Meet McKenzie Bauer | Entrepreneur

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

Hi McKenzie, can you tell us about a book that has had a meaningful impact on you?
I recently read the book Think Again by Adam Grant. I read it near the beginning of the year and was blown away by the insights Grant provided. There were so many good takeaways. I was impressed by the author’s research and all the anecdotes he shared that helped illustrated how important it is to be rethinking every aspect of our life. From our political views, to the flow of our workday and the relationships we keep, this book is one I want to revisit every year.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My boyfriend Colby and I started dating in early 2014. Shortly before we met, Colby was visiting Hawaii and took a tip into the ocean, forgetting that his wallet was in the pocket of his swim trunks. When he finally realized this, it was too late and his wallet was lost to the sea. He immediately replaced his cards and began searching for a new wallet online. While looking, all he could find on Google was an endless scroll or big, bulky bifold wallets that were either black or brown. Since he only carried around his student ID, credit card and driver’s license, he decided to just grab a rubber band from a drawer in his apartment and call it good.

We met a couple months later and began dating almost immediately. Simultaneously, he was in a college class and the discussion that week was all about Kickstarter and how to successfully fund a campaign through the platform. As he searched the platform, he realized how well minimalist wallets were doing (some had raised over $300,000). As he scrolled through these campaigns, he noticed a similar trend as earlier. Maybe these wallets are slimmer but they were just as boring and plain as the wallets he’d found in his earlier search.

With this in mind, he began his research. He found a local company called Beloved who used a process of dying called Sublimation on their clothing. He picked up some white elastic at our local craft store and drove to their headquarters to test this printing process on the elastic. With fingers crossed, he printed the poop emoji (why this design, I will never know!) all over the elastic and it worked! With this simple experiment, he realized that he could transform minimalist wallets into expressive accessories. That night, he drove to my house to pick me up for a date and the first thing he did was show me the elastic. It’s hard to believe how quickly I bought into the idea after seeing a simple piece of elastic with the poop emoji all over it but, I was twitter-pated with Colby and at the time, he could do no wrong.

Together, we sewed the first prototypes in my childhood bedroom on the sewing machine I was gifted by my mom when I was 12. After getting a few of the first wallets into a local boutique, we caught enough traction that we decided to put together a Kickstarter campaign that allowed us to purchase a sublimation printer of our own. Our first months of dating were spent cutting rolls of white elastic, paper and cardboard inserts for our wallets. I took over the social media account and we went to work.

Six months later, we got married. Like most couples, we thought long and hard about what we wanted our lives to look like. We both grew up with financial planners as fathers and because of this, we knew that we didn’t want a typical 9-5. We saw how our parents marriages and relationships often suffered due to the busy nature of our father’s careers. With this in mind, we decided to dive all in and go to work at growing our business.

In 2015, we officially created our LLC, Thread Wallets. Our goal from the beginning has been to change the way people use their wallets. We combine functionality with expression to create the perfect accessory that allows our customers to express themselves while helping them live a simpler, more convenient life. It was just the two of us, working out of our small, two-bedroom home, waking up early and going to bed late. Our days were spent ideating, learning, and researching ways to grow a brand and not just build a business. With a degree in International Cultural Studies and Peacebuilding from a small university on the North Shore of Oahu, HI, the business world was so new to me. With my background however, I understood the power of community and story telling and I knew that no matter what we did, we need to utilize people of influence on social media to help spread the word about our product.

I immediately took to the marketing side of things, while Colby began handling production and logistics. We closed out 2015 with around $140K in sales. The bonus is that we were profitable. Over the years, we have introduced nine new core products and around 20 employees. We are currently on track to finish out 2020 with around $10-$12 million in revenue. We were recently named #104 on the INC. 5000. It blows my mind and is extremely humbling to think that we’ve be able to do this with a low price-point item and remain profitable at the same time.

Making money is cool, building a brand is fun but the most important thing for me is to set an example for my two daughters (Rae, 3.5 and Scottie, 1) and women everywhere. I want my girls and others to know that they can have it all and that just as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” Recently, I saw a post on LinkedIn about the panel who would be judging the local Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and of the 10 judges, only one was female. I am a strong believer that this needs to change and that women owned businesses need to become a larger part of the discussion.

I want any women who wants to start a business, build a brand, invent something, or create a community to feel empowered to do so. I want them to know that there are resources for them and I want to be one of those resources. I want to encourage young women to chase their dreams and to never settle. I want women and men to know that as individuals we are in charge of our own lives and that we truly have the power to make a positive impact in our families and communities.

I have loved running our business alongside Colby because it allows us the freedom to spend time with our children, create jobs for our community, give back to those in need and create something that helps better people’s lives, even in such a small way. As Thread grows, Colby and I want to leave a legacy of education and we want to encourage our team, our families, and our customers to seek freedom, to chase their passions, to grow as individuals and give back to their communities. Most importantly, we want people to know that our individual experiences are woven together to create a stronger whole.

Outside of Thread Wallets, I love traveling, being outside, spending time with family, cooking, discovering new restaurants and mentoring other small-business owners.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I currently live in Provo, Utah (where I grew up). Since it’s warming up in Utah, I would want to take them to Sundace Mountain Resort up Provo Canyon for brunch and a hike. We’d float the Provo River and end the day BBQing in my backyard.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost — God. He is the best business partner and has provided my husband and I with so many incredible opportunities. Our business would be no where without him.

Second, my husband! It’s been so fun starting a growing a business together. We have had our ups and downs but at the end of the day we make a really good team and I love working with him day-in and day-out. He is my best friend and greatest cheerleader.

Third, my parents who have sacrificed so much of their time and energy to support us as our business has grown. From letting us run our business out of their house when we first started, to watching out kids so my husband and I can both make meetings, they do so much for us!

Fourth, my three daughters (Rae, Scottie and Sunny). The inspire me every single day to work hard and make the world a better place.

Website: www.threadwallets.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mckenziebauer/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mckenzie-bauer-b436647a/

Image Credits
The photos are all mine.