Alyssa Kuchta - Founder of F.Y.B. Jewelry
Alyssa Kuchta (she/her/hers) launched f.y.b jewelry as a student at the University of Delaware, hosting her first trunk show on campus with her sorority sisters. Inspired by the positive impact of her sisterhood, her small business background working at boutique retail establishments, and her passion for beautiful design - Alyssa launched f.y.b as a way of combining the things she loved. Upon graduating in 2012, she opened her first brick and mortar pop up shop at the iconic Bryant Park market in Manhattan that holiday season and never looked back.
Today, f.y.b is sold in 300+ retail stores, has a growing brand ambassador program at college campuses across the country, and has been featured in Glamour Magazine, The Huffington Post, and NYLON to name a few. Recognizing the value of a strong female network in growing her business, Alyssa founded the company’s college brand ambassador program to provide the same sense of community to other young women, allowing them to build their resume in a meaningful way while building confidence in themselves and having access to mentorship and opportunities.
Handcrafted with semi-precious stones, 14k gold plated charms, and meaningful packaging - the f.y.b collection is designed to inspire women at any stage of life - whether a personal reminder to “keep aiming” for her goals, a fun bracelet set for a mother and daughter to share and feel connected by, or a pair of earrings that just make her feel beautiful - empowering women to follow their bliss through meaningful jewelry and positive female community is the heart and soul of the f.y.b brand.
Favorite motto or quote that keeps you inspired?
"If not now, when?"
This simple quote always reminds me that the time is NOW to make things happen. "Follow your bliss" is also my company's mantra and a guiding quote I've always referred to throughout my life. It's about following your intuition. We always know the right thing for us deep down, it's important to go through life leaning into that, trusting your gut, and exploring your passions. Finding your purpose is essential!
Book(s) that inspire you/your company?
"The Four Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferris
"The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle
"The Daily Stoic" by Ryan Holiday
"Start with Why" by Simon Sinek
These are a few of my all time favorites that I'm constantly recommending to friends and reading daily when I need to feel inspired. "Everything is Figureoutable" by Marie Forleo is another must read for anyone in business, starting a business, or needing a boost of inspiration and confidence to figure out their purpose.
Other content, music, anything that is inspiring you right now?
Motown and 70's disco mixes are my jam and instantly lift my mood. For summer, I'm a Third Eye Blind radio kinda gal :)
Who or what was the biggest motivator for you when you started your business?
My mom. She immigrated to the U.S. from China when she was 35 years old and started her life over. She worked so hard to provide a better life for herself and her children and has always served as living proof to me that you can accomplish anything with grit and determination. For her it was always a matter of survival - there was no time or space for letting doubt creep in and her influence on me growing up definitely inspired by confidence in myself and abilities to make any dream of mine happen.
How do you hope that your company can create a better world?
Through our meaningful pieces, positive community we've built through our college ambassador team, and inspiring content we share on our platform highlighting female role models - I hope my company inspires other women and girls to follow their own bliss in life. There's so much power in mentorship, storytelling and sharing the journey - being transparent and sharing the "how we got there" element that makes things feel more in reach, especially for girls who feel lost. That feeling is really what led me to creating my company and something I think women should embrace rather than feel fearful about. There's so much potential in the world today and the more we can uplift and motivate each other, the better of a world we can create! I also hope through our charitable partnerships and initiatives we can make a true impact for the incredible organizations striving to make a difference.
What has been the biggest highlight running your own company?
The biggest accomplishments for me have been getting to see my line in national retail stores, building a team of passionate people I admire, and having the ability to mentor and help young women find more confidence in themselves and their skill set through our ambassador program. Doing what you love everyday makes all the hard work WORTH it!
Favorite business tools that your company uses?
Slack, Trello, Planoly and Canva are what we use daily!
Favorite business/leadership podcast?
Marie Forleo, How I Built This, and Thrive by Design are three of my favorites!
Favorite other business/leadership resources?
We are Women Owned, She-Commerce, United Women in Business, and The Female Founder Collective.
What are your top three goals for your company this year? AND! How can the LWL Community support you in accomplishing them?
Our top three goals are:
To expand our retail presence, focus on more partnerships with like minded businesses
Open our first showroom to the public to invite customers to connect and shop with us in person.
I love the community LWL has created and would love to connect with other women in the community. I would also love to host a LWL event in our space or have help spreading the word about it through your community as we open! :)
What is one action you want every woman entrepreneur reading this to take this week?
What's really helped me combat overwhelm is to set realistic goals for myself - for the day, for the week, for the month, for the year. The more you break it down, the easier it is to knock things off your to do list and make progress!
If you're feeling inundated with things that need to get done, I'd say start with a mental dump of everything you're needing to do and then start breaking it up into chunks. Give yourself 3 priorities for the day and for the week that MUST get done and start scheduling everything else off in your calendar. Give yourself hard deadlines and have your team or a friend hold yourself accountable.
An action step would be to get really clear on what your vision and short-term / long-term goals are and make that list!
Your favorite other women led businesses we should know about?
Package Free Shop is an incredible business started by my friend Lauren Singer that sells sustainable and eco-friendly products to help others live a healthier, zero waste lifestyle. I love the work Lauren is doing to champion this movement and save the planet.
GOLDE is a line of super-food boosted products for health and beauty started by Trinity Mouzon, an amazing young entrepreneur that I adore!
I also love Crown Affair, founded by Dianna Cohen who is on a mission to make quality haircare products accessible and more celebrated as a self-love ritual for women.
All three are women are powerhouses who I deeply admire for their vision, passion and communities they've created with their brands!