Kinona
Expressive Functional
Golf Apparel
To find out more about how Kinona got its start and what’s in store for the future, Matt interviews Kinona co-founder, Tami Fujii
More about the episode
Matt sits down with Kinona co-founder Tami Fujii. Kinona makes stylish and functional women’s golf apparel while helping to open up the sport for women.
Kinona was started while Tami and fellow co-founder, Dianne Celuch were getting more and more into Golfing. Having a background in fashion, it was tough to look past the lack of innovation in apparel options for women that the industry had to offer. When it comes to style and inclusion the Golf Industry has been a little slow to adapt to the changing times and those are two major keystones that Kinona is built on. After years of getting more and more into the sport, they decided to roll up their sleeves and help bring the Golf industry into the 21st century by providing more than just a “pink it and shrink it” option for women. Having years of experience bringing brands to life and products to market they managed to develop apparel that doesn’t just look incredible but, breathes life into the sport.
In this episode of Built On Passion Tami Fujii shares her journey leading up to starting Kinona, some of the skills and tools that were key to Kinona’s swift success, how the golf industry’s need to evolve to open up the space, and the “How” and “Why” behind Kinona
Have an opinion? We want to hear it! Join the conversation and leave a comment, check out show notes, and get all the links mentioned in this episode below
Key Points From This Episode:
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An introduction to Tami Fujii, her career trajectory, and her passion for apparel.
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Why she started consulting and what she loved most about it: the variety of clients.
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How her former clients helped shape the personality of the KINONA brand today.
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A deeper look into KINONA’s brand DNA, which means ‘shape’ in Hawaiian.
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What the term ‘pink it and shrink it’ means and how KINONA strives to be different.
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Some of the barriers to entry that prevent more women from joining the sport.
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Tami shares the origin story of KINONA, which started on the golf course.
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Insight into the research and development process behind their range of apparel.
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The skills Tami and Diane brought to the golf industry from their backgrounds in consumer goods and what they had to learn along the way.
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Challenges Tami has encountered in the golf industry, including slower adoption of tech.
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Meeting the varying needs of contemporary women who golf without being too ‘golfy.’
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How KINONA has been received by consumers, in part thanks to their online presence.
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The recent growth of the sport and how it was bolstered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Tami shares her vision for KINONA; hiring the right people and building the right partnerships to facilitate the long-term growth of the brand.
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The importance of making the sport and the industry more accessible to women.
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Tami reflects on the most difficult part of building her business; staying nimble.
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Her advice for young entrepreneurs: be passionate and understand your core consumer.
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What Tami finds most rewarding about running KINONA: the constant learning.
Links/Resources:
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What do you think of Kinona? Leave a comment below to let us know!