Make It Fun: Interview with Katharine Lau, Co-Founder and CEO of Stuf
I recently went one on one with Katharine Lau, co-founder and CEO of Stuf.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Katharine: I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit ever since elementary school when I went door to door selling chocolates. Since then, I’ve had a number of side hustles, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I started a business and launched a full-time career in self-storage with my company, Stuf. Living in Hong Kong and Shanghai during my teenage years initially drew me to commercial real estate as I saw entire cityscapes change overnight. I then pursued a career in commercial real estate, starting on the institutional investment side followed by the startup / proptech side. I was the first real estate hire at Industrious, the nation’s leading flexible workplace provider, where I learned so much about how to lead a team and build a business, particularly one that’s rooted in physical space. Industrious was a wonderful place to learn with great leaders, and it was an environment that allowed for my setbacks and challenges to drive profound professional development.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Katharine: I’ve toured thousands of buildings during my time in commercial real estate. While my main focus was usually the retail, office, or residential spaces, I was always curious about the hidden spaces, such as basements, garages, and funky back-of-house areas. During the early months of the pandemic, I became obsessed with figuring out how I could turn those vacant, “unsellable” spaces into a business that does good. I almost started a ghost kitchen company, but a robust spring cleaning opened my eyes to self-storage. After digging deeper into the industry, I realized there was a huge opportunity to monetize underutilized commercial real estate as self-storage while doing so in a tech-enabled and hospitality-inspired way. Coming up with a great idea is incredibly hard, and turning that idea into reality is even harder, so my best advice is to pursue something that you’re passionate about. For me, that’s reinventing consumer experiences in the physical world.
Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Katharine: Customer and industry research is important before you do anything else. Conduct 1x1 customer interviews, send out surveys (there are businesses that do this for you), analyze industry data, or do all of the above. After we did our research and developed a business plan, we launched our first location in San Francisco as a proof of concept. 90% of our units were rented in under 3 months, and that was when I knew Stuf was an idea worth pursuing. At the end of the day, the best way to test a business idea is to “just do it.” It’s inevitably hard because there’s often money and hope on the line.
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Katharine: The single most important thing I’ve done to grow my business is raise money to fund growth – hiring a team, opening new locations, and marketing to acquire customers. Not every business will need to raise money, and there are a variety of funding sources to explore, from SMB loans to VC capital. After raising money, we took several big steps to grow the business, including: opening new locations, entering new markets, and elevating our marketing efforts and spend. From the beginning, we’ve only ever grown through revenue-sharing partnerships with landlords; and now, with more experience under our belt, landlords are looking to invest in our projects so we can introduce a new amenity into their buildings. It’s win-win-win for us, consumers, and landlords. My best advice for other entrepreneurs and business leaders looking to “level up” is to take calculated risks and truly understand the reward scenarios. Don’t sit on decisions, be decisive and move quickly to kick off new initiatives or pivot if something isn’t working.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Katharine: Initially, this was the most difficult part of starting a company. I did not have consumer sales and marketing experience but needed to learn quickly to run a B2C business. My best advice is to always be running experiments, keep track of the results, and reassess what experiments become “business as usual” activities. Our marketing lead has a mind map of all our marketing ideas, and it’s super helpful to have that documented somewhere so we can always have an eye on the future. On a more tactical note, we find there’s a lot of leverage in being hyperlocal, and we leverage exterior signage, Google Maps ads and reviews, direct mailers, and other tactics to engage local residents and businesses.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Katharine: I’m lucky to have worked with many great leaders. Humility, transparency, and motivational storytelling are the common qualities among them. I’ve woven those qualities into how I lead my company, and I know the work to be an effective leader never ends as the company and team grow and change. Having a leadership buddy, such as an executive coach, fellow founder/business leader, or mentor, can really take your leadership skills to the next level. That person can hold you accountable, provide advice, or simply be the confidante you need when things get tough.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Katharine: When you’re building, leading, and managing teams, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Individuals may be so focused on the work, and business leaders might be so focused on short-term goals, that they all forget the vision and what they’re working towards. Therefore, it’s important to regularly remind your team and individuals why what they’re doing matters, and what it’s all for in the long run.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Katharine:
1. Generously request and provide feedback in a constructive way.
2. Understand and invest in your employees, customers, constituents, or another stakeholder.
3. (Maybe the most important part) Make it fun.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Katharine: The transition from individual contributor to manager is incredibly difficult. Before, your wins were in your hands, but as a manager, your wins are in other hands. Therefore, the best advice I received was that being a great manager requires really letting go. The most effective way to manage your team is to train and support them but otherwise sit on the sidelines. Like plants, when you give people the space to grow, they generally do.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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