Rebelleution
Name: Kinsey Powell
UBC Major: B.Comm with an option in Entrepreneurship
Year in E101 class: 2014
Name of current business: rebelleution
What we do:
rebelleution is an envelope-pushing, avant-garde apparel company that uses ferocious curiosity to create disobedient designs that engage and inspire on a meaningful and rebelliously intelligent level. We create our own private collection, are sponsored by patrons for commissioned works, and generate online content that uses humor and a healthy dose of sass to communicate our journey as an organization.
Why this particular business:
There is something very powerful about physically putting something on your person. Apparel can be an expression of your thoughts, values, and self-image—and can often be a representation of culture and society, as a whole. However, when I looked at the young people in my life and compared it to the apparel we were being sold, I saw a major disconnect. The people I know and love are passionate, bold, intelligent, rebellious, and engaged. The apparel we were sifting through at the mall was bland, repetitive, and derogatory. So, I decided to create my own line—something with sass, humor, intelligence, and intrigue.
Biggest day-to-day challenges as an entrepreneur:
Balance is always a struggle. I am still in school and have a lot of commitments such as JDC West and T.A. positions—not to mention wanting to hang out with friends. I find it is important to schedule downtime and treat social events as important as work commitments, just to make sure I do get some time to relax and be social—because the more balanced I am, the better business person I am.
Greatest delights in being an entrepreneur:
Every day is an adventure. Sometimes the road is bumpy, but I’m always learning more and becoming better. However, my favourite part of being an entrepreneur, beyond the learning curve, is really seeing where I have created value. When someone reaches out and tells us how much they love our product or identify with our online content, it reminds me why we started this whole thing: to create an unapologetic community of rebels and visionaries, who treasure the world for what it is and are inspired to pursue what it can become.
Four key pieces of advice you would give to future entrepreneurs:
1. Trust your intuition: You may not always be right, but learning to listen to and trust yourself is an important skill for any entrepreneur.
2. Stick to Your Core: There are going to be challenges and speed bumps along the way, but don’t give up on your core. There is a difference between pivoting towards a new opportunity and giving up on something because it is hard.
3. NETWORK: This is in all-capitals for a reason. It is so important. Don’t just network with people in your industry or people who you think are ‘valuable’ to you at the moment. Pursue interesting people who you love chatting with over coffee. That’s where you’ll find knowledge, opportunity, and most importantly, build friendships.
4. Laugh It Off: Literally everything is going to go wrong at some point. Don’t take yourself too seriously. In most stressful situations, you can either choose to laugh or cry. Always laugh.
Where you see yourself going as an entrepreneur in the future:
I would love to run rebelleution for a long time; there is so much I want to do with our brand and products, but who knows? That’s one of the wonderful things about entrepreneurship: you never know where it is going to take you and I’m open to all of the possibilities. I hope I run a lot of very different businesses throughout my career—and learn as much as I can, while meeting as many people as possible. I’m going to go where my passions take me, and wherever that is: it will be an adventure.
