{"672720":{"#nid":"672720","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GT Alumni Entrepreneurs Elevate Independent Tattoo Artists","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EKendra Garcia, a recent Georgia Tech graduate in industrial design, \u003C\/span\u003Eparticipated in GT Startup Launch in 2021 and the Female Founders program in 2023. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get into entrepreneurship? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI was in a STEM high school. Within STEM branch, I was in engineering, but our capstone project revolved around helping the community. I would say it was definitely the catalyst to go into college\u003Cspan\u003E. I heard about CREATE-X because I \u003C\/span\u003Edid \u003Cspan\u003EUGA Idea Accelerator in 2019. It was taught by Jim Flannery, who had been a teacher of mine. \u003C\/span\u003EIt was a two-month process. Going every day, I thought, this is really interesting. Also, my parents have always been supportive about creativity.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was your idea for GT Startup Launch?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMy first time in Launch, my startup had to do with tattoos. I was 18, and I really wanted to learn about the industry because I wanted a tattoo. My favorite tattoo artist is \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sztuka_wojny\/\u0022\u003EJerome\u003C\/a\u003E, and he does fine-line, realistic tattoos. But there\u0027s no standard way of finding a tattoo artist. There\u0027s no database of tattoo artists. My concept was you could see different artists in your area, and you could see which one matches your design aesthetic. The company name was Drool. I didn\u0027t know too much about entrepreneurship at the time, and I just picked the name and ran with it. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat were you able to do through your Launch experience?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI focused on an app, kind of like learning through my major. I really wanted to know how to design apps and learn about the customer journey. I was able to teach myself how to do that. I finished that with CREATE\u003Cspan\u003E-X. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWhat did you do after Launch?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMelissa Heffner was my mentor at CREATE-X in 2021. I really look up to her, and I think she\u0027s amazing. When I found out that she was on Female Founders, I knew I had to do this program. I joined for the mentors because they\u0027re each individually so talented. That\u0027s what motivates me.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you like about Female Founders?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI really liked meeting everyone. It\u0027s geared toward minorities in the business industry and has LGBTQ people, so I wanted to be a part of that. \u003C\/span\u003EAnd, you have homework. Every week, you complete a slide deck, and then you get mentored on it. All of the mentors are seeing your deck. You get to see everyone else go. So, you\u0027re not just learning from your feedback. You\u2019re learning from the feedback that mentors have given others.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAfter the program ends, your relationship with them does not. They give you so many opportunities to stay in touch with them. Female Founders focuses on a small group, so it allows you to flourish at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWhat was your plan going into Female Founders?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI wanted to focus on more of a physical product, completely pivot, and figure out if maybe there\u0027s a different area that I could be a help in. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat startup idea did you pursue in Female Founders?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMy co-founder, Rachel Lohan, and I are working on a startup called Kinetic. I initially started it from a studio project that I created. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt essentially is revolutionizing the way ads work. This would be an advertising experience where you could see designs pop up and then if you\u0027re interested, save the info of the tattoo artists.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWith an independent tattoo artist, their pain points are essentially the booking process. They use so many different platforms (social media, email, direct messages) to book their individual designs. Usually, a lot of people stray off and end up not working full-time, even though they\u0027re very talented. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWith the potential tattoo customer, their pain point is there\u0027s no database. We really want to empower these artists to be able to continue to make a living off of art. Kinetic is very important to me because I genuinely believe it would be helpful to a lot of people. We want to curate a diverse selection of artists and designs to empower clients to engage with Atlanta artists.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s been the impact of having a co-founder?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EPicking someone to do business with is very difficult, making sure that you have the perfect team to build. Rachel was just amazing. We\u0027ve been able to meet every week, talk about the next steps, keep doing tests, and things like that.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the work like in Female Founders?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe info session was in-person, but the program was online. You \u003C\/span\u003Edo a session with everyone during the week. Then you get a session with just you and a mentor. On the first couple of days, it\u0027s figuring out who your customers are through interviews, not making any assumptions. Each week, you have a new hypothesis that you\u0027re trying to prove to narrow down to an actual product for the end. Female Founders really allowed us to ask those hard questions. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt\u2019s a lot of work, going to do interviews with people that you believe are your stakeholders, your end users, and making sure you\u0027re asking the right questions in order to actually get that value in your insights. The mentors really, really helped because we only met once a week. It\u0027s very hands-on. You have to be ready to go.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the best advice you received during Female Founders?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOne of my mentors said having tenacity and resilience will genuinely get you places because it sometimes doesn\u0027t work out, but that doesn\u0027t mean you shouldn\u0027t keep trying. You have to keep doing it because you\u0027re always going to learn something from it. If I didn\u0027t continue to try to educate myself on entrepreneurship, I would have never met my co-founders or people in my cohort this year. I feel like they\u0027re always encouraging.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the most challenging part about being in Female Founders?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMaking sure you pace yourself and stay on track. Making sure you are putting in the work, that\u0027s probably been one of the most difficult things. Everyone has a busy schedule, especially in school. You\u0027re trying to juggle everything but also prioritize what you\u0027re passionate about, which would be this startup. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are your next steps?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ERight now it\u2019s the app. Ads on your phone or pop-ups aren\u0027t effective. We envision this at Ponce City Market or Little Five Points or local college campuses. Tattoo artists are our focus right now, but imagine if this was completely redone for people in different businesses. We want to focus on small business owners because they don\u0027t have this. I feel like they are underrepresented within the advertising realm. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ERachel and I were able to get more grant funding for our startup. We\u2019re going to continue to test and participate in other, larger competitions.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat books would you recommend to those interested in entrepreneurship?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/galileo-gatech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?context=L\u0026amp;context=L\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT:GT\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT\u0026amp;docid=cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9781524779276\u0026amp;tab=default_tab\u0026amp;lang=en\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAtomic Habits by James Clear\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI think one thing that stood out to me was that you have to put in such hard work at the beginning, but it doesn\u2019t get noticed until the end.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/galileo-gatech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?docid=alma9914987541302947\u0026amp;context=L\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT:GT\u0026amp;lang=en\u0026amp;search_scope=MyInst_and_CI\u0026amp;adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine\u0026amp;isFrbr=true\u0026amp;query=any,contains,9914987541302947\u0026amp;sortby=date_d\u0026amp;facet=frbrgroupid,include,9048954831120862032\u0026amp;offset=0\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBuild by Tony Fadell\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt\u2019s about product designing and physical aspects. If you\u2019re doing anything physical, read this one.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/galileo-gatech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?docid=alma9924090761302931\u0026amp;context=L\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT:GT\u0026amp;lang=en\u0026amp;search_scope=MyInst_and_CI\u0026amp;adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine\u0026amp;isFrbr=true\u0026amp;query=any,contains,9924090761302931\u0026amp;sortby=date_d\u0026amp;facet=frbrgroupid,include,9049962059731695919\u0026amp;offset=0\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGlossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss\u0027s Glossier by Marisa Meltzer\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt\u2019s about the startup and how it was created. I really like how it creates an experience. I want to do that in the tattoo or small business industry.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s Female Founders is now accepting \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/female-founders\u0022\u003Eapplications for the Spring 2024 cohort\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/female-founders\u0022\u003EApply\u003C\/a\u003E by 5 p.m., Monday, Feb. 19.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECREATE-X has also opened up applications for their 12-week, summer accelerator,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/launch\/startup-launch\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGT Startup Launch\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E. Apply for\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/launch\/startup-launch\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGT Startup Launch\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;by March 19 and create your own startup!\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EKendra Garcia, a recent Georgia Tech graduate in industrial design, \u003C\/span\u003Eparticipated in GT Startup Launch in 2021 and the Female Founders program in 2023. After seeing that\u0026nbsp; there wasn\u0027t a standard way of finding a tattoo artist, Garcia and her co-founder,\u0026nbsp;Rachel Lohan, started working on a\u0026nbsp;database with the potential to change how we find service providers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Kendra Garcia, a recent Georgia Tech graduate in industrial design, GT Startup Launch 2021 and Female Founders participant, co-founded a startup that wants to make connecting customers to tattoo artists easier. "}],"uid":"36436","created_gmt":"2024-02-03 22:47:48","changed_gmt":"2024-02-05 16:19:52","author":"bdurham31","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672955":{"id":"672955","type":"image","title":"Kendra-and-Rachel.png","body":null,"created":"1707149914","gmt_created":"2024-02-05 16:18:34","changed":"1707149914","gmt_changed":"2024-02-05 16:18:34","alt":"Kendra Garcia and Rachel Lohan headshots, and an image of Kinnetic: The Tattoo Movement","file":{"fid":"256288","name":"Kendra-and-Rachel.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/05\/Kendra-and-Rachel.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/05\/Kendra-and-Rachel.png","mime":"image\/png","size":622383,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/02\/05\/Kendra-and-Rachel.png?itok=xb1XrJgb"}}},"media_ids":["672955"],"groups":[{"id":"583966","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"179356","name":"Industrial Design"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"137161","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"166973","name":"startup"},{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"1072","name":"Business"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBreanna Durham\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMarketing Strategist\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["breanna.durham@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}