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Welcome to Founded On Purpose, the podcast where business meets impact. Hosted by Kt McBratney of Renew VC, each episode features founders, investors, and ecosystem builders answering the same set of questions. While the questions stay the same, the insights and conversations are always unique and thought-provoking. Join us to explore how these innovators are aligning profit with purpose.
Kt McBratney: [00:00:00] Hi everyone, and welcome to Founded on Purpose, the show where we get to know the people working to align business and impact, profit, and purpose. I'm your host, Kt McBratney. Each episode, we ask a different person building an interesting company, the same set of questions. Some are founders, some are funders, some are players making the ecosystem thrive.
And while the questions are the same, the answers and the conversations they open up are wildly different and wonderful. Today, our guest is the queen herself, Chrystal Graves, the founder and CEO of Liquid, a decision engine, helping salon owners increase their profits and build bigger businesses. Chrystal, welcome to the show.
Chrystal L. Graves: Hello. Hello. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you.
Kt McBratney: Okay. So you're known as a dynamic and accomplished expert in the beauty industry. You worked in it for over a decade and you've done what many people aspire to build a successful multi site salon. You served the most [00:01:00] diverse set of clients and eventually you were able to have that business acquire.
You're also a renowned coach and the leader of what I've just started calling the S. L. A. Y. Army. A group of salon owners, stylists, and coaches who care as much as you do about being profitable and being inclusive. All of that said, the first question I have for you, Chrystal, What is your purpose in one word?
Chrystal L. Graves: Joy.
Kt McBratney: Say more. What does joy mean to you?
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, joy means to me living in my radically authentic self. So it means being able to bring all of me to every conversation, every moment, every place and space that I occupy. I am without ever having to like compromise [00:02:00] who I am at my core to fit the mold, it just brings me joy.
Kt McBratney: Have you always been like that? Like, has that always been a motivating factor in living in your authenticity has been, or is that something that developed, like, along your, like, very clear business success?
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, so I would say that, Living for things that bring me joy has always been a thing. Like I'm a person that had a hundred jobs when I was younger, because I would be like, you only live once and I'm not going to wake up every day and be miserable.
So like, if I was miserable at a job, I'd be like, eh, I'm looking for another job. Um, which, um, really helped me in entrepreneurship because I did a million jobs before I got into entrepreneurship. Um, so I would say joy has always been an underlining thread throughout my life, but radically authentic came later.
With the excess of validation that I am a great business owner, that I am a great mom, um, that I am a great human like over time, and [00:03:00] that I was only made as an individual, so who else can I be but myself, and that's what I'm meant to be. So, yeah.
Kt McBratney: Well, this might be related to that because joy plays into this, this next question.
So number two, what is your most recent win? And you can interpret that however you will. It could be professional. It could be personal. It could be a bit of both.
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, I would say my most recent win, it kind of plays into the professional and personal side. So as a mom, I've always, I have three children and I found great humans and I've always instilled in them the ability to, um, Have tell me the best way to put it, the, uh, where they are self motivated, where they are independent.
That's the word I've always instilled in them independent and thinking and action and being. And as I am preparing to leave for a while, which is like a huge [00:04:00] when. Um, it was like, oh, man, this is what I've been preparing for. And it kind of sounds really weird. It's like the moment that as a parent, I always tell people, like.
You don't realize how well you did until they're away from you, or you're away from them. And then you see all the things, the values that you instilled in them actually come to life because you're not there to guide them. Um, and they're on their own. So I would say that's kind of a current wing that's like, I'm going to the new great adventure for my company.
Um, and then as a, as a mom, as a parent, I'm like, I feel good that my kids are independent enough. Um, that they'll be okay without me for a while.
Kt McBratney: The parallels and the lessons that can cross between parenting and being a founder, as a parent and former founder myself, like, it's the two things in my life, and I'm like you, I've done so many different jobs, hey McDonald's, um, this is my first job, um, but like, [00:05:00] those are the two things in all of the different places I've sat, the different, Like literally and figuratively the different roles I've held the different identities that I've had Feel the most similar even though they're wildly different And so that like ability to be able to step away and see Them blossom into who you hoped they they would be is that's a huge win.
Chrystal L. Graves: Thank you. Thank you
Kt McBratney: Now, okay You operate in an area in an industry that everybody knows everybody knows salons. We've all spent time in them You You know, the frequency depends, but like people are familiar with salons, but most people are not at all familiar with the salon business side of things, right?
What is the single biggest missed opportunity in your field?
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, customer service.
Honestly, I think that within the industry, Where [00:06:00] we're here to serve people. Somehow we've forgotten that we're in the service industry and that if you can just make people feel seen, heard, and belong, you will have lifelong clients.
And being able to fill a purpose that not only makes you happy, but lines your pockets as well.
Kt McBratney: And that's something we've talked about a bit, is this idea that, like, a lot of salon owners didn't start out in the industry because they wanted to, like, manage spreadsheets, right? They wanted to serve people and be creative and all of that.
How do you think it gets lost in the busyness or the thick of everything that comes with managing a business? Or do you think it's a personality thing? Where do you think that happens?
Chrystal L. Graves: Honestly, I think it happened at the beginning. I often tell people that cosmetology schools that have to fail from the start.
Again, we started businesses to do what we love with hair and there's so much more in the full circle in business. And if you've never worked a job where you do customer service, even if you're [00:07:00] working, you don't know what that looks like. And there's no blueprint or book that teaching you that part. Um, and then the other part is that you're also wearing all of these hats.
And sometimes Those small pieces get lost under the, um, umbrella of all the big things, the payroll, the people, the product, the, you know, those big things that you have to do, those big decisions, that some of the small ones that seem small get lost, like customer service.
Kt McBratney: Okay, this is off the list, but whatever.
It's our podcast. We can do what we want What has been like a really remarkable customer service experience you've had where you were like, oh these people get it Because like I think that that's to your point. There's no rule book. There's best practices You can read things you can listen to you can be trained like sure there are there are things out there But like so many things in my world and community and brand It's also such a feeling, right?
Like, you [00:08:00] know, it, when you see it, you know, it, when you don't see it. So like, what's, has there been an experience lately where you were like, this person gets it a plus plus customer service, people be like her.
Chrystal L. Graves: Absolutely. I would say, um, it was actually an experience at a hotel recently. And it was really from the moment that I arrived at the, the front, I was greeted by someone who took my bags and that person like asked me how my day was.
It wasn't even about the service that they were doing around, like, taking in my luggage. It was about me. Like, it was almost like they weren't just there to do the job. They were there to make sure that I was okay. approach to like me. So they asked me how I was doing. Um, and then they passed me off and they were like, Oh, this is Chrystal.
She's here, you know, from, you know, Missouri. And it was like this very awesome, like. Welcome home kind of feeling like it wasn't just [00:09:00] about being there, but like your family in a way. So, like, he passed me off to the front desk person and she gave me all the tidbits and all the things and not just about the hotel, but about the city and and, um, key factors that made me feel like I was going to be at home in the area.
I was in. So it was a small thing, but it wasn't about necessarily. What the hotel was providing me, which was like a room and board, but about Them wanting to give me more and making sure that Chrystal was okay, like, holistically.
Kt McBratney: I think that's like, it's something I, I feel like as someone on the record pushing back against productivity and hustle culture as like, do more, do more, do more.
Oftentimes to me, it feels like we can lose the human element. Like, this is a full, independent person who is the main character in their own movie of their life. And we see people as like, just our relationship to them and like the sense of [00:10:00] belonging, right? Like that's a foundation of brands. That's a foundation of community.
That's a foundation of service. Um, And I would say like a bedrock of being inclusive is making people feel like they belong and they're seen. And that's something else that like I've always, I've always admired in the way that you approach your work. It's, it's not about inclusion as a box to be checked or just one piece.
It's baked into how you, like you as Chrystal, not you as a founder, a CEO, a tech builder. It's how you as Chrystal as a person show up in a space.
Absolutely, and I thank you
Chrystal L. Graves: for that. And I agree. I tell people all the time, like when our industry started having conversations around inclusivity, I was like, it's so interesting because it wasn't a conversation actually that I ever had, it wasn't like, I want to make everybody feel welcome.
It was literally like, this is just who I am. And so because it was naturally who I am, it was in the heart of the company, the brand, and it just naturally [00:11:00] just what we did. And then until it was like. Oh, this thing is being talked about, then I can like point it out within our company. But it was literally just like, that's me.
So it just came through at the heart of, of, of our company.
Kt McBratney: Which is so important. And it's like in tech, which can be so, for, for better and for worse, like oftentimes we take out some people elements to gain efficiency, to gain speed, to gain better results. And also. We have to intentionally keep that inclusion in, which also I'm so excited to see how you do that as Liquid continues to like evolve and develop and, and grow as not just a company, but as a product, because I think that that's, that's the Chrystal magic.
Chrystal L. Graves: Absolutely. And believe me, that is very, very top of what is the core of our heart. I call it a brand heart, like the core of our brand heart and who we are. Um, it's about the [00:12:00] people. And really empowering the people to be better salon owners. And in order to do that, we have to really approach them from the holistic place, not just from the place of business.
Kt McBratney: Which it sounds like common sense when you say it like that. I feel like everybody's probably like, yeah, of course. And also common sense isn't, isn't as common.
Yup, it's true. It's true. Alright, we're gonna switch gears slightly. Because you are such a person that believes in radical authenticity, I feel completely safe to ask you somewhat of a bold question. Some folks get a little like, ooh, when we get here. The fourth question, we're halfway through. When was the last time you were wrong?
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, the last time I was wrong was this morning. And, um, it's so interesting because I'm reading this book called The, um, Mastery of Self. Um, and it's written by the same person who wrote the four [00:13:00] agreement and it's kind of like going back to what you said about being a part of like your own story. So we're living in our own stories and sometimes we're so concerned with our stories that we just like the people around us just play a part in it.
And so this morning my mom expressed some discomfort around something and I immediately was like getting my dogs ready, we're taking a walk and I was just like dismissive. Of like how she was feeling. And after she walked away, I immediately reminded myself, like, she was just a character in my story and that moment was like driving me crazy and I was wrong.
And so I needed to go back and apologize and say, Hey, I'm sorry. Like, what can I do to like help you? Um, and so really for me again, being present in the thing and then realizing in the moment when I'm wrong, that it's okay to go make it right. Like actually go make it right.
Kt McBratney: They were like, Eight [00:14:00] amazing lessons probably like woven into that one story.
And I love that and really respect that you, one, were so authentic with it. And, and. Talk about like, we're wrong in our personal lives. We're wrong in small ways. We're wrong in big ways. And it's really like how, how we navigate that. Like, I was wrong about something today. Cause I thought I wouldn't be able to record this podcast.
Cause my other camera wasn't working. And I was like, I can't do it without the fanciest piece of tech I have. What am I going to do? And then I was like, no, no, no, no. People aren't here for my video. They're not here because I've got a camera. They're here because I want to hear what you have to say. And like.
It was a good lesson in getting out of my own way to be like, let the show go on. Not that it must go on. Right. Cause like wellness is another shared, shared value between us, but like showing about main character syndrome is a thing.
Chrystal L. Graves: I know that I'm going to, I'm going to borrow it.
Kt McBratney: Please. I borrowed it from someone.
I don't know who, but thank you. Whoever's out there. If I can find a link, I'll drop it [00:15:00] in the show notes and be like our recommendations. All right. So with that conviction in mind. Question five. What is a hill you would die on? Something you believe in and you were like, this is something I will not compromise.
I will absolutely go to bat for this belief, this idea, this value, this whatever it is.
Chrystal L. Graves: I would say that right now in today, um, I would go to bat when it comes to Liquid around making sure that we include everyone often in order to get somewhere faster. Like you said, we kind of cut out the people element, like the hill that I will die on it, that this product will be for the salon owners who dream of more, no matter what their business model is, their background is.
I want to make sure that they have access, um, to what we're building. So that's a hill that I will [00:16:00] die on. And
Kt McBratney: how do you go about doing that? Like knowing that in coaching, similar to startups, like people are always like niche, niche, niche, niche, get super focused. Obviously you've got to focus. It's salon owners who want more.
Right. That's not everyone on the planet. Like. I don't own a salon. So me trying to get me to use Liquid, probably not a good use of your time and resources, but like, how do you go about doing that in the day to day of building a company and being that like decision maker on a team?
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, honestly, it's, it's understanding like what we're doing and why we're doing it and being able to ask ourselves with every decision and choice that we're making is that.
Um, holding up our why we're doing the thing and what we're hoping to achieve by building what we're building. And if we look at it from the consumer side of the salon, it's like about we reference like niche. [00:17:00] One of our values is success through the power of self determination. So I understand that even as we create a product that everybody.
May not see themselves in it, or maybe they will, but it's your success is based on the, your self determination of actually doing the work. Like, my line in the stand is like, we all have to like, do the work, like, Um, and not in the host and the hustle way, because I'm big, I'm like, I totally like manifest and visualize my entire day and then I put it in action with the intersection between visualization and action that create, you know, the life that I want.
Um, so I think just understanding what we're doing, why we're doing it, doing it and who we're doing it for will always keep keep that alignment.
Kt McBratney: This is what I love about these conversations, and it's things like that come [00:18:00] out, practices, tools, beliefs, mindsets. You know, some of them are very tangible, like some people are like, yeah, I use this program or this, whatever.
But really, we get to peel back the layer and not just get to know you, as a human, who is being Building a business, but also learning how you get to where you're going, how you're defining success and how you're working towards it. And there, there is a lot of content and narrative in the startup world that is prescriptive and says, follow these five steps and you'll build your company's social following to 50 K in two days, follow this steps.
And you'll immediately. Raise a million dollars. Like there's these things that say that you need to share a certain framework. The day to day of the job, the minute to minute of the job of building a company, building something from an idea and a belief and an experience is so personal and we can borrow from those best practices.
But I found that it's as important to like hear other ways, like how other people navigate the day to day of, [00:19:00] of tackling something really big. And it's more than just saying, I followed three steps. Click like to find more right like and and so You know, you know that the clickbait of the formulas that I'm talking about and they work like I've worked in social I totally understand it and at the same time like what works for one person is not gonna work for another person and Timing is different.
There's all these different variables And so I love here I did not know that about you that you like visualize a manifest and but you marry that with action like you were You live in both, it sounds like, at the same time. Yes. Does your team do the same?
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, I think so. I think so. It is definitely what surrounds me.
And I think one of my team members said something, um, one day on a phone call after. Um, I don't know when this will air, so I don't know what I can say.
Kt McBratney: It will air later. You can say, you can say the things.
Chrystal L. Graves: Okay, so after our team was preparing for our screening interview with tech stars on the call, I said, I was like, oh, you guys were in, like, this is going to be [00:20:00] just a formality.
Like, we'll do great, but we're in. And so after we had this screening call, um, my team member, Stephanie and I got on the call and Stephanie was like, oh, it went great. And she's like, I just want to say to you, like, I have been a founder of a company. I'm a founder now. I would never tell my key like in such a like enthusiastic way that that we're in like your, your confidence and conviction.
I was like, Oh, I already manifested it. And there's this idea, like, no matter what you believe in practice, like, if you have faith in something. Like, you don't sway. So just say, I don't, you know, whatever you believe in, it's constantly listening to you, right? And so you say, like, we're going to do this thing and then right at the end of that sentence, you have this doubt in your mind.
Where it's like, okay, so what are we doing? Like, are we doing the thing or are we not doing the thing? Like, I don't know. You just gave me, like, mixed signals and then you constantly put it out in the ethos [00:21:00] that, like, you doubt yourself and you doubt this thing. Like, And then that's just like confirmation confirmation over over again.
So for me, I'm a person who literally I'm in my room. I have, and I didn't used to be like this, but I have a vision board of everything and everyone that I work with, like. Our vision board people, and it was a happenstance because I find this out later because I'm, um, but everything on my vision board is there.
Like it's happened and this didn't start my first one. I'm looking at it was in 21. Um, and before that, I was like, oh, that's so stunning. I don't know why people do that. And now I'm like, I visualize, I write it down, I manifest it, I talk about it every day, and I talk about it as if it's done. And I want to surround myself with people like that, and not this toxic positivity thing, because I'm not like, I'm bored with that.
Like, stuff happens and things are not always great, but understanding that life happens for [00:22:00] me, not to me. And even when things bad happen, it's like, What's the lesson in this? And failure is just an opportunity to learn. And it was a lesson that I needed to get to the next level of whatever that is.
Kt McBratney: Yeah.
This idea that success and failure are opposite poles and that there's one or the other, there's nothing in between, there's no degrees, there's no nuance. And it's, it's so fascinating to me still that people are just like, either you're a billion dollar company or you failed. I feel like if you get a 500 million dollar company, that's still a, that's one kind of success.
If you're living a fulfilling life, that's one kind of success. Like, it's all, it's all in how um, my brilliant friend Jen says you tilt the prism. It's not that you're looking through a different lens or from a different perspective. It's like you're tilting the prism and seeing that there's multiple different things happening at once.
And we can, we can, yeah. We have choices. We have action. Even when, [00:23:00] even when things are not looking like they're in our favor. All right. This is one of my favorite questions because so you, you know, the team at pixel recess, uh, even the name itself, our venture studio, like we value. Play. We know that like, work is not, and it's not even that like, hustle culture, that toxic positivity of like, work hard, play hard, but we know that great ideas come, great relationships happen, sparks fly, where you also give yourself time to play, time to experiment, explore, imagine, tinker, step away from a screen, oh my gosh, shocking, right?
Like, How, how dare we, how do you play?
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, I play, uh, in two ways. So I have a 10 year old daughter and she's an artist. And so we play by like drawing and artwork and my whole house is filled with like her artwork. So that's the way that I play. And then the other way is dancing. Like I [00:24:00] love dancing. I love live music.
Um, small crowds. So that's the way that I just like. Get back to, um, the kid like thing. Um, and so anything that's like, I say on kickball league. So anything that's considered like things that we did as children that brought us joy, that's how I play. Like literally like true play. Um, and that's what, and I didn't do that for a very, very long.
Um, and I think that is how you said, like finding that joy layer. When I learned how to be a child again in places and spaces. It really created and unlocked a creativity and a freedom that I'd never felt before as an adult.
Kt McBratney: And when we think about like, like when I think about you, there's such an energy, there's positivity, there's, but there's like this, there is this joy that come, comes from you.
Even before I knew what I know now or what I knew, you know, just meeting you for the first [00:25:00] time. And yeah, I think about that too. Like sometimes I go on a walk and people are like, Oh, so you can take calls or so you can like listen to a podcast or so you can, I'm like, no, I literally walk around and I noticed things that I wouldn't notice if I was connected to something else or trying to have an objective.
I'm all about efficiency. Like love it. Love her. And also sometimes like. A pretty flower or a cool bee can just be appreciated for that. And like, it's, I love that, like returning to that childlike place. Like, why do we have to, yes, we can be serious business people. We can build wildly successful companies and have massive impact in the world and on profits and why not also be able.
Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna hit you up for a playlist recommendation, and if you have any that you're willing to share with the audience, I will absolutely share that, because I have a feeling you've got some pretty sweet mixes.
Chrystal L. Graves: I don't, so that is like false. So what's [00:26:00] funny is, when I go dance, it's like, it's the, it's the vibe of wherever I go.
So it's the live music vibe, whatever the flyer says, at home, I only listen to like affirmational music. Like, and a little bit of, like, Mary J. Blige, um, and some old school R& B and hip hop. But for the most part, my entire playlist is, like, Tony Jones, L'Oreal, like, which is a genre that just came out about, maybe six years ago?
But I've met just about all the artists in the genre, like, it is truly, like, straight affirmational music.
So I will send you that playlist.
Kt McBratney: I love that. Also early adopter. You're an early adopter here. Building community, being inclusive. I love it. There's this, the thread goes outside of the company. It started long before the beauty career and, and, and Liquid.
Chrystal L. Graves: Yeah. Very much so.
Kt McBratney: All right. So with that in mind, actually, this is, this is a really [00:27:00] cool. Transition thinking about affirmational music and that genre, but also where you sat with all of your different experiences. How do you know what advice to take? Because everybody's got some and they will give it to you whether you want it or not.
How do you navigate that?
Chrystal L. Graves: Man. So what I would have said before I was a founder of a tech company is like, I knew a lot. So I knew a lot. And I knew to take the information and sit through what resonated with my business, what made sense to me with my values, you know, that was great. Um, and now being a tech founder and being one after like 462 days, because I count them by day, Um, it is really listening to the information, processing it, sitting with it, and then waiting 72 hours before I make a decision and choice that impacts the business.
Um, because this is really ambiguous. Like, I don't know if anyone has ever said this about tech phonics, and they are [00:28:00] ambiguous. But goalpost is always moving and validation is different depending on who you're talking to. So for me, it's like understanding the source that the information is coming from, understanding, you know, is the, what I know to be true about the information and about our company and where we're going and then what I, what is important and valuable to me as Chrystal.
So it's all of those things.
Kt McBratney: That's amazing advice. That's amazing advice about navigating advice. It's like, I said as I was saying it, I was like, is that, is that making sense? All right, we are on question eight, where we're, uh, I was going to use a baseball analogy, but it fell out of my head. So we're going to keep going because radical authenticity.
What is your favorite part of your job? But first, what's your [00:29:00] least favorite part? Cause you know, not everything, you're wearing all the hats all the time.
Chrystal L. Graves: I would say my least favorite job is like email and like, yeah, like literally like. Oh my God, if somebody can answer my emails, I can literally probably do just about everything else.
Um, emails and mail and my calendar. Those two things, like, if someone can manage those, I'm actually talking to someone today. Um, and this, this company, it's a new software company, they manage both home and work. Uh, which is different, so I'm super excited about that. But, uh, that's what I would say my least favorite part is.
Kt McBratney: I don't think, like, honestly, if somebody ever gets on the show and says that the favorite part of the job is the inbox and the calendar, I will, like, just stop and I don't even know what I'll do. I think I will just have a brain break because the [00:30:00] struggle is real. Now, what about, what, what about your favorite parts?
I know you love so much of what you do.
Chrystal L. Graves: Honestly, my favorite part is talking to the salon owners and hearing their stories and then being able to provide a solution, whether that's based on the knowledge that I know. Or what we've created so far with our decision engine and seeing them light up because it truly is, um, related to their business.
It's not this, like, big, ambiguous thing. It's truly, like, I listened to them, I shared what was impactful for them, and then they could actually apply it and it would make a difference. So being able to, like, Really make an individual difference with just the conversation.
Kt McBratney: That, that idea of building with, not just for, I love that.
I love that. Okay. To close this out. Obviously you've, you've gained fans just by listening to this. If people have gotten this far [00:31:00] in the episode, they're just like, I'm sure they're like, yes, sign me up. Uh, I want to be Chrystal's like fan club. Where, where can people find you? How can they learn more about Liquid?
How can, what's, what's the best channels for them to follow your journey? Plug away.
Chrystal L. Graves: Oh, my goodness. So if you want to hang out with me, um, and really all on Instagram at the Chrystal Graves, um, and if you want to follow the journey of Liquid infused with the Chrystal Graves, you can follow up on Instagram at @GetLiquidAI
and you can follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook, um, under Liquid.
Kt McBratney: I love it. And we will drop all of those links in the show notes. Uh, we, we understand it's a lot easier to give a clicks and sometimes to type it out and want to make sure that, that everybody can access these amazing resources and follow you on your journey.
Because like, It's going to be amazing. I can't wait to follow the joy, see what comes next. And thank you so much for bringing all the magic that is you. And that is of [00:32:00] course, fueling Liquid to the show. This was just such a treat to get this time to chat with you.
Chrystal L. Graves: Um, thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here and allowing me to share my journey, um, with your community.
Can't wait to hang out.
Kt McBratney: See you next time.