Laura Henshaw Shares the Story Behind Building KIC

28:50And so we looked at the opportunities. Obviously the app is not obviously, but the app is in English. We will look as a part of our product roadmap down the track, being able to have it in multiple languages is super important to us and we want to get there but we're just not ready to be able to go there now and so the UK and the US make the most sense when evaluating both markets I think from an Australian perspective there's a lot of kind of horror stories of Australian businesses launching into the US it's obviously such a huge market as everyone says it's not one market it's 55 different countries it's you cannot look at it like you're just launching into one market we do have a bigger organic community in the US but with the UK for us it when we did all of the market research when people think of health they in the UK a lot of them think of Australia so we didn't have to change the product much to be able to go into the UK the other thing with the US market is that and I think it is changing but our messaging in it's about how you feel it's not about how you look we do not use any like if you go within our app there's no calories on we have a dietitian that checks all the recipes the meal plans they're all done in a way that of course it's the right amount of calories you're meant to have in the day yeah but calories seeing calories on meals can be really triggering for a lot of people that have had disordered eating or just generally struggled with body image and so we don't have any calories within the app that's visible because of that we also don't have any area to do your before or your after weight we we do not do like measurements of your body we do not do that and the US market that is quite a big focus with a lot of the really successful products over here and so for us looking at that it was like okay can we with a very small budget without funding penetrate this market because it is harder to market you're gonna feel better than you are gonna lose five kilos that is a very five kilos is a very tangible outcome for people you're gonna feel amazing like you're gonna change the way your relationship that you have with yourself and wellness all of the like our kick mission and what we do it is harder to get across when you're competing with that kind of weight loss messaging in a market like the US where we don't have as much awareness obviously as we have in Australia etc and so that's why we chose the UK so at that point that was when we thought okay do we go out and get funding we did go out we spoke to quite a few investors within Australia the Australian investor mark or investment market is very different to the UK and the US.

31:22It is, I would say over 90 % is B2B. So not direct to consumer. We just don't have the population in Australia for there to be really big direct to consumers in the market, which I totally understand. And so for us, it was very important. We were not just looking for money. We were looking for a strategic partner to help us launch into different markets and also help us with Kik, what we've been able to build and grow with the community and all of the kind of we've had hundreds of thousands of people through the program we've spoken to so many different women about what they like we know 18 to 35 year old women so well and so what we're looking at as well as the business is what are the adjacencies outside of the app where we can explore for kick and add value to people's lives and support them and so for us it was looking for a strategic partner could help with that or help with the global expansion and we could not find that partner in Australia and so we decided okay we're not going to go and sign on with someone who doesn't have experience in direct-to-consumer probably doesn't understand our business as well as we would like them to and also doesn't feel like they're going to be the right partner and I think as well with Kik and Australia like especially within VCs like there's been some incredible success stories out of Australia.

32:40Canva. Canva, Linktree, like amazing. And they've had this incredible hockey stick growth. Kik has been a very sustainable growing business. Like we've grown year on year since launch, which is really exciting, but we have not had 30 times growth one year and then 40 times the next year. We've had really sustainable, healthy growth. And that also to then go in, have investment from a VC, what that would mean is obviously the expectation on growth goes to and it has changed like back early last or I would say it's changed maybe mid last year in Australia but it was grow at all costs mentality yeah and I don't run I'm not the right CEO to run a business that's grow at all costs mentality because we had within a lot of tech companies a huge one-third of the companies were being made redundant like the staff changes they were also hiring 100 people a week yeah I can't we have been so considered with every step that we've made that just didn't feel right for us.

33:38I want to ask you about community now, because I think this is a perfect segue because you're growing, you're saying like growing sustainably. And I think a big piece of that is this work that you're doing around building the community around Kik. You have a podcast that alone is like an amazing business, but is within your ecosystem. I think you're getting 150 ,000 downloads a month or something. Yeah, we have 150 ,000 unique. Amazing. That is so amazing. We do not get that many downloads. I would love to have that many downloads. That's incredible. Talk me through like your lessons around community building, because it seems like something that comes so naturally to you and to Steph as well, watching from afar.

34:17As someone like I'm trying to build a community led business too, and I see what you're doing. And I'm just like in awe. You're so good at it. What are the lessons? Give Give me advice. Give me free business advice. What advice do you have for someone like me or anyone who's trying to build community around their business? First of all, thank you. That's really kind. And also you will get to that 100%. Your product is so strong. In terms of building community, I think it's very, and it has, I have to say, and I think this is really important to acknowledge, building a community in 2015, I would say is easier, was easier.

34:51And I know this is really unhelpful for everyone that's like, Laura, I'm starting to build my community now. And it's not helpful to know that it was easier back in 2015, but especially through Instagram. And then we saw on TikTok maybe or 2020, it was not, again, it's never, ever, ever easy to grow a platform. And I don't want to take away from anyone that has. But at that point, it was easier to build your audience on TikTok, for example, than it is now. So I think that's really important to acknowledge. With community, I think as well, it's really important to, obviously, we want to grab communities as big as possible.

35:25we can get the most reach but what is really important I think now and in the communities that are growing and cutting through and it's like what you're doing so so is you are very clear on the problem you are solving for your community and the type of people that are going to connect with your community and if you went broader than that you would lose that magic and you probably wouldn't be able to sell 700 tickets or 600 or whatever it was which is amazing to the summit and so I think sometimes when we look at and as founders it can be especially like a lot of founders are very high performing, very critical on ourselves because we want to just be like better and better.

36:00And I think we can put so much pressure on ourselves that we need to. Bigger is always better. But I think with building community in 2024, I think being actually more niche is a better strategy, but you have to be very clear on what you're going to solve for your audience. I totally agree with that. Particularly if you're bootstrapping. Exactly. Exactly. And so for us, the way that community, so as I said before, we'd launched our product, we had built a community that were health and wellness, like especially within my blog, Steph's audience was a little bit more broad, but there was still a lot in there that were very interested in health and wellness.

36:34We had that. And then my blog was health and wellness recipe specific. So we had built a community that was wanting recipe content. Now, the way that we look at it for us is, and it's also been because I don't, Steph and I both don't have a background in paid media. And a lot of founders that have built really successful health and wellness apps a very paid media focus for us community building and connecting with people was our strength and so that's why we have built out the own channels that we have I would say one of the biggest pieces of magic and why we've been able to do it is because of the connection we've been able to build with the audience and it's about how you make them feel if you make people feel not alone feel a part of something and feel something generally like we there's that saying that They won't remember what you said, but they'll remember how you made them feel.

37:24And I think that is so true with building community. And so for us with Kik, with our mission being what it is and more broader, basically wanting people to not feel alone in navigating between 18 to 35 as a woman and non-binary person. We have purposely been incredibly open and real and vulnerable. And I know that it doesn't make sense for every business to do this, but for us it made a lot of sense. to open up about what we were going through, if it's in building the business, but also in for us because kickstarted because of a struggle that with body image and disordered eating that we both went through, that you can feel so, so alone in navigating.

38:06When you know that you're not alone and someone else sees you, that is the power in that is just, it's hard to put into words. And that's how the community has been able to grow. I totally agree with you. Something that like I struggle to navigate I hear from other people in the community struggling to navigate it's this tension of showing up in a way that feels true to you and it you are being vulnerable enough that you're letting your guard down so that other people can connect with you as the person who is like living and sharing the mission of your business but at the same time you want to project the strength like everything's fine here the business is doing great like you're also the person that has to put that face forward and so I feel like there's this real tension like I think about this all the time about what am I willing to share here to connect with people and because I also just that's just who I am I want to connect versus is this like the best thing for brand and the business I don't know how do you navigate that tension between like vulnerability and then being you've got a team like you've got these people that are looking to you as a leader like what's that tension there and how do you feel about that?

39:11It's such a good point and it is it can be difficult at times. I think with Kik specifically and with, because it's so closely tied to Steph and my personal brand, which is broader than Kik, you don't need to share everything. And I think that's really important. I would hate anyone listening to think like, okay, and I have to share every struggle I've ever been through in my life. That's really personal to me in order to grow. Absolutely not. I think it's focusing on your business, like the problem you are solving. why are you solving that for the community now if it's just for money it's very unlikely you have a successful business anyway because it's very hard to connect with people if you say I just wanted to build a business and make a shitload of money they're like cool I'm not going to be part of this community like you're a lone ranger there but I think if you say I sold as your mission is with your business I am solving this and for us I'm we're solving this problem for people because of that journey that we went through that's where so if it's a skincare company because you couldn't find another solution in the market, of course, because you're not just going to make a product that copies another product, right?

40:15It's you're always solving and that's the most successful businesses have solved a very clear product, a problem for people. And so it's why did you need to solve that problem? And often there, there is a vulnerable story that people will connect with. And I think that's really important to acknowledge in terms of being a leader and sharing the difficulties and especially with your business, because you are helping like female and non-binary entrepreneurs navigate and it's really important to acknowledge that it's actually really fucking hard and I think if someone once said to me it's like a business running a business there's a four-year cycle and you have three really shit years and one good year but the one good year gets you through the cycle and I was like oh no way I'm not doing three shit years in exchange for one that's crazy but the more I think about it it's actually and it might not be in that order yeah but if you think of the percentage of the hard times versus the good there's more hard times than there are good times and so I think it is important what I the way I do it that I felt I feel comfortable I never share in the moment because sharing in the moment I feel like you're still navigating it and then I don't want to put that burden on my team that they have to help me navigate things that they don't my job for my team is to support them yeah there was there's a really good quote that vulnerability is not oversharing especially to your team and you want to be you want to show them that you're a human because I think that makes you a really good leader and that's a big part of my leadership style but I never want them to feel like they have to solve my problems that is my job yeah and if they don't need to know about it I will not share it with them I my first job in media was at Mama Mia back in the day and they were very a lot smaller than they are now before they were podcasting and something that Mia says and that I listen to all her podcasts now and I still consider her a mentor even though I don't speak to her anymore but she says like you should share from a scar not a wound yes and I just think that I think about that a lot yeah exactly exactly and so what we do for example I had a couple of months ago I had a like the worst panic attack I've ever had in my life and sorry thank you thank you it's feeling it is it really isn't it and I purposely that we it's actually the first time in my life I've not I've cancelled a shoot and not showed up at work yeah the the day after because it was a really long one and I in that moment I did not say hi team I've had a panic attack yeah I'm not gonna and I don't know I think for that is and I think if someone else in the team was sharing that I think that's very different but as the leader of the company I think it is I just didn't want want to put that burden on the team.

42:52I didn't share. I said I was really sick. And then a few weeks later we spoke about on the podcast and I then said to the team like, Hey, I went through this. I'm completely fine now. And then the reason I'm sharing it is to help people that are going through it, help them feel not alone, but not at a time where my team then needs to think they have to tippy toe around me because I've, I just don't want to put that burden on them. So yeah, it's really good advice. And also I think like then you're, if you're feeling raw about something and you're putting it out into the world and then you're really, it's really like porous.

43:23Like you're then taking on everyone else's responses, the way that they feel about that. Like when I had my son, I remember I didn't tell anyone that I worked with really that I was pregnant or that I'd had a baby because I was like they're going to think that I'm going to be tapped out and it was like all of their expectations on it. And it wasn't until like much later that on calls I was like, oh, yeah, I've got a baby now. Like I've got a child. What did people say? Because you didn't tell them. They're like, oh, okay. He must be a really good baby, like really easy or whatever. I'm like, yeah, I just don't want your expectations to come into this conversation while I'm still feeling vulnerable about it and sorting it out for myself.

44:01So I think that's a big thing as well. Something else that you're really great at is content. And I want to understand your process for content creation, what that looks like within your team, because you're the CEO of a tech company, but you're also this amazing creator as well. how do you allocate your time and how do you think about that it is the one of the hardest things i think navigating and i think for female founders especially within beauty and i think health and wellness and beauty are the key categories where the expectation is that you're also the face of the company and content zoe foster blake have you read her new book i haven't but i really want to so zoe is the founder of go to skincare for anyone that doesn't know and she's just written a book and it's fiction, which is fantastic because it's so honest because it's fiction.

44:46I've never read a fiction business book. It's called Things Will Calm Down Soon. Yes. Which how many times do we say that? Things will calm down soon. And it's such a good, as I was reading it, I just felt so validated around the struggles of being the face of your company and also running the company. Mainly because when it comes to content, you can never do enough, especially because now there's multiple platforms. Like for us, we do podcasts, Instagram and TikTok. It's a treadmill. It is a treadmill and you cannot, it's really tough. You actually can't get off it because it is really important, especially for Kik in us in growing our audience and then bringing people into the platform.

45:21And so the way I try and go about it, I've never been, because a lot of my content is from the way that I'm feeling or things that I've navigated and it's very real. I don't have a content plan in terms of, from a Kik perspective, we do have one, but from a personal perspective, I don't. I feel, I find that just doesn't work for me. At Kik, the way that our team is structured within social media is we have one person who looks after TikTok. Also sometimes videos go across both platforms, but we do have a different strategy for each platform. And then one person that looks after Instagram, they run the kick platform.

45:56So Steph and I don't run those platforms. We are in the content often, which is filmed in during, it's quite jarring sometimes to go from like a meeting with our CFO into filming a dance. Yeah. And learning it, I'm like, oh my goodness. But it's just that's what we're part of. Exactly. Exactly. And so that, that's how the kick platforms run. And with kick, we've always been, it's really important through our socials. A big part of our strategy is to show our brand personality. A lot of the health and wellness space is very serious as it should be. Yeah. But for us, we don't take things. We know when to take things seriously and also went to have fun and that's really important and it's actually why a lot of people say like in the workouts on the kick app we are always like we're joking with the trainers if we're not in every video but when we're in the videos we're not there as the person telling them you need to start doing squats we're there being like oh my god this is so hard telling the trainer to stop like talking to us like all of those things and people like it because they connect with it because they feel like they're working out with a friend it doesn't feel like we're telling them what to do and so that fun element of our personality as a brand is very important and so that's a big part of our social media strategy and then personally I just I've just had to get come to a point I'm still navigating this that sometimes it's okay to not pump out like some weeks I can't pump out as much content as I usually can it's something though that I'm really struggling to come to terms with because I've yeah it's hard not to just want to continue doing more and feel like you're not letting one side of the business down.

47:33I totally understand that. Okay, so you're someone who started in 2015 with an e-book and now you've got this, like how big is your team now? 20. You've got a 20-person team. You've got this really successful app. You have an amazing podcast. How does someone bridge the gap in their knowledge of business, entrepreneurship, life? Like I often feel like businesses can't level up to a point beyond the leaders there. And I'm really curious about what some of those growth barriers were that you were hitting and the business was hitting and how you overcame those throughout the last few years. Oh, it's so true.

48:08And I always say that I will only be the CEO of Kik for as long as it's serving the company. Like I am very self-aware that there is going to be a point, especially as we grow into different markets and with product adjacencies, I'm not always going to be the best person to lead this company. But right now I am. But what's very important with that is that I have leveled up with the company. I think not being so Steph and I both as we've discussed don't have tech backgrounds that definitely was limiting for the business in our growth I would say for sure but it's something that through time we've been able to plug those holes and getting really good people into the business that we trust are really great at their jobs and can fill those gaps has been essential in our growth journey I think as well for a very long time I would because I've always I it's really interesting with imposter syndrome.

48:56I know a lot of people say they don't like acknowledging it, that it's a thing because then it's giving it airtime. We shouldn't. But for me, I do feel like imposter syndrome has been a big part of my journey, especially being, I think as well, when you're a founder and you are the CEO of your company, I think I made myself the CEO. Steph and I, like obviously with our advisor. So is it really real? At Summit, I've got this leadership coach. She's amazing, Barbara. And I always introduce myself as like the creator of Female Founder World. And she was like, can you please introduce yourself as the founder and the CEO.

49:24This is your moment. You're on a stage in front of people that have paid a ticket price to come and see this thing. Like, can you call yourself? And I was like, yeah, but it's like my thing. I don't know. Am I the CEO? Yes. Yes. What is this? Like mental block around it. It's crazy. And I would say any, if we were men, we would not feel that way. No, of course not. We're so comfortable putting that label on ourselves. Yeah. So I think because of that, I, it's so true. And I feel like so many women feel the same way. And so because of that, I'm like, am I even, am I deserving of this? Am I good enough to do this?

49:56All of those things. And I'd look at other leaders and they've got 40 more years experience or 20 or whatever, more than me. They've also got an MBA. They've worked at multiple companies. I've only, because since I finished, so I ended up finishing my law and business degree, but it was while I was running KICC. So I haven't had another job outside of Subway, waitressing and working in administration in a hospital. So I think that's always been something that I'm like, okay. And I've expected myself, I was comparing myself to these leaders and thinking like, why am I not there? And trying to level up through podcast books, et cetera.

50:27But then I spoke to someone and it was such a pivotal moment for me. And they said, they were talking about, it's the founder of Linktree, Alex, and he's incredible. And we actually knew each other like 10 years ago and we've reconnected and he's been an amazing mentor. And he was telling me about, Linktree has a billion dollar valuation. It's a huge company. And he's the CEO. And he was talking to me about how he has multiple coaches. and I was like, you need a coach but you've built this billion dollar business. What do you mean you need a coach? He's like, Laura, everyone has all – tell me leaders that you look up to and I was listing all these CEOs and he was like, yeah, I know their coach, I know their coach, I know their coach.

51:05And I was like, hang on, people don't just work it out themselves. And I think I had this feeling of I can't get a coach because that's me admitting that I'm not good enough and then I'll be found out. and that was a very big moment for me and being like hang on no I can ask for help it is okay to not have all the answers it is okay to get a coach and having a leadership coach I have a woman named Janie Martino she is absolutely incredible she's the founder of Kintsugi Way and she has changed the way I lead the business I have grown so much in the past I've been working with her for over a year now and my growth as a leader in that period.

51:46And it also beyond that, before that, we've had some incredible advisors as well that have helped me really level up and at way faster than if I tried to do it myself, like times 10. I agree. Like I've, I saw my coach today in person for four hours and just had these like breakthroughs with things that I just wouldn't be able to do on my own. And that's okay. No one can. And I think that's what's so important is that we think that we're like, oh, I'm not good enough because I need that. But everybody has help. And the most successful leaders that I have met have the most help because they know that they don't know everything and they know how to get support.

52:23That's so good. Okay. The last thing I want to ask you is if there are any more resources that you can recommend to folks who are listening to this and they're like, Laura is amazing. Kick is amazing. How do I do what she's done? Books, podcasts, resources, anything else? Thank you. That's very kind. So I've got two books. One is Good to Great by Jim Collins. Have you read it? No. It's got a red cover. It's really good. I think it's important to acknowledge if you're building a business, like building a business that actually, I can't remember the percentage, I think only about 10 % of businesses that launch last longer than five years.

52:52It's tough to cut through, right? This book is very good. I believe that you can't, if you want to do exceptional things, like if you want to have a business that sustains longer than five years, like only 10 % of people do that. You have to do exceptional work. You can't just do average work. You can't expect to put in 80 % and get out 110, right? So I really loved Good to Great. It really speaks about how to up level that mindset and why it's important. And then the other book, which is very relevant, I think, to the place I'm at now with the business, because when, and I'm sure there's so many founders listening, when you start, I didn't start thinking, I want to be a manager.

53:30I want to, you know, I'm going to manage people. And that's what, as now the CEO of the business, a lot of my work is not in, it's not where I started. Like when we started, I was developing recipes and writing recipes and that type of thing and the blog and all those things. I wasn't running a company. And so your role changes significantly and you have to level up as a manager and most importantly as a leader. And so that's something that I'm navigating right now and just trying to get better and better because the better I can be as a leader, the the more that I'm going to be able to help the team.

54:03And there's a book called Radical Candor by Kim Scott. So one of our team members, Emily, our GM of operations, actually spoke about the book in her interview process. And I thought, this sounds great. I'm going to go read it. And it's fantastic. As someone I really struggle giving or have really struggled, I'm going to reword that because I'm better now, giving feedback. It's really difficult. It is a skill that you need to learn. I think again. You think you're being kind by not saying the thing that you're not. Exactly. Exactly. And that's the thing as well. I think a lot of female founders I speak to, it's really interesting, especially businesses that are purpose-led like Kick is.

54:39Yeah. They expect the expectation on the founder of that business is so different to the expectation that people don't fail. This is a whole other podcast we could talk about. It is. There's so much there. I think they expect no feedback because they think, oh, feedback's mean. No. Feedback is – kindness actually is feedback. Feedback is not mean. It is so important to help the growth of your team. if you don't share something and there's an amazing example at the start of that book which I always think about where someone wasn't given the feedback and they ended up getting let go and they said to their manager, why didn't you tell me?

55:17Because if that person doesn't have the feedback, how are they going to improve? And then you're not giving them the opportunity to lean in. If they don't want to, that's on them. That's their choice. It might not be aligned, but you have to give them that opportunity. And again, feedback, giving feedback, managing people, leading people, it's not something like, I think it needs, there needs to be a bit of innate leadership within you. I think that's really important, especially like building leadership presence. And that also can be learned, but there has to be some innate in there. But in terms of like actual skills, like tangible skills, like giving feedback, it's, if you have not learned it, you cannot expect yourself to be great at it.

55:51You have to do the work. And this book really helped me realize that. Amazing. Laura, thank you so much for coming on the Female Founder World podcast and congratulations on everything you have built and on running the marathon yesterday and then making it to the studio today. Thank you so much. I have to say too, I feel like, I don't know if it's an excuse to say marathon brain, but I actually feel like I have marathon brain today. So I apologize. No, you're amazing. It's been so good to chat. Thank you so much. I just wanted to jump in and end the show with a quick thank you and shout out to all of our paid business besties subscribers for$9 a month.

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