Community Highlights: Meet Heidi Koss of Creative & Personal Consultant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Koss.

Hi Heidi, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I founded ReLove Exchange in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at 19 and sold the company at 25. From an early age, I’ve been driven to build things that feel meaningful and impactful, even before I had the language for entrepreneurship. What ultimately led me to start a business came from a very real, personal frustration. I dropped out of the University of Amsterdam Business School because, instead of learning about business, I decided to create one.

At the time, there was nowhere to resell perfectly good clothing for cash. Secondhand items either went to traditional consignment stores or straight to donation, even when they were new or barely worn. That gap sparked an idea I knew well from growing up in the U.S., where resale models offering cash or store credit were common. I recognized a clear opportunity in the European market, and bringing this concept to Amsterdam felt both obvious and necessary.

What began as a simple solution quickly grew into something much larger, reshaping how people in the city thought about secondhand fashion. The model resonated deeply and went on to transform the resale landscape in Amsterdam.

Before that, I had followed a more traditional path, attending the University of San Diego, Oxford, and University of Amsterdam Business School, largely because it was what I thought I was “supposed” to do. I eventually dropped out of all three after realizing that formal education wasn’t aligned with how I actually learn or build. Letting go of that path was one of the first times I truly trusted my intuition, and it changed everything. For me, growth came from action: physically showing up, experimenting, making mistakes, and figuring things out as I went. That’s something you’ll never learn from a textbook.

Running a business at such a young age and managing employees taught me a level of responsibility far beyond what I expected. I understood that I wasn’t just building something for myself, I was impacting other people’s lives by giving them jobs, purpose, and stability. Watching the Dutch community come together around ReLove Exchange was incredibly meaningful and is something I’ll always carry with me.

Today, I work independently as a brand and personal consultant, carrying forward the lessons I learned from building and selling a company at a young age. That experience shaped how I approach my work now, helping individuals bring clarity and intention to personal brands, early-stage ideas, and experiential concepts, with sustainability always in mind. At the core of my work is shaping how people show up, what they’re building, and how their brand comes to life through personal presence and real-world experiences.

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?
There’s really no such thing as running a company without challenges. From the beginning, I was an American starting a business in Europe, without fully understanding the language, culture, or legal systems. I was signing commercial leases, navigating employee rights, Dutch taxes, and learning how businesses are structured in Europe, all while figuring things out as I went.

On top of that, consumer behavior was completely different. The way Europeans buy clothing, especially secondhand, wasn’t the same among tourists or in the U.S. I was running multiple brick-and-mortar locations with many employees, in a country and a language I didn’t fully understand, which added an enormous amount of responsibility and pressure.

When COVID-19 hit Europe, physical retail stores, especially those dealing in secondhand goods, were among the first to take a major hit. Despite that, I was able to find a buyer in August 2020, about five months into the pandemic. I successfully sold the company, while ensuring it could continue operating smoothly. I spent the following year working closely with the new owner, teaching her how to run the business and manage the team. This way, employees could keep their jobs during an incredibly difficult time.

The new owner renewed the main commercial lease, signing an additional five years on top of the original term. She opened a ReLove Exchange Outlet, and continues to grow the vision today. The business I built from day one is still operating. Looking back, it was one of the hardest periods of my life, but also one of the most defining. I’m proud that the business didn’t just survive, but continued on in a way that honored the community and people behind it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Creative & Personal Consultant?
I work independently as a creative and personal consultant, helping individuals refine how they present themselves and their brand. My work focuses on brand identity and practical consulting, with a strong emphasis on personal presentation. I support clients in showing up with clarity and intention across their personal presence and public image. Much of this work draws directly from my experience building and operating a physical business, understanding not just how a brand looks, but how it functions in the real world.

I’m very hands-on in the process, I don’t just give advice, I help execute. What sets me apart is my ability to move easily between creative ideas and practical execution, making sure things actually get done. I’ve worked closely with individuals to make their brands and personal image more strategic and financially viable, often helping them clarify their positioning, refine their offerings, and ultimately increase their earning potential.

In addition, I also consult on events and experiential concepts, advising on how brands and individuals show up in real world environments, from large scale activations to intimate, highly curated experiences. Through my own brand, I operated physical retail locations, pop-ups, and produced large-scale events, gaining firsthand insight into how space, flow, energy, and execution directly impact both perception and revenue. Today, I apply those same principles when consulting on events, helping clients think strategically about experience, sustainability, and long-term brand value.

I’m especially known for my international perspective on fashion and presentation. Having lived and worked across multiple countries, I bring a global point of view shaped by different cultures, lifestyles, and the ways people express themselves through style. Every client has their own identity and intention, and my role is to understand that first, then offer guidance that feels realistic and natural to them. That global perspective also shapes how I approach sustainability, thinking not just about trends, but about systems that actually work over time.

I offer my work through private consulting engagements and project-based advisory, often beginning with a direct conversation to understand the client’s goals and direction. This flexible structure allows me to work closely with individuals on everything from brand strategy and personal positioning to events, experiential concepts, and sustainable growth.

Alongside my consulting work, I’m in the early stages of developing a fashion-focused charity built around creating a practical system for clothing redistribution. The aim is to work directly with fashion brands to collect brand-new, excess inventory (items that are often overproduced, returned, or never reach the sales floor) and redirect them to people experiencing homelessness and others in need.

Rather than relying on one-off donations, the goal is to build a structured, ongoing charitable foundation that allows clothing to move efficiently from brands to communities. That includes a system for sourcing, storage, and distribution that preserves choice and quality. The clothing is meant to feel current and wearable, not discarded or leftover. I believe individuals should be allowed to choose the clothes they need, rather than simply being handed items. The intention is to reduce fashion waste while addressing a very real human need, by turning excess into something genuinely useful.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My biggest advice is simple: take action. Just start, even if it feels messy. I went from hosting a pop-up in a space that was literally falling apart to running a full company with security and employees. None of it was perfect, but momentum came from movement, not waiting until everything was figured out.

It’s easy to overthink or fear failure, but you learn by doing. Ask questions, stay curious, and don’t be afraid to figure things out in real time. You don’t need everything mapped out before you begin. For me, resources like YouTube were incredibly helpful, being able to visually understand how things worked made a real difference. If you’re willing to keep moving, what feels impossible at the start can become very real.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.relovexchange.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flossykossy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidi.inciardi/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidikoss/
• Twitter: https://x.com/itsheidikoss?lang=en

Image Credits
Kevin Boot Photography @kevinbootphotography
Jac Wong @sunrise2sunset14