Meet Kaila Uli | Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaila Uli and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaila, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
“I have a somewhat complicated history of growing up poor, becoming a widow at a young age, and not having access to many things that are required to become a successful human being on this planet. My name is Kaila, and I am Dutch Indonesian, which is the longer way of saying ‘Indo.’ Many people think ‘Indo’ refers to Indonesian people, but Dutch Indonesian people are a group of mixed heritage – a byproduct of colonization. We are a separate group with our own values and identity, and being Indo has deeply shaped who I am as an adult. I spent most of my young life in Pomona, California, with my parents and six siblings. We didn’t have much growing up, including money. I remember times when I had holes in my shoes and would use markers to cover them. As a kid, my Opa (grandpa) would tell me, ‘You’re going to make it.’ He would share stories about growing up in the war and the things he had to do to survive, constantly motivating me to work hard. My mom was also very entrepreneurial; throughout my life, she tried starting various businesses, even on a very small scale, like selling bread to neighbors, to make money for the family. I remember being about eight years old, learning there were some 8 billion people on the planet, and thinking, ‘If I can just get one dollar from each, I’d be okay.’ So, my goal became to make $4000 a month, which, in my mind as a child, would be enough for stability. I would go door-to-door trying to sell candies and toys out of magazines to my neighbors. I never really made much, but it taught me valuable lessons about selling.

Fast forward to 19 years old, and I got married. We dreamed of starting a business together, but, unfortunately, very shortly after getting married, my husband passed away. He was a Marine, a few weeks out from deployment, when they found cancer throughout his body. He was given a year to live but only lasted about four months after diagnosis. After he passed, I was in a tough spot because I didn’t have formal education, having been homeschooled my whole life, and I didn’t have a college degree. I couldn’t get a job because it turns out nobody will hire you without at least an associate’s degree. So, I took the little money I had and started selling jewelry on Etsy. It didn’t make me rich, but it gave me an extra hundred dollars a month to play with. I tried again, this time with soaps and candles. This venture failed hard. I didn’t realize the level of competition in the market, so I didn’t make much money with that. Then, I moved onto craft packaging supplies. After trying my hand at this for a few months, I realized it wasn’t going to grow as big as I wanted because the market wasn’t large enough. I was up against really big competitors who dominated the market already, and I couldn’t get a foothold. So, I moved onto vintage sunglasses and started a brand called Brillies Sunglasses. This was the first time I had a taste of what a real business could be like. I had failed enough businesses and learned enough to do this one the right way, and I had my first sale within 30 minutes of going live. The brand was quickly adopted by celebrities, TV stylists, and influencers. We did some custom manufacturing for models, celebrities, etc., and supplied movies with styling pieces. I really thought this was it, that I had found my business that was going to make me rich. But unfortunately, after three years of operating, I lost it to a cyber attack that I wasn’t able to recover from. But I wasn’t ready to give up, and I moved onto my next venture, ‘Puffie Slippers.’

All this to say: The strength that I learned from my Opa and seeing my mom never give up on trying to become financially stable has always been in the back of my mind. They continue to motivate me to keep trying. Because, like in my case, even when you’ve built something huge and it feels like you’ve made it to the top of the world, you can still lose it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start again, bigger and better this time. Being an entrepreneur is hardwired into my brain. I’m passionate about it, and that comes from my family.”

What should our readers know about your business?
The biggest challenge I’ve ever encountered, was losing my successful business to a cyber attack. But what I learned is everybody needs to have a plan for this type of thing. Cyber crime is on the rise and small even microbes are huge targets for them because of the easy access. Get an IT guy get your security lockdown and have a cybercrime insurance policy.

The next critical thing I learned it “fill the gap”. My current venture is Puffie Slippers, which is exactly what it sounds like – the world puffiest most comfortable slippers. The whole thing is themed around bright, cartoon colors and silhouettes. These styles tend to be geared towards women, so what I’ve done is identified a market gap where men actually want them and started marketing and creating these slippers for men as far as I know, I’m the only person who has taken this on that is taking bright, happy styles traditionally sold towards women, and made them available in men’s sizes and colors with my own custom manufacturing And it might sound crazy but the growth has been spectacular

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would start the trip with a food and coffee crawl at some of my favorite places in downtown LA. Next week we go to Grand Central market and try a bunch of foods. but then we would go off the beaten path and I would show them my favorite hidden gems in the city. The Kobe Bryant mural on fourth Street, the giant Asian market that’s three stories tall with tons of fun stuff on Alameda. The secret “bodega” location that you have to know where it is to find. Hint: it’s in “The Row”. And then we would head inland to go Thrifting and vintage shopping in Pomona. It’s far enough from the city that you can still get tons of good stuff for cheap. And then we would add up to the high desert to a store called Charlie Brown, which is full of the craziest things you’ll ever find on this planet. Metal dinosaurs, and ostrich burgers, celebrity sculptures from the 50s. And tons of glass artwork.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Opa, Ronald Dumas & My Husband, who I’ll leave unnamed since I don’t want people on the internet to go digging for him.

Website: www.PuffieSlippers.com

Instagram: Puffieslippers