If you’re familiar with the TV Show Shark Tank, then you know how challenging it can be for many business owners to get an offer, let alone, offers from four out of five sharks. Well, that’s exactly what Kim Kaupe, Founder of Bright Ideas Only, was able to do. Today, Kim shares more details about her entrepreneurial journey and the advice she has for other aspiring business owners.
Kim was previously named to Inc.’s 35 Under 35, Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40, and Forbes 30 Under 30. She has also worked with A-list celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, and Shawn Mendes.
Transcription:
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So Kim, thank you so much for taking the time out of what seems to be a very busy schedule to join us here on the show.
Kim Kaupe:
Oh, I’m excited to be here. So thank you for having me.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s fantastic. So I love all the success that you’re having. Is Mr. Wonderful as bad as we think he is?
Kim Kaupe:
He’s actually quite nice. I feel like they give him a bad rap on the show.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. It’s that other young lady, what’s her name? The realtor, that is the tough one, right?
Kim Kaupe:
Barbara.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Right, that’s right. Yeah. She seems to be tough. But they all seem to be tough, but I’m sure behind the scenes they’re very nice. So, what was it that you were pitching at the time on the show?
Kim Kaupe:
Yeah, so I was pitching our marketing agency, which is still going today. We’re 10 years in, which is hard to believe.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Congratulations.
Kim Kaupe:
Thank you. It was a big accomplishment. And I always say what’s so great about being on the show, well, it can either be really great or really terrible, it turned out well for us.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Kim Kaupe:
Was that it’s sort of the gift that keeps on giving. So most people don’t realize that when you go in and you tape a Shark Tank episode, if you’re lucky enough to have it air, it re-airs in perpetuity. So I still, about every, I would call it eight to 12 weeks will get people sending me pictures from them at the gym or on an airplane saying, I saw your video. This is so great.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s fantastic. That’s really great. And you’re right. There are some companies on there and they go back 10 years and you’re like, wait a minute, I know that product. It’s already on the shelves. And you got to realize that well, that was a rerun from long time ago.
Kim Kaupe:
Exactly.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So congrats on that. So for those people that are not as familiar with your journey as we are here at the show, I’ve got my producer that provided me with all of the notes and we’ve checked you out online as they say and your story is incredible. Share your journey with our viewers and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kim Kaupe:
I think it’s important to start off by saying that I am an accidental entrepreneur. I think sometimes we have this grand vision that if you’re not born with it or you weren’t hustling and selling candy in the back of the bus or running your own lawn mowing conglomerate-
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Car wash company, something.
Kim Kaupe:
Yeah, like it’s all over for you. And so my dream when I was in high school and graduated from the University of Florida, was to work in corporate. I was really excited to, corporate America, I really wanted to work in a magazine. I did that after school. And entrepreneurship is something that found me. It wasn’t something that I sort of thought I was going to ever get myself into. But an opportunity presented itself with my previous co-founder and she said, hey, I have this idea. I scribbled it down on a napkin. I think you could help me with it. I thought, well, I’m 25 years old, I don’t have a husband. I don’t have a mortgage. I was living in New York City on beer and pizza. And I thought, if there’s ever a time to try this out, now would be the time. And I thought, statistically, this will fail. Because nine in ten startups fail.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. You went in with that mindset, that this will fail because so many do, and let’s give it a whirl.
Kim Kaupe:
Let’s give it a whirl. I mean, I also joke, I was young enough to think that it would work and also wise enough to know that it probably wouldn’t.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Kim Kaupe:
So I definitely had some realism there. But yeah, started the marketing agency in January of 2011 and still run an agency to this day, all those years later. So lucky for me, it worked out.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s fantastic. It’s unusual that you hear about agency business models making it on Shark Tank. Because they always are looking for either a technology or a widget or some kind of special car seat that nobody’s come up with before, or a towel that dries off faster or whatever. But when you go in with an agency, it sounds kind of like, well, it’s an agency. It’s kind of run of the mill. You want to go out and get clients. What made your agency, or what was proposed so different?
Kim Kaupe:
I think what really sparked it for producers is, let’s be honest, at the end of the day, Shark Tank is still a television show. So it needs viewers. It needs the excitement, it needs the thrill. And we work with a lot of celebrities and that’s exciting. We have a client roster, like you said, everybody from Oprah and Paul McCartney to Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s cool.
Kim Kaupe:
So it really runs the gamut. And I think show attendees were like, we want to see what’s going on with them.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, absolutely. That’s great. So then you do well in business. You’ve got this phenomenal agency and working with all of these stars and celebrities. So then you go from there and you say, wait a minute, there’s going to be a lot more people that want to learn from my story. And I can help other entrepreneurs. You’re talking to a lot of them right now. So tell us, bring us up to speed. What are you currently doing? And how is it you’re helping them?
Kim Kaupe:
I took all the learnings that I had from a decade of working in marketing, working with these huge names, and thought I can apply these same lessons to what I like to call the rock stars of real life, which are entrepreneurs. It is the business leaders. It’s the C-suite. There is no difference. You are the rockstar of your company and you should be showing that in how you present yourself, your executive narrative, how you’re presenting yourself on LinkedIn digitally. What happens when people Google you? Are you happy with what you find? So I work with entrepreneurs and leaders to make sure that they are really happy with what people find and they feel like they’re presenting themselves in the best way possible.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. That’s fantastic. So anybody that’s listening, if they want to take their career to the next level or jump in to open up a business, they can learn from you. They can connect with you and you can help them, right?
Kim Kaupe:
Absolutely. So I’m on LinkedIn and all the social media platforms under Kim Kaupe. I joke, it’s very easy to remember because if you start typing in Kim Kardashian, K-I-M-K-A, and I’m right under her. So there’s there’s going to be a Kim K with no clothes on, and a Kim K with clothes on. You want the second one.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Although sometimes they never get past the first one.
Kim Kaupe:
That’s true.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. That’s right. Yeah. So here you are today as a successful advisor and doing so much out there. What do you think are, if you had to pick out three or four traits of a successful entrepreneur or what makes up a successful entrepreneur in your findings, what has that been?
Kim Kaupe:
I think there’s two traits and they’re both sort of unteachable. One is curiosity. You have to constantly be curious about things, technology, advancements that are happening around you. So I think that’s number one. And number two, you have to be willing to change. And that is so hard for most people, especially when we get into routines.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right.
Kim Kaupe:
We get into things that we really like. To continually yank yourself from that routine is, I don’t know, maybe it’s a teachable skill, but I haven’t seen it done quite yet.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Oh, that is so true. They say that prosperity drains urgency, and in so many cases, people get to a plateau and they’re like, all right, I’m good. My bills are covered and I’m putting away a little bit for a rainy day and you know, why should I go the extra mile? Why should I work an extra hour? Why should I put in a Saturday or open up a new market or hire a new individual? And that can be a major mistake, right, one that actually hurts them in the long run if all of a sudden competition steps in.
Kim Kaupe:
Absolutely. Because every single day there is someone out there who is ready to outrun you, outwork you, outpace you. So you have to constantly be waking up every day like someone is chomping at the bits to take your seat.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. That’s right. On a scale from one to 10, how important is social media today to growing a brand and growing a company for entrepreneurs?
Kim Kaupe:
It’s an 11.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
It is.
Kim Kaupe:
Because in today’s day and age, whether you are meeting someone for a Zoom coffee, meeting someone for a date, or heck even just before this call, what did you and I both do to each other? We Googled each other, we got out our phones and we thought, who is on this Zoom meeting?
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Who is this guy?
Kim Kaupe:
Who am I meeting with? So absolutely now more than ever, I say all the time, we used to think that first impressions, your mom used to tell you, comb down your hair and stand up straight and have a firm handshake. That’s not really the first impression anymore. The first impression is happening digitally.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. Like you said right here. And by the way, you checked me out and you still came on the show? That’s something.
Kim Kaupe:
I was more than excited.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So when you type in Jim Fitzpatrick, does a picture of me and Kim Kardashian pop up?
Kim Kaupe:
Hopefully soon.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Oh, that’s incredible. So bring us right up to speed now. I mean, now you’re an incredibly successful speaker and you travel the world speaking to groups. And what kind of a message, what’s your message to these groups?
Kim Kaupe:
A lot of times I’m speaking to either entrepreneurs or I’m speaking to their teams, their C-suite teams, and saying, okay, really, we have to start thinking about employees and we have to start thinking about ourselves as brand ambassadors. We are little baby brand ambassadors for the company that we started, or the company that we work for. And how are we showing up? What does that executive narrative look like? When that person’s at a dinner party, what are they saying? Are they just saying, well, I work in sales at Amazon? Or are they really telling a story about how they can help you or how you can help them? And not only that, but obviously LinkedIn is one of the things that I’m always sort of beating the drum about. Because it is one of the top things that shows up on social media about people, but it is often one of the most neglected areas that I see, especially with entrepreneurs.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, no question about it. And it can do such so much for an entrepreneur in the way of connecting with people that can help them. We never know who’s out there that sees what we’re doing, learns about what we’re doing ,that says, hey, I got a friend that would be very interested either in the product or service, or maybe even in an investment. There’s so many entrepreneurs that say, we could take this to the next level if we just had another 50,000 or a hundred thousand, or maybe a million, depending on what business that you’re in and what you’re offering. But I agree with you. We can’t say enough about LinkedIn and the importance of it out there. And it’s free. I mean, how great is that, right?
Kim Kaupe:
Absolutely. I can’t tell you how much business that I’ve been able to garner from LinkedIn. Not selling anything, just saying, hey, here’s what I think about this. Hey, I predict this is going to happen in the next six months. And the people that are jumping in or seeing that and saying, hey, maybe she’s on to something. Let me dig into this a little, let me listen to her podcast. Let me check out this article she wrote and really that sort of thought leadership can be so powerful for entrepreneurs. And the biggest complaint that I hear from people is like, well, noone’s going to care what I have to say. Or, well, I don’t really just feel like putting it out there. And I say, well, you wouldn’t go to launch a new product and service and tell your person, I just don’t care about marketing. Can you imagine going on Shark Tank and saying, well, it’s just going to market itself.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right.
Kim Kaupe:
People would look at you like you have three eyes. And so that same thing is happening on social media. You have to be talking about your thoughts and your brand and your product, or else you’re going to get left behind.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
There’s no question about it. And everybody has a great story to tell. And to your point, so many more entrepreneurs out there need to share that story. And these things are free on so many bases. Not like you’ve got to have a pile of money to implement any of them or execute on these ideas, right?
Kim Kaupe:
Exactly. And I think that’s the beauty and the power of platforms, whether it’s LinkedIn or Twitter, or I always say, fish where the fish are.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right.
Kim Kaupe:
If you think that your demographic is on Twitter, go there. If you think your demographic is on LinkedIn, go there. I will say, LinkedIn is one of the largest social media platforms in the world and on average it has 18 million global C-suite executives logging onto it every day.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. That’s fantastic.
Kim Kaupe:
So I mean, the amount of power is unbelievable.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, boy, that’s for sure. Hey, I did catch one of your, I think it was a TikTok video. Are you on TikTok?
Kim Kaupe:
I am. I just started.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay. Well, congratulations. I watched the TikTok and you brought up and you said, there’s so many things in the world that are uncertain right now. We’ve got gas prices and higher interest rates, and we’ve got a war that broke out and such. But it’s unique. I think it’s very interesting that there’s so many entrepreneurs that have decided that now is the best time for them to make the jump into opening up their own businesses, in spite of everything that’s going on out there. Talk to us a little bit about that.
Kim Kaupe:
I think that great uncertainty brings a great amount of opportunity. We don’t know where the world’s going to go, so that means the opportunities are everywhere. And I always like to remind people, we sort of forget, when we think about some of the big startups that we see now, everything from Airbnb to Rent the Runway to Sweetgreen to Warby Parker, all of those companies were started within 24 months of 2008 or the great recession. Most people don’t realize, wow, those big household name companies, those were started back when everybody thought you’re crazy, 2008, you’re going to leave your corporate job? You’ve lost your mind. And so I always say that we’re very quick to forget some of those lessons because they were so recent. But absolutely I think we’re going to, I think as we look 10 years into the future, 10 years from now there’s going to be a lot of huge Fortune 500 companies that were started right now.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s a very good point. And it could be you. Those that are listening to us have this conversation, it’s completely up to you making that decision. As you can see, Kim decided to do away with the corporate job and go for it and that bet has paid off very, very nice. And so what’s next for Kim? What are we going to be seeing here in the next couple of years?
Kim Kaupe:
I’m excited to continue to work with founders and executives. I think this is only going to become more and more of a talking point. I was just talking about it earlier. What we’re going to start seeing in the workplace is we’re seeing these Gen Zs and these young millennials enter the workplace and they are digital first natives. So they already know how to present themselves online. And I think what’s going to happen with everybody pretty much age 30 and older, is we’re going to be having to play catch up to the young guys.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
I agree.
Kim Kaupe:
Young guys are already going to know how to do this. But we really need to say, okay, if we are going to be working longer, retirement age is no longer 60.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
I know.
Kim Kaupe:
Heck, it’s not even 65 anymore.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right.
Kim Kaupe:
So we’re going to be staying in the workplace longer. We have to make sure that we’re keeping up with the earlier generations that are coming in.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
No question about it. Amen to that. Kim Kaupe, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, founder of an incredible company and Shark Tank, I guess you would call it Shark Tank survivor or winner, or how do you refer to that? I mean, you’re going into a tank full of sharks and you came out a complete winner. So congratulations.
Kim Kaupe:
Exactly. Came out alive.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right, came out alive. You swam with the sharks and you lived to talk about it. So not just talk about it, but succeed. So congratulations on all your success. We love what you’re doing, and we’d love to have you back on the show to see how things are going. So thanks so much for all your time.
Kim Kaupe:
Thank you for having me.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Great.
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