Top Skills

Entrepreneurial Leap

Made a significant life decision to pursue entrepreneurship after a profound personal experience.

Motivation

Highly motivated by personal tragedy to pursue entrepreneurial goals and make a positive impact.

Purpose-driven

Driven by a strong purpose to create a business that brings joy and fosters community.


About Katy

Bio

I have a very diverse background of work experience that spans over 23 years and includes kitchen/dining service, hotel hospitality, public sector service, four different retail environments, customer service, administrative service, mail and print room operations, graphic/print design, book design, layout, and formatting, web design and development, and user/customer experience. This comprehensive background provides me a full 360-degree view into the overall customer experience and journey.

I've always dreamed of one day starting and owning my own business but it always felt like an impossible dream; unattainable. Then I lost my Mom to cancer two days before Christmas 2023. Losing her completely changed my entire outlook on life and how I view the world. I realized that if I have a dream and I want to make it a reality, I should 1000% take that leap. We never know how many days we have on this earth and I now know that I do not want to be on my deathbed one day, looking back with regret and wishing I had done more or tried more things. I am doing this for my Mom, for myself, and for my community.

Company

Lucky Crow

Elevator Pitch

Lucky Crow is two experiences in one, or two birds, one store. The Apothecary is a café specializing in plant-based energy drinks and attached to it is a reading lounge accessed through a secret door called the Readeasy™--the first in the U.S.

Plant-based products are growing 20% year over year, and energy drinks are the fastest-growing beverage category in the U.S.

Currently, there are no comfortable and immersive reading lounges in Madison. And sadly, reading is down overall—40% of U.S. adults didn’t read a single book last year—BUT, online reading communities are exploding. Have you heard of BookTok?

BookTok is a subset of TikTok—a lively community of book lovers who share book-related content—and have over 370 BILLION views. This billion-dollar fandom is reviving the publishing industry.

So, we will bridge this gap—by rekindling the love of reading for all who’ve lost it AND giving this massive, passionate community a real-world space to connect.

Industry

Other

Team Size

1-5 employees

Company Stage

Development

Funding Stage

Pre-Seed

Funding Raised

1-5 employees

Annual Revenue

$0 to $100k

Skills

SkillStrengthExplanation
Entrepreneurial Leap
100
Made a significant life decision to pursue entrepreneurship after a profound personal experience.
Motivation
95
Highly motivated by personal tragedy to pursue entrepreneurial goals and make a positive impact.
Purpose-driven
90
Driven by a strong purpose to create a business that brings joy and fosters community.
Resilience
90
Demonstrated resilience by transforming personal loss into motivation for achieving a lifelong dream.
Founder
90
Successfully founded Lucky Crow, realizing a long-held entrepreneurial dream.
Customer Experience (CX)
90
Comprehensive background provides a full 360-degree view into the overall customer experience and journey.
Adaptability
90
Demonstrated high adaptability by gaining experience across a very diverse range of industries and roles over 22 years.
Customer Service
85
Possesses extensive experience in various customer-facing roles across retail, hospitality, and service industries over 22 years.
Book Design
85
Skilled in book design, layout, and formatting.
User Experience (UX)
85
Worked in the UX and Web Design field for over 9 years.
Retail Industry
85
Worked in four different retail environments and is developing a new retail concept.
Product Concept Development
80
Developed the innovative dual-concept for Lucky Crow, combining a cafe and an immersive reading lounge.
Imagination
80
Aims to bring joy, whimsy, and imagination to the community through their business.
Graphic Design
80
Experienced in graphic and print design.
Administrative Services
75
Experienced in providing administrative support and services.
Retail Sales
75
Gained proficiency in sales within four different retail environments.
Market Research
75
Conducted research on growing market segments like plant-based products, energy drinks, and reading lounge demand.
Service Design
75
Designing a dual-concept retail and community experience with 'The Lotus Lounge' and 'The Readeasy'.
Web Design
75
Experienced in web design and development.
Hotel Hospitality Management
70
Experience working in hotel hospitality environments.
Kitchen/Dining Service
70
Has practical experience in intimate kitchen and dining service operations.
Community Building
70
Aims to create real-world spaces for passionate communities to connect, inspired by online phenomena like BookTok.
Food & Beverage Industry
70
Founding a cafe specializing in plant-based energy drinks.
Publishing Industry
70
Demonstrates understanding of book market trends and online reading communities (BookTok and Bookstagram).
Experiential Marketing
70
Designing a dual-concept store (cafe and reading lounge/event space) to create unique customer experiences.
Mail and Print Room Operations
70
Proficient in managing mail and print room operations.
Project Management
65
Managing the development and launch of a new business concept with multiple components.
Technology Industry
65
Experience in web design and development.
Public Sector Service
65
Gained experience from working in the public sector.
Social Media Marketing
60
Understands and plans to leverage online communities like BookTok for business growth.

Experiences

STARTUPLucky Crow

Title

Founder

Position Description

Developing a dual-concept retail and hospitality venture, 'Lucky Crow,' encompassing 'The Lotus Lounge' (plant-based energy drinks cafe) and 'The Readeasy' (immersive reading lounge). Responsible for concept design, market analysis, and strategic planning.

Accomplishment Notes

Founded Lucky Crow based on identified market gaps and emerging trends (e.g., plant-based products, energy drinks, BookTok community). Pioneered a unique business model to bridge online reading communities with a physical space.

JOBVarious Organizations

Title

Diverse Professional Roles

Position Description

Accumulated over 22 years of experience across various sectors including kitchen/dining service, hotel hospitality, public sector, retail, customer service, administrative support, mail/print room operations, and various design and development roles.

Accomplishment Notes

Developed a comprehensive 360-degree understanding of customer experience and journey through diverse professional engagements. Acquired proficiency in graphic design, web development, and user experience, alongside strong operational and service-oriented skills.