Meet Kaila Uli of Puffie Slippers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaila Uli

Hi Kaila, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Pomona with a family of 6 kids. My family is Dutch Indonesian.

From a very young age I had a dream to start a business and tried everything from sell rocks to flowers.

I worked full time as an an Ecommerce model in LA to fund my attempts at busines and After trying and failing multiple times, I finally learned the ins-and-outs and created my first successful brand “Brillies Sunglasses”, which was worn by a lot of celebrities, influencers and used for major music videos and movies. I later lost that business in a cyber attack and have dedicated the last 2 years to rebuilding with a new brand called Puffie Slippers and my social media agency called “The Bok Agency” where we exclusively focus on providing our clients organic virality

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have tried and failed more times than I can count. My husband died when we were both 19. I didn’t grow up with much, so starting the businesses has always been a bootstrapping effort. My first 3 attempts at business failed from the regular trap that most small businesses have: not understanding marketing, products, customers, or costs. My 4th business felt like a blessing, especially when it started crushing big sales. My sunglasses were on the sports illustrated models, in movies, featured in glamour; Vogue, Harper’s bazaar and we even had a Collab with “The Schmo”, a wildly popular UFC interviewer. He got the sunglasses onto dozens of famous boxers that spread the brand even further. Losing Brillies was a tough pill to swallow. That was my biggest hurdle yet

We’ve been impressed with Puffie Slippers, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My current build is “Puffie Slippers” and all we do is offer the worlds comfiest, puffiest slippers. Our most recent design is a sneaker style Astro boot! Nothing else like it in the world

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’m what you might consider a “bad luck” person. The strangest, most bizarre things go wrong in a way that’s comical at this point. For example – my tire exploded on the way to Palm Springs last year. I just so happened to have the rarest, weirdest size BMW tires that had to be special-ordered, so I was left stranded in Palm Springs for a few days. When the time came to finally get the tire changed, a man crashed into my car – as I was parked and inside paying the clerk. Then, the man who hit my car tried to claim no fault. The cherry on top? When I got my car checked for repairs, they denied the repair because they uncovered previous damage the previous owner had hidden.

Stuff like that.

But, I stay happy and I feel that from the business perspective, the harder I work, the luckier I get. Just putting myself into the right places around the right people has opened so many doors and opportunities. It’s all about choosing to make your own luck.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.PuffieSlippers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kailauli?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr