, gross margin.
  • Jeremy: Cash flow, inventory, and “North Beam ROAS”.

• Leadership and Life Philosophy

  • Words of advice: Empathy, emotional regulation, resiliency, resourcefulness.
  • Both reject the “network all the time” mantra—success doesn’t require constant external validation or hype (88:43).

• Never “Arrived”

  • The couple still considers every day "Day 1"—never complacent, always optimistic but not “irresponsibly optimistic” (56:40–57:50).

• Integration of Family and Business

  • Parenting and entrepreneurship are intertwined—skills in one area fuel the other.
  • “If I'm ever a better CEO than father or husband, then I've missed it.” (Mike, 85:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The legendary China trip:

  "There’s nothing more romantic than busting IP infringement. Really." (Cassandra, 29:41)

• On failure as foundation:

  “Some of that disappointment actually became the foundation for the company.” (Mike, 16:32)

• On scrappy origins:

  “You can't afford the ticket to go to China. Your friend offers a buddy pass...we had to go through Narita to get home.” (Cassandra & Jeremy, 25:13–30:13)

• On marriage and teamwork:

  “How do you not work with your significant other? I feel so lucky.” (Cassandra, 36:42)

• On resilience:

  “I think the word is grace. You move with some grace through the world.” (Sean, 55:06)

• On iterative improvement:

  “You can't wait for the perfect product. You have to launch what you have and then iteratively make it better.” (Mike, 74:35)

• Answer to “Have you ever made it?”

  “We’re not there yet. We just…today is the first day at Kitsch. That's how we treat it every single day.” (Cassandra, 56:40 & 57:28)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–00:36: Financial stress, cash flow risks during early COVID-19
• 06:00–10:07: Cassandra’s early career, failed businesses, move to LA
• 14:08–16:32: How hardship and encouragement spawned Kitsch
• 18:19–21:07: Handmaking initial hair ties; slow, day-by-day progression
• 24:52–31:15: The infamous China factory confrontation on their honeymoon
• 34:28–36:42: Jeremy’s big career decision to join Kitsch full-time
• 37:55–43:09: Navigating partnership, marrying business and personal life
• 53:47–55:06: Letting people go: lessons in servant leadership and grace
• 59:17–65:16: Pandemic pivot; selling masks, risking it all, servant leadership in crisis
• 68:27–69:33: Resourcefulness, scarcity, and scrappy DNA
• 70:15–75:17: Customer-driven incremental product strategy and excellence
• 87:24–91:13: “Titan 10”—lightning round: metrics, habits, beliefs, and tactics

Final Reflections

Cassandra and Jeremy’s story is a profound example of persistence, humility, adaptability, and genuine partnership. Their road to success is paved with failures, hard-won lessons, daily rituals of connection, fiercely customer-focused product decisions, and a default to “scrappy” rather than “fancy.” For listeners seeking inspiration—whether in entrepreneurship, relationships, or leadership—their insights and candor offer a masterclass in building not only a world-class brand, but a meaningful life.

For further inspiration, check out Kitsch’s displayed products in over 30,000 retailers—or perhaps just peek in your own bathroom.