With a civil engineer for a father, Kate Balsis admits she grew up knee-deep in concrete, even making concrete cakes as a science experiment. But now she’s putting that passion into her business, Concrete Collaborative and redefining the design and construction industry in the process. Despite working in the space for years now, she still faces challenges as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated arena.
But that has made Balsis and her family even more determined to prove them wrong, paving the way for women who come after her in the process. Read on to hear more about her inspiring story, how she navigates the hurdles, and the reality of running a small business with your family.
With a dad as a civil engineer you basically grew up on the concrete company floor—How did this childhood inspire you to create Concrete Collaborative? Can you share a little about your story and the brand story?
Yes! You could say I grew up knee-deep in concrete in Australia. I remember for my elementary school science experiment I made a concrete cake. Certainly, my dad’s passion for concrete engineering is an integral inspiration to our business and brand today, concrete collaborative. My dad had an entrepreneurial spirit and business mindedness he instilled in us. He always taught my sisters and me the importance of hard work.
Let’s just say I wasn’t the classic textbook study type. Luckily my mum encouraged me to understand that I didn’t have to learn the same way as everyone else in order to be successful. Like helping me make up a rap song to memorize for a test! I crushed it at the debate team, I loved finding new angles to an argument. I was a fairly out-of-the-box thinker, artistic and quite creative growing up. Fine arts came naturally to me and I loved painting and drawing. I could lose myself in the process, particularly the touch and feel of materials. Dancing was another important form of expression. I also traveled a lot growing up, including moving to the U.S. in high school, and that opened my eyes and took me out of my comfort zone.
I received an internship at an architectural firm during university and the principal said I was the least qualified candidate but I stood out because of the way I followed up and made a personal connection. I realized quickly I wasn’t built for sitting behind a computer staring at plans but when I would see the architectural reps come into the office I thought I would crush that! I knew then I was destined for sales. It organically grew from there, using my passion for concrete, sales, and design and I collaborated with my family to start Concrete Collaborative.
In an interview, you said you studied interior architecture at university in Australia and took classes in architecture, photography, and fashion—How did that medium/s inspire your work now? How do you think it differentiates it from anything else in the market?
I am very inspired by Australian architecture and design. I always joke to my friends that everything I like on Instagram ends up being an Australian designer. I loved being a part of the A&D scene for that time in my life and we echo that into our brand and style in many ways. The Australian aesthetic certainly sets us apart in the U.S.
I chose to study interior architecture as a way to merge my passion for fine arts with something that seemed business/career like. It helped shape my unique way of approaching things. Design school was a trip and allowed me to get my hands dirty and experiment a lot, which I love, combined with all-nighters and a lot of hard work. I learned to have a vision, stay true to that, edit and question what doesn’t truly speak to it. I never could have expected how much I would use the skills I learned from the design process more broadly in the day to day of running our business.
Having a keen eye for design helps with product development, presentation, and marketing. It also helps me understand our clients and their needs. We have done everything for the business thus far in-house. I still run Instagram myself. It’s very hands-on and design is always integrated at the forefront.
“Stay true to yourself. Trust your gut. Don’t try to overcompensate or bend for others that aren’t out for your best interests.”
CREATE & CULTIVATE: You partnered with your sister and eventually turned it into a family affair—what is it like working with family? What advice can you share? Would you recommend it?
KATE BALSIS: My experience has been great! We started in my sister’s garage in Brooklyn. Our brand is not just my story but my partners too, we truly are a collaborative. My sister Hailey is an economist and the brains behind the operation, she worked for Morgan Stanley and got her MBA. My brother-in-law Ryan did a mechanics apprenticeship in high school, went onto communications and runs our manufacturing. My husband Chad is an architect, he worked in luxury retail design and moved into general contracting and project management. Other family members are involved too, like my other sister Sally who flies the flag for sales with all our A&D clients and my mum Nina who watches the kiddos and is our rock. It’s crazy to think we have been at it for 16 years now.
My advice would be to give each other the benefit of the doubt, understand each other’s strengths and play to that. Trust your team. We all add value in very different ways and I think understanding that is so important. Fundamentally no-one will think like you. Ultimately they will do other things much better. I’m really confident in where I start and stop and focus on where I can add value. Also, try to be optimistic and celebrate the small wins where you can, we always have. I’m grateful that I got to go on this awesome journey with people I love and trust.
Starting your own company is never a smooth road, can you recall some of the challenges you've overcome and what you learned from them?
Haha, it’s never a smooth road and not without bumps. Overcoming challenges and creative problem solving is par for the course of starting your own business. Cash flow for sure was tough initially, so it took a lot of personal sacrifices, but at that stage, it is also simpler as you are so intimate with every aspect of the business. Then as you grow bigger other challenges present themselves, especially managing staff and entrusting others to run with tasks you have always done.
You've said in an interview that your struggles with Concrete Collaborative were enhanced due to you being three young women from Australia, can you explain why? And has that changed? What hopes do you have for the industry?
While Concrete Collaborative’s architectural finishes are specified by famous designers and architects and often for high-profile clients, ultimately the transaction and support are with a contractor on a job site and construction, like manufacturing, presents its own set of challenges. Fundamentally our product wasn’t like anything the contractors had worked with before so there was a disruption of the industry in terms of unique materiality. The struggle was real.
Doing something innovative while being young means you have to face the comments like ‘I’ve done this for 30 years why should I listen to you/do something differently?’ Being a foreign woman on top of that it makes gaining that trust even harder. Just recently I was on a call with an architect and contractor in New York about installation and when I offered to come to site to oversee a mock-up they asked if someone ‘more technical’ could come like a guy in our company. This absolutely flawed me. It motivates me to prove them wrong.
When you hit a bump or hurdle in your career, how do you #FindNewRoads + switch gears to find success
I’m a fixer and I’m very practical. If something isn’t working or isn’t right it’s in my nature to want a new, clear plan and solution. It’s like tunnel vision for me to have to work through it. I can’t sweep things under the rug. I talk to my business partners to ensure we have a new roadmap to move forward together. Although every now and then I’m learning to let one through the goalie and pick my battles.
Small business owners really need to fall in love with the numbers. Where do you think is the most important area for a business owner to focus their financial energy? Why?
Our business is interesting in that we are truly integrated—we manufacture our own product but then we also run our own distribution and sales for it. Our gross margin is super important in terms of keeping our manufacturing costs in check. But also our expenses for sales and marketing are equally as important in creating demand. So we have to focus on both aspects. It’s a beast to balance.
If you could give financial advice to new small business owners, what would be your #1 money tip? Why?
One thing we’ve been lucky to be able to achieve is to grow using our own cash flow, not taking on big loans, etc. So the growth has been organic and timed out, step by step. We also haven’t had to answer to anyone else besides each other during growth stages. We’ve never done too much at once and always been pretty conservative, reinvesting into different areas of the business as we could.
You've achieved so much with Concrete Collaborative, but if you could go back in time, what do you wish you knew now, back then? Why?
Oh, I love this question! There are so many things I would tell my younger self. First: As hard as the challenge seems at the time, don’t take it personally and you will become better for it. Second: Make sure you create a budget. Things always end up taking twice as long as you expect and costing twice as much. Third: Stay true to yourself. Trust your gut. Don’t try to overcompensate or bend for others that aren’t out for your best interests.
From the outside looking in, you have built a very successful company but we know the reality of running a business is very different from the filtered version on social media. What is it really like to run a small business? Can you outline the realities for those who are considering it? How would you define success?
I love what I do every day. That’s a privilege I don’t take for granted. It’s a daily hustle and it never lets up. I never get to switch off for a workday, even on vacation. There is no off button so you have to have the ability to find new energy for it every day. Sometimes I feel stretched too thin but I just try to tackle priority items. Just when you think you’ve overcome a challenge the next one presents itself, often the one you weren’t at all prepared for.
Sometimes it feels like you are in a set in the surf and as you go under a wave and come up for breath there is always another behind it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt ‘that’s it, I’ve made it... we are now successful.’ In my mind, I’m the underdog always. My husband jokes I always have my foot on the accelerator. Obviously where we are now is vastly different from where we started, but it’s gradual and we keep looking forward and have so much more we want to achieve.
Photographer: Jenna Peffley
Hair: Styled by OGXpert & Celebrity Hairstylist Jillian Halouska
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