Meet Kitti Maherin | Owner of Neko Squared

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kitti Maherin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kitti, what do you attribute your success to?
One of the most important factors behind our success is that instead of thinking to ourselves “what can we build”, we think “what do we want to build” and construct the “how” of it from there. We are not afraid to try new things and take risks in order to create engaging content for our audience. We’re enthusiastic about the process and delighted to learn skills along the way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
One of the most important things for us is creating engaging, thoughtful experiences that remove the audience from the day-to-day and take them somewhere truly special. We were founded by creatives and storytellers who started in theater, film, and narrative development. At the organization’s founding, 2009, we were all quite young- not yet out of college- so there were many lessons to learn along the way. How to lead, budget, build, and other tacit knowledge that comes with hands-on experience.

Currently, we are excited about the hybridization of our programming. Being able to integrate new technology into the interactive theater medium has truly been a rewarding development for us. We have a new project in pre-production that we are particularly thrilled about that is pushing us beyond what we had imagined for our audiences even a few years ago.

Varied, positive, and nuanced media representation of underrepresented demographics is particularly important to us. Part of Neko Squared’s mission is to create programming that features LGBTQ+ characters as leads, as well as in supporting roles, in ways that are thoughtful and well-crafted. Most members of our creative board are part of the community, so this part of our brand is both personally and professionally important to us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The natural beauty of Garden of Gods is unparalleled, truly a place that would be great to just get away from the world and write. To dine I would absolutely bring a friend to The Rabbit Hole- it’s on my schedule for when we tour Colorado Springs at the end of May. The chic atmosphere and delicious food is a perfect backdrop to a fun night out. During the day, a visit to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum would absolutely have a spot on my itinerary. As a queer woman, how could I not suggest ICONS -a trendy LGBT+ piano bar founded by two Broadway performers (Josh Franklin and John Wolfe)?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
All the thanks and glory goes to my amazing team. Neko Squared is only what it is today thanks to their dedication, tireless efforts, and ingenuity. They have sculpted and created truly unique experiences that would not be the same without them. Every day they teach me and each other how to be the best creators we can be.

Website: www.nekosquared.com

Instagram: nekosquared

Facebook: nekonekomaidandhostclub

Image Credits
J. Finity Photography Hiera Wyche Trish Noff