E154: 8 Failed Businesses Before Kitsch’s +$500M Beauty Empire

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How did a married couple with $30k in savings and no business plan build one of the biggest beauty brands in America?

Cassandra Thurswell (Founder & CEO of Kitsch) and Jeremy Thurswell (COO), join hosts Mike Beckham and Matt Bertulli for their first-ever joint podcast interview.

Together, they unpack the full story of building a bootstrapped empire from a living room apartment to over 30,000 retail doors and more than 10 million ecommerce orders.

Cassandra and Jeremy open up about eight failed businesses before Kitsch, catching their manufacturer stealing IP on their “honeymoon” in China, and navigating a terrifying pivot that led to 70 million face masks. They share how they’ve protected their marriage while running a company together, the reality of balancing motherhood with being a CEO, and why scarcity — not funding — created the focus that made Kitsch unstoppable.

Learn more about Latinas in Beauty, where Cassandra serves on the Advisory Board.

Chapters

00:00:00 The +$500M Beauty Brand Story

00:06:00 Eight Businesses Before Kitsch

00:10:07 Falling in Love at a Boutique

00:18:19 Tying Hair Ties on the Couch

00:24:52 Busting IP on Their Honeymoon

00:32:17 Turning Down the Dream Job

00:38:01 Marriage as Business Superpower

00:47:19 Servant Leadership at Scale

00:55:11 Leading a Company With Grace

00:59:50 Nosebleeds and 70 Million Masks

01:10:08 From Hair Ties to Shampoo Bars

01:18:36 Redefining the Female Founder

01:22:11 Motherhood Meets the C-Suite

01:27:33 Titan 10: Quick-Hitting Questions