Building Your Brand Brick by Brick with Highbrow Hippie’s Kadi Lee
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Who is Kadi Lee and what is Highbrow Hippie?
Maybe it's essential. I feel really lucky, but I also know that I created that luck because none of this was overnight. You know, this was all brick by brick.
And for today's guest, brick by brick is literal. Katie Lee is the co-owner of the hair salon Highbrow Hippie in Venice, California. She's also a go-to colorist for a lot of names you'd be familiar with. And she's recently launched a product line that sold out not once, but twice. Look, it's clear that Highbrow Hippie is on a serious roll. And I wanted to talk to Katie, who's also a dear friend, about what it's like to continually iterate and build on your brand. Her business started as a blog. Then she opened a brick and mortar. And now she's selling products that people can't get enough of. Let's get into her story. There she is. Hi. Disregard the state of my hair right now. I'm so excited I'm seeing you next week.
I should have a baseball cap on, really. I mean, there's a lot going on, my friend. A lot indeed, but all good stuff. And even more of the reason that it's exciting to talk to other female founders right now about their journey, their experience, their All the twists and turns that come with the choice to be a female entrepreneur and especially one of color and what that means. So let's start when we first met. What year was that?
Oh, it was 2020. It was 2020. Yeah.
It was very much 2020.
But as all good things, a lot of good things in my life, the origin starts with Serge Normand.
Oh, does it ever. Serge Normand, leading hairstylist in the industry. And you know him because you worked at his salon in LA way back when. Yeah. And man, he and I became friends after he did my hair for my wedding. Yeah. So my family had just moved to California. We were staying in our friend's home. And because it was the pandemic, I kept ordering boxed hair dye. And I thought, I'm going to look just like she does on the box. And instead, it was this very inky, almost Elvira-esque black hair. And I had texted Serge. And he said, you need to see Katie. Yeah. And you came over. I mean, we were masked and all the thing. I mean, it was such an interesting time, but I remember that day so well.
It's so vivid in my memory, too. You know, so much was happening that day with... LA in general and the city and the protests. And I mean, I remember meeting you guys and A, you were so warm and both you and H like wrapped us up in these big bear hugs. And I was like, I don't even know these people and I'm not a hugger, but let's do it, you know, because I think everyone was just so...
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Kadi Lee and what is Highbrow Hippie?
2:59–10:54
2
How did Kadi Lee start her career as a colorist?
10:54–19:17
3
What challenges did Kadi face opening a salon during the pandemic?
19:17–22:40
4
How did community support help Highbrow Hippie survive COVID-19 closures?
22:40–33:38
5
What role does race and social conversation play at Highbrow Hippie?
33:38–41:30
6
How did Kadi and Micah decide to evolve from a blog to a brick-and-mortar salon?
41:30–44:30
7
What was Kadi’s personal background and early experiences with hair?
44:30–47:12
8
How did mentorship shape Kadi’s journey in the hair industry?
47:12–53:02
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