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OUR STORY
KOUII® Pronounced; koi (Japanese Fish)
KOUII® is a women-owned and women-run athleisure wear & loungewear USA-based company. All KOUII ATHLOUNGE® products imported from Indonesia and designed/assembled in the USA.
Founded in a college dorm room in July of 2019, by 21 year old Taylor Smith with just only $269. KOUII® began its journey in Grand Rapids, MI, and relocated to Naples, FL in January of 2020. While going to school full time and working full time in a restaurant as a server, Taylor created and built KOUII on the side.
KOUII started small - using an iphone for photography, roommates as models, parking garages as a place to get content for instagram, and the extra cash from the restaurant to put towards more inventory to sell and to pay the cost of the website fee each month. "I didn't have attractive packaging, branding, labels, or anything really. I just needed to turn products as fast as possible at first in order to get the money from them to buy more, so I could eventually add customizations". Very little money came with a lot of work. "I knew leg work was free so I just did absolutely everything myself in order to make things work, I didn't have any money to pay anyone, not even myself"
After changing the logos 4 times, and the branding and slogan twice. Finally, after 2 years of saving some of the profits, KOUII officially trademarked their name "KOUII" as well as "ATHLOUNGE" which consist of the products and styles they are known for. Year over year growth promises a bright future for the team and what's yet to come.
BUILDING A TEAM
After moving across the country the work began in search of a team.
After 2 years of working full time as a server while trying to get KOUII off the ground, meeting new people, trial and error, and highs and lows, our team of 6 in-house individuals, and 2 remote teams, was established.
Each day we work towards growth, connecting with our customers, and sharing our story, in hope to inspire you to start theirs.
We aim to create a 'family-like' culture here at KOUII by building each other up, being there for each other when we need it, sharing our personal lives with one another, and spending time as a team to create lifelong bonds.
All of our designs are created in-house. They are designed by us, and created for you. All ATHLOUNGE® products create versatility and are designed to adapt to any style or environment
GROW WITH US
We focus on inspiring others to chase what they love, just like we did.
We push you to explore your passions and desires, to make your thoughts tangible, and to create yourself. We hope that you decide to, and when you do, you begin to thrive at whatever you have chosen, eventually becoming that person you have always wanted to be.
Our apparel represents the idea of becoming something more than an idea.
MEET THE FOUNDER
“the wrong direction is better than no direction”
I am Taylor Smith, the owner and founder of KOUII® Athleisure - Lounge LLC here is Naples, FL. KOUII® was founded when I was 21. I started KOUII® originally to fill a void within me when I felt like a passion of mine got stripped away from me mid journey. I started 2 small businesses before I ventured into KOUII® - They did not work out. I arrived at the creation of KOUII® in my college dorm room. The initial drive behind KOUII was to create something that absolutely nobody could take from me. I knew if I created something myself, I was the only one who could let it fail. No matter how hard you work for something, earn something, or deserve something - if its in someone else's hands its never really yours and it can be taken from you at any second. So KOUII® began.
The ORIGINAL message “Explore your potential, Thrive, Become” came from a place very deep inside me. These are the steps I took in order to find my true passion and act on them, It is the sole reason KOUII® exists today. I always say “the wrong direction is better than no direction” and I believe this because of my journey. I started with very little, $269 was all that I had to my name when I brought this to life - Don’t let anyone tell you that you need a lot of money to start a business, you don’t. All you need is the ability to adapt to any situation or environment.
Each step you take is a lesson, use those lessons to guide your path towards success and growth. Each second, day, month, and year is very precious in order for growth. You must change, adapt and learn fast in order to keep up. I created KOUII® to send a message to inspire those around me to "just start" and make your ideas tangible.
