Thank you, Ellie Austin and Fortune, for this feature! 💓 When I started Kitsch, bootstrapping seemed like a burden, but it was a blessing. The constraints and challenges shaped Kitsch into exactly what it needed to be. I am grateful for the journey and where it has led us and proud to be known for high-quality sustainable haircare. 👏 Also, shout out to all single moms! My mother, who worked multiple jobs to support my sisters and me, has been an incredible role model for a strong work ethic and never giving up. 🙏
Cassandra Thurswell was 25 when she started hand-making hair ties in her Los Angeles apartment and selling them door to door. Raised in Wisconsin by a hairdresser single mom, Thurswell’s initial goal was to make “cute things” that the Midwestern women who she grew up around would enjoy and be able to afford . “I was thinking about the young woman or girl and what she reached for every single day,” she recalls. “What’s something that I could do that no one else had put attention on? To me, that product was a basic hair elastic.” Fourteen years later, what began for Thurswell as a passion for colorful accessories, has evolved into Kitsch, a hugely popular beauty brand with a hefty social media presence. Read more: bit.ly/4eZoZhR