838 Stacey Fraser: Founder & CEO of Pink Chicken

0:00Kara Goldin:I am unwilling to give up, but I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. You just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don't get knocked out. So your only choice should be, go focus on what you can control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world's greatest leaders. We'll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can't wait to get started. Let's go. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by LinkedIn Hiring Pro.

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2:19Kara Goldin:Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Kara Golden. Terms and conditions apply. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by PipeDrive. If you run a business, you already know that a lot of CRMs feel overly complicated. Too many features, clunky dashboards, and way too much time spent digging for the information you actually need. That's where Pipedrive comes in. Pipedrive is a simple, powerful sales CRM designed for small and growing businesses. It brings your entire sales process into one dashboard so you can actually see what's happening, your deals, your pipeline, and what needs to happen next.

3:02Kara Goldin:What I really like is how visual it is. You can see every deal, what stage it's in, and where to focus. It keeps everything organized without overcomplicating things, which honestly is what most teams need. And because everything is in one place, it's easy to keep your team aligned, stay on top of follow-ups, and move deals forward faster. It's powerful enough to grow with your business, but simple enough that you can start using it right away. Switch to a CRM built by salespeople for salespeople and join the over 100 ,000 companies already using Pipedrive. Right now, when you use my link, you'll get a 30-day free trial, no credit card or payment needed.

3:46Kara Goldin:Just head to pipedrive.com slash Cara to get started. That's pipedrive.com slash Cara, and you can be up and running in minutes. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Cara Golden Show. Have you ever stopped to think about how some of the most successful brands don't actually start with a business plan, but with a moment? So our next guest didn't just set out to build a fashion brand. She followed a passion for color and storytelling and amazing textiles, including the one that she's wearing right now that started in her childhood and turned into something much, much bigger and in this case, brighter.

4:28Kara Goldin:But what began as sewing pieces together during her daughter's nap times evolved into a lifestyle brand with a loyal following, hundreds of wholesale partners, and a growing retail footprint. And today we're going to hear how Stacey Fraser built a brand rooted in joy, creativity, and family, and what it takes to scale that vision without losing what made it so special. and I'm so excited to have her here today. Stacey is the founder and CEO of Pink Chicken and she's based in New York City. We were just chatting about how she was walking on the river today. I miss that place so much. So it's so much fun.

5:15Kara Goldin:So Stacey, welcome to the Kara Golden Show. So excited to finally meet you. You as well, Kara. Thank you so much for having me. and that was such a nice intro. It touched me. It was very nice, yeah. But it's really great to be here. Thank you. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Rhythm Health. Sometimes I find myself asking, are my workouts really working? Are the supplements I'm taking actually doing anything? Is my diet right? The truth is most of us are investing in our health without really knowing what's happening inside our bodies. That's why I'm excited about Rhythm.

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7:21Kara Goldin:Stop guessing, start testing. Rhythmhealth.com slash Karagolden. This episode of the Karagolden Show is brought to you by PipeDrive. If you run a business, you already know that a lot of CRMs feel overly complicated. Too many features, clunky dashboards, and way too much time spent digging for the information you actually need. That's where Pipedrive comes in. Pipedrive is a simple, powerful sales CRM designed for small and growing businesses. It brings your entire sales process into one dashboard so you can actually see what's happening, your deals, your pipeline, and what needs to happen next.

8:01Kara Goldin:What I really like is how visual it is. You can see every deal, what stage it's in, and where to focus. It keeps everything organized without overcomplicating things, which honestly is what most teams need. And because everything is in one place, it's easy to keep your team aligned, stay on top of follow-ups, and move deals forward faster. It's powerful enough to grow with your business, but simple enough that you can start using it right away. Switch to a CRM built by salespeople for salespeople and join the over 100 ,000 companies already using Pipedrive. Right now, when you use my link, you'll get a 30-day free trial, no credit card or payment needed.

8:46Kara Goldin:Just head to pipedrive.com slash Kara to get started. That's pipedrive.com slash Kara, and you can be up and running in minutes. Awesome. So for listeners just discovering Pink Chicken, how do you describe the brand and what makes it truly different? So Pink Chicken was or is is all about prints and color. We design all of our prints and patterns in-house and we always kind of look to the past for inspiration. So you'll get a feeling of a vintage vibe and it has a bohemian ease to it. So it makes it really easy for kids to get dressed. And we always like to say no fuss, always stylish, because it's not fussy.

9:32It's really comfortable kids clothing that kids and moms love. And we also like to say it's the spirit of a sunny day as in everything that we design. So hopefully you feel confident in the pieces that we make.

9:44Kara Goldin:So I read a story about the early days when you were making the move to actually start Pink Chicken. Actually, before we even get into that, how did you come up with the name Pink Chicken? What's the Pink Chicken? I have to give that credit to my husband. But it was something we used to say in our house when our daughter was little. She was, I think, four at the time. And it was how we got her to eat chicken. So it was like, what's for dinner? Pink Chicken's for dinner. So it meant something to our family. And it's incredible that like 20 years later, almost 20 years later, it's the brand that it is.

10:21Yeah.

10:22Kara Goldin:This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by PipeDrive. If you run a business, you already know that a lot of CRMs feel overly complicated. Too many features, clunky dashboards, and way too much time spent digging for the information you actually need. That's where PipeDrive comes in. PipeDrive is a simple, powerful sales CRM designed for small and growing businesses. It brings your entire sales process into one dashboard so you can actually see what's happening, your deals, your pipeline, and what needs to happen next. What I really like is how visual it is. You can see every deal, what stage it's in, and where to focus.

11:05Kara Goldin:It keeps everything organized without overcomplicating things, which honestly is what most teams need. And because everything is in one place, it's easy to keep your team aligned, stay on top of follow-ups, and move deals forward faster. It's powerful enough to grow with your business, but simple enough that you can start using it right away. Switch to a CRM built by salespeople for salespeople and join the over 100 ,000 companies already using Pipedrive. Right now, when you use my link, you'll get a 30-day free trial, no credit card or payment needed. Just head to pipedrive.com slash cara to get started.

11:46Kara Goldin:That's pipedrive.com slash Kara, and you can be up and running in minutes. Thanks to Monarch for sponsoring this episode. Summer's almost here, and I've been thinking about vacations, where we want to go, how long we want to stay, what we actually want to do. The fun part. What I don't want to be doing is stressing about whether we can afford it or second-guessing every decision while we're there. So I've been getting my finances organized now. so when the summer hits, I can actually enjoy it knowing everything is handled. Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything, accounts, investments, savings goals, and spending.

12:27Kara Goldin:Get your first year of Monarch Core for half off, just$50, with promo code CARAGOlden. What I love is that Monarch is constantly running in the background, so I don't have to. I had one of those moments recently where I realized a bigger chunk of my monthly spending was going to travel and dining than I thought. And it wasn't obvious until Monarch laid it out clearly. It also showed me that my savings rate had quietly slipped a bit as expenses crept up. That kind of visibility is huge, especially when you're planning something like a summer trip. It really feels like having a financial advisor in your pocket.

13:04Kara Goldin:The AI Weekly recap flags things I might miss, like a spike in spending before it becomes a habit. And the cash flow visuals, especially the Sankey diagram, makes it so clear where your money is actually going. You can even ask Monarch questions like, can I afford this vacation without touching savings and get a real answer? Most apps just tell you what you already spent. Monarch helps you plan ahead, set goals, map out big purchases, and make sure you're actually on track before it's too late to adjust. It just takes that mental load off your plate. Use code CARAgolden at monarch.com to get your first year half off at just$50.

13:46Kara Goldin:That's 50 % off your first year at monarch.com with code CARAgolden. I love it. So take me back to those early days when you were sewing during nap times. Did you think it could become a business and the business that it is today? Yeah. You know, I wasn't imagining it. I wasn't imagining that for myself. I had spent many years in corporate design. Like I worked at Ralph Lauren and Baby Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Old Navy. And we were working like crazy hours back then. It was like back when we were 60 hour work weeks, we were on a plane all the time. And I was really hoping after my second daughter was born that I could create this like little collection on the side that could fuel my creativity and maybe, you know, earn some money for our family.

14:41And it just, I think, I didn't have a business plan in mind. And I think I've seen where you call yourself an accidental entrepreneur. I feel like that's a little bit my story, my story as well. So yeah, I didn't set out, I didn't have a business plan in front of me. I just kind of started creating pieces that I really loved and made a few dresses for my daughters. And then people started saying like, oh, where did you get those dresses? And then I started thinking, well, maybe there's something here. Maybe I'll just do a little wholesale business and have this on the side. And then little by little, I was like, wait a minute, I think there's a bigger opportunity here.

15:22And that's when I started paying a little more attention.

15:25Kara Goldin:This episode of The Kara Golden Show is brought to you by PipeDrive. If you run a business, you already know that a lot of CRMs feel overly complicated. Too many features, clunky dashboards, and way too much time spent digging for the information you actually need. That's where PipeDrive comes in. PipeDrive is a simple, powerful sales CRM designed for small and growing businesses. It brings your entire sales process into one dashboard so you can actually see what's happening, your deals, your pipeline, and what needs to happen next. What I really like is how visual it is. You can see every deal, what stage it's in, and where to focus.

16:08Kara Goldin:It keeps everything organized without overcomplicating things, which honestly is what most teams need. And because everything is in one place, it's easy to keep your team aligned, stay on top of follow-ups, and move deals forward faster. It's powerful enough to grow with your business, but simple enough that you can start using it right away. Switch to a CRM built by salespeople for salespeople and join the over 100 ,000 companies already using Pipedrive. Right now, when you use my link, you'll get a 30-day free trial, no credit card or payment needed. just head to pipedrive.com slash Kara to get started.

16:49Kara Goldin:That's pipedrive.com slash Kara, and you can be up and running in minutes. Thanks to Monarch for sponsoring this episode. Summer's almost here, and I've been thinking about vacations, where we want to go, how long we want to stay, what we actually want to do. The fun part, what I don't want to be doing is stressing about whether we can afford it or second-guessing every decision while we're there. So I've been getting my finances organized now so when the summer hits, I can actually enjoy it knowing everything is handled. Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything, accounts, investments, savings goals, and spending.

17:30Kara Goldin:Get your first year of Monarch Core for half off just$50 with promo code CARA GOLDEN. What I love is that Monarch is constantly running in the background, so I don't have to. I had one of those moments recently where I realized a bigger chunk of my monthly spending was going to travel and dining than I thought, and it wasn't obvious until Monarch laid it out clearly. It also showed me that my savings rate had quietly slipped a bit as expenses crept up. That kind of visibility is huge, especially when you're planning something like a summer trip. It really feels like having a financial advisor in your pocket.

18:07Kara Goldin:The AI Weekly recap flags things I might miss, like a spike in spending before it becomes a habit. And the cash flow visuals, especially the Sankey diagram, makes it so clear where your money is actually going. You can even ask Monarch questions like, can I afford this vacation without touching savings and get a real answer? Most apps just tell you what you already spent. Monarch helps you plan ahead. Set goals, map out big purchases, and make sure you're actually on track before it's too late to adjust. It just takes that mental load off your plate. Use code CARAgolden at monarch.com to get your first year half off at just$50.

18:49Kara Goldin:That's 50 % off your first year at monarch.com with code CARAgolden. So you came from big corporate. Did you always think you were going to be an entrepreneur? Did you always like think I we have a lot of of university students and business school students who listen to this podcast as well. And I often get that question myself, where did you always know you were going to be an entrepreneur? Or did it take actually working in a corporate environment to get the courage to get the idea that you could actually go and launch your brand. Yes. I mean, and I had, I hadn't, you know, back when I started 20 years ago, there wasn't, entrepreneurship wasn't as, as talked about.

19:39There weren't as many entrepreneurs. There weren't phones back then. There was not social media. So it was less of a, something that I thought I wanted to reach for. And I really, I really enjoyed working for bigger brands in corporate. I learned so much and I love like problem solving and like how to really dig in and understand your customer and design to a brand and how to elevate and reach your customers. And so I learned a lot in, in corporate design. And I feel like that really gave me the tools and the experience to be able to start Pink Chicken. But I didn't have this, like, I'm going to be an entrepreneur.

20:17I can't wait to start my own brand. That wasn't really what was in my mind when I started.

20:22Kara Goldin:And when you first launched Pink Chicken, how many SKUs did you launch with? And was there a focus on one thing in particular that you felt like you needed to nail before you actually continued to add SKUs to the mix? Yeah. So we started with three dresses, which is just so crazy. I actually had saved this fabric over the years and made these three dresses myself. I made these like protos and I took a pink pillowcase that I had at home also and made it into a little garment bag and started like bringing these dresses around. And somebody introduced me to Stephanie Greenfield from Scoop. And I think it was my friend Anna who introduced us.

21:10And I went to show her these three dresses and she put an order in on the spot. And so I was like, oh gosh, now I have to like figure out how to make this. Like this is, this is a business. But it was really amazing because being in Scoop as my first wholesale account really gave the business credibility. And so when we went to do our first trade show, they're like, oh, what, what stores are you in? Like, oh, well, we're in Scoop. And it was like, oh, okay. Like, let me take a deeper look but yeah it started with just three dresses um sizes two four six and now we have each season we have hundreds of skews and 10 10 sizes um baby girls boys women's lots a lot of different ones

21:57Kara Goldin:yeah i love yeah i miss scoop so uh for sure i mean it's such a great such a great brand and And what a great, you know, connection to make and a place to kind of launch it. What was the point where you decided then to launch with the adults, the mommy pieces as well? Yeah, I would say it was, you know, maybe it was like 10 years ago. I would like we'd start getting emails from customers saying, like, God, I wish I had that in my size or I'd love to match my mom. And then I think Instagram kind of came around where people were showing a lot more of those family photos kind of through social media.

22:44And it really kind of became a thing. And so I think one of our things that we do really well is we listen to our customer. And we're really here to serve them. So when they said we want this, this is also in a girl's dress. But if we want to match our daughters, we were listening to them. And so it's really become a big part of our business. And it's like such a privilege to be a part of those like joyful family moments because there's a connection with a mother and a daughter. And also we do for sons also shirts and like there's something really fun, imaginable about matching clothes and taking, you know, and then capturing it within a family photo.

23:26Yeah. So it's like 10 years ago, I think.

23:29Kara Goldin:10 years ago when you launched that. Is there a season that is kind of the season that you feel like you really have to nail? Or obviously with clothing, there's a seasonality to it. Not every industry and category, but for sure in the apparel industry. But is there kind of a season that you feel like really is representative of who Pink Chicken is? Gosh, we do so many seasons. I mean, I always want each collection to be, we always strive to like surprise and delight our community. And we think, you know, a lot of what our customers buy us for is special moments. So whether it's first day of school outfits.

24:16So this is our back to school collection. We need to nail it because they're depending on us to have a really fantastic dress to put their child in for their first day of school. holidays are also really a big a huge thing for us especially around the christmas hanukkah season like that's probably one of our most anticipated collections of the year i think and so like we really like there feels like pressure of like we really want to like excite them and it surprised them so holiday we also valentine's day easter we do a really about to launch a really big um red white and blue collection so and then springs i mean i'm like naming all the all the collections, but they all mean something to us.

24:58Spring break is a big thing. So we have a big swim collection. So yeah, so I would say all of them.