Meet Lexi Cuillard, Founder of KAXI, who took center stage as the Featured Founder at October’s RevRoad University. Joining her on stage was her husband and newly-minted business partner, Chase Cuillard. Here are three lessons we learned from the Cuillards at the event:
KAXI’s story began when Lexi spotted a gap in the market for stylish, functional hair accessories. “I graduated from Claire’s,” she explained, “I was always looking for little things to like spice up outfits – but there wasn't really one place to go for women.”
On her 21st birthday, Lexi purchased a second-hand sewing machine and spent the evening roaming Joann’s fabric aisles instead of heading out to dinner. “I had never sewed in my life,” she admitted, “but I couldn’t get this idea out of my head. That night, I was on YouTube learning how to thread a sewing machine and change the bobbin.”
Initially, her creations were just for her. But when friends and strangers on social media started asking to buy them, she realized she was onto something. “It was less about the money and more about this light bulb of realizing there are girls like me that might be looking for something like this.”
Her first launch sold out, but Lexi quickly realized she couldn’t sew every product herself. She hired local seamstresses, many of whom were stay-at-home moms, and began scaling production. “We started small—dropping off fabric and picking up finished pieces at their homes—but eventually, we couldn’t keep up with demand.”
Trips to the Los Angeles fabric district and the decision to work with manufacturers helped her transition from handmade products to scalable operations. “It prepped us for working with big retailers and we never could have been in this position without manufacturing help” she reflected.
For Lexi, the heart of KAXI lies in its community. “There are girls who drove to my apartment to pick up their first order who still comment on every Instagram post we make,” she said. “Having those people in your corner, whether it is employees or spouses or family or customers is just irreplaceable for me.”
Building these relationships wasn’t accidental—it was intentional. Lexi credits her early days at pop-up shops and markets with helping her meet customers face-to-face. “The scrappiness up front gave us the ability to get to know customers and build things that they actually liked, and that made our success ten times better.”
When KAXI’s products launched on Free People’s website, her community rallied. “I asked my customers to leave reviews, click on the site and go share it. I had such a community that came through to support us.” Their efforts helped KAXI’s products sell out and become top-rated on Free People’s site, opening doors to larger wholesale opportunities.
“It's more of a relationship business than anything else,” Lexi said. “Success for me has come with the amazing connections and relationships that have come from my entrepreneurship journey.”
Scaling KAXI hasn’t been a linear journey, and Lexi is candid about the challenges. “Organization is not my strong suit,” she admitted with a laugh. “But insulating myself with people who understand my vision and are are willing to come with me has really changed our business”
One of Lexi’s biggest lessons is staying original. Competition is inevitable, but she doesn’t let it distract her. “You can never beat the original,” she said. “I keep my head down. I focus on designing my own things and innovating. That’s what helps me stay in my lane and build my own success.”
Growth also means making tough decisions. “When the trend started to shift a little bit we decided to make the shift in our business to manufacturing,” Lexi shared. “I loved that first model, but it just wasn’t sustainable with the growth that we were experiencing.”
Her advice to entrepreneurs? Stay grounded in your vision, even as you scale. Lexi commented, “I'm just grateful for the perspective I gained from every step, because we never could have been in this position without it.” Growth can be messy, but if you stay true to what makes your brand unique, the rest will follow.
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RevRoad University (now called Startup Stories) is a monthly lunch-and-learn event for entrepreneurs, featuring a Featured Founder who shares their entrepreneurial journey, including the highs, lows, and valuable lessons learned along the way. Check out our upcoming events, and grab your free ticket, on Eventbrite.
