Balancing the stresses of running your own company while raising a family is no easy feat. Kimberly Caccavo and Kate Nowlan are co-founders of GRACEDBYGRIT, an athletic apparel line designed, built, and run by women for women. Aimed for use on both land and at sea, all of the GRACEDBYGRIT apparel is UPF 50 and comes with a high-pitch whistle to keep wearers safe. So how do two busy women become successful mompreneurs? Kimberly and Kate sat down on today’s ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ to discuss just how they do it.

“Instead of a swear jar we have a push-up challenge in the office. 10 push ups each time.”

“When we were launching our company we knew we wanted women to look better and feel better in our clothing.”

“The two of us both have had really gritty moments in our past. But we realized it was also our grace. So we’re Graced by Grit.”

“Everything is built for safety. Every piece comes with a discreet whistle.”

“My first triathlon was in honor of a 16 year old who was murdered trail running. That’s how we came up with the idea of the whistle.”

“Something that made me look skinny was something that inspired me.”

“We just finished our first year of sales and it exceeded our expectations.”

“I’m 54 and need something that smooths out my lumps and bumps and makes me look great.”

“We realized we had an amazing product and just did it.”

“The first thing we did was create product and send it out to athletes to make sure it worked. It did.”

“We hired brand managers to make sure our visual language was correct. We did that with our seed money.”

“Once we realized it was going to work, we raised a Series A from friends and family.”

“We wrapped our Jeep in the Graced by Grit logo so people know we’re coming.”

“We utilize our children. We make clothes for tweens and our daughters are the models. My 14 year old son is a surf photographer and does all our surf photos.”

“Reading stories at night is a very important part of my growing with my kids.”

“We knew we wanted to sell online because our fabric is so expensive we knew we’d have to take it direct to consumer.”

“We made a robust website to access from any kind of device. And try to make it easy to shop online.”

“When women go to a trunk show, they become instant fans. We’re raising our Series B right now is for people who don’t know our site very well.”

“The first step was finding our plug ‘n’ play. Did we want it to be a mom and mom shop or do we want to take on the biggest athletic apparel companies out there?”

“A lot of the biggest challenges are human error. We’re both detail oriented.”

“I tried reading and walking in New York City recently. It’s not as easy as in a sleepy little beach town for sure.”

“The Graced by Grit woman is 22 to 55 years old. She’s tough, fearless, confident, funny.”

“Our clothes are functional. You can run, swim, or go to work.”

“I don’t know if we ever in stay in one place for more than 5 minutes.”

“We have a fabulous team of women working with us every day.”

“I was making a living running. I was seeing what the women were wearing.”

“We didn’t find sleek, safe, and jeweled tones out in the marketplace.”

“We make women look like women from XXS to XXL.”

“We get up everyday at 5 in the morning and get on a call so we can be moms in the afternoon.”

“If we both say we’re going to do something, we do it.”

“As women, you got to get along to make it work.”

“We have kids around the same age and they get along. They get schlepped to places with us. They’re a part of our story and brand.”

“Women relate to us as moms and as influencers.”

“This is a passion for us. It doesn’t go away at the end of the day.”

“We have people in our lives who support us.”

“We were fortunate enough to have some contacts within the design industry before we started.”

“Kimberly literally jumped in the ocean to see how the clothes help up and they didn’t sag and dried quickly.”

“We have a store in Solana Beach, California and are now moving online.”

“No matter where you go, gluten free is a thing all over the country.”

“We’re targeting smart, educated women; moms. In order to build a website that reflects that, it requires time and money.”

“The more we engage with customers the more revenue we see.”

“Life isn’t always easy. A sense of humor is crucial.”

“I want women to feel confident when they put on our clothing.”

“Every trunk show has lead to another one. Our followers become our brand ambassadors.”

“We donate a percentage of the proceeds to charity for our trunk shows.”

“I have two daughters I am certainly setting an example for.”

“We make all of our clothes in the USA.”

“The product is superior and the Graced by Grit stories are bigger than just making clothes.”

To hear the latest in tech, entrepreneurship, and start-ups join ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ every Wednesday at 9am PT/12pm ET only on SiriusXM Business Channel 111.

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