Stephanie Melarickas of Kuishi

Name: Stephanie Melarickas

Company: Kuishi Ltd

1. Tell us about your company and the inspiration behind it.

Kuishi is a home and lifestyle brand that specialises in refillable soap dispensers and holders. We are inspired by creating sustainable and long-lasting items that help reduce plastic waste and at the same time bring a calm atmosphere into homes and businesses.

After graduating from Falmouth University in 2016, I realised I did not want to work for anyone else and wanted to be my own boss. With a passion for reducing plastic waste and caring for the environment, I started looking for products I wanted to use in my own home. Finding few suppliers at the time I decided to source and create my own products for like-minded people. The business has expanded and I have moved on from packing up boxes of orders in my home, to fulfilling orders from warehouses in the UK and Europe.

2. What do you know now that you wish you knew at the beginning of your journey?

Having a positive mental attitude makes all the difference, mindset really is everything! As a 22-year-old graduate with no previous business experience, I had little or no confidence in business and I doubted my own ability. At first this stopped me engaging and building business relationships, often doubting myself as I could not see why others would see something in my business or ideas, or want to work with me. This could not have been further from the truth.

I have always believed in my products and the only thing I wish I had at the beginning was more self-belief, and not being afraid to fail. Experience is something you only gain by diving in and learning from mistakes, and this has helped me build real confidence.

3. What specific challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur and how have you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges is managing growth and having to employ others.

Scaling up has been a big challenge, from delivering volume orders and managing the increased customer service needs. I’ve always prided myself on the level of personalisation I offer our clients, with people commenting how nice it was to work with me and how good my customer service was. It’s been impossible for me to continue to run the customer service alongside everything else, so I have had to employ people to manage this for me. Delivering this same quality of service has been difficult. I have overcome this by not accepting poor customer service and some trial and error finding the right people to work with.

4. How do you view the impact of skill vs luck in your company’s success to date?

I always enjoyed searching for trends in home and lifestyle products and had a definite vision of the ethos of Kuishi. I was lucky in the early days, there was high profile media coverage aimed at reducing single-use plastic, which I think helped a lot. Building Kuishi to where I want it to be in 5 years is going to take a little more skill than luck.

5. What are your aims for the next 1,5 & 10 years, for the business, and personally?

We have just launched in a French warehouse and are very excited to increase our customer base in Europe. Our next stage will be to launch in America. For me personally, I would like to continue to build a team around me and work with like-minded people.

6. Which other businesses, leaders or entrepreneurs inspire you and why?

I have always been drawn to people who persevere and work hard. I was inspired by what Anita Roddick achieved and feel that she lit a path for other women to follow.

7. What is the best piece of advice you have been given throughout your journey so far and where did it come from?

The best lessons have been through learning “on the job” and looking to surround myself with the right people, of which I’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing businesses. My partner and my family have been very supportive through the good, and especially the tough times.

8. Do you work with advisers in your company, and if so, where do you feel they add value?

I have a very good accountant and bookkeeper to help me with the complexity of managing my business throughout Europe and the UK. I have also used the skills of freelance designers to help me focus on my brand and how we are seen by our customers.