Polka Dot Summit

How Katie Sturino Turned a Hashtag Into a Booming Business

It’s safe to say that the business model has been seriously disrupted. Thanks to social media and user-friendly e-commerce platforms you can go from idea to launch within a matter of hours. Gone are the days of door-to-door sales, too. Today, brands are getting their customers to do it for them. How? By building a community of brand ambassadors.

With her multifaceted personality—bold, fun, fashionable and classic—Minnie Mouse has inspired people of all ages to be positively themselves and in doing so, has built a strong sense of community. Companies who are taking a cue from Minnie and focusing on building a community instead of driving sales through online ads are really resonating and making bank as a result.

So the big question is, how do you build a community of people that care so much about your brand they’re willing to invest in it and promote it to their friends?

Enter Katie Sturino.

You know her as a social media superstar now but she didn’t start out that way. In fact, Katie was working in PR for major brands before she took the leap to start her own company and launch a movement. A few years ago, when Katie couldn’t find anything in her size online, she posted a photo of herself wearing it with the hashtag #MakeMySize, calling out the brand to do just that—make her size. It went viral.

Since then, she has garnered a community of 435,000 people who celebrate and champion her cause to make fashion accessible to all. This same community rallied behind the launch of her blog, The 12ish Style, her size-inclusive collaboration with Stitch Fix, and her inclusive beauty line, Megababe. She has launched other viral hashtags since then like #SuperSizeTheLook, where she recreates celebrities outfits to show that style has no size. This has been picked up and praised by the media and celebrities around the world.

Join us as we dive into Katie’s journey from influencer to successful entrepreneur, how she built a profitable business around her community, and the lessons learned along the way.

Speaker:

Katie Sturino | Founder of Megababe and The 12ish Style

Moderator:

Jaclyn Johnson | Founder & CEO, Create & Cultivate