Meet Kynsi Saye | Business Owner, Graphic Designer and Personal Fitness Trainer

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

Hi Kynsi, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind the success of my brand has been the consistency and persistence in building it over the 5 years that I have owned it. I feel with anything, it takes time and patience to be successful and to build something that is sustainable. The first couple years of owning Kompass, there was not as much growth as I had hoped but I kept going and kept networking. It wasn’t until year 3 or 4 that I started experiencing the success of the brand and that is because I didn’t give up, I kept working on it every day and I was determined to make it a successful business.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am the creator and designer of Kompass Apparel. I design the artwork on my laptop and then I have a friend screen print it in Denver. My artwork is inspired by the outdoors and my adventures of traveling, hiking and exploring the world. I started by sketching out designs that I liked and then created them through Illustrator to then have them printed on clothing. Over the 5 years that I have owned Kompass, I have expanded into creating custom logos and apparel for small businesses including breweries, CrossFit gyms, chiropractors, yoga studios, dance teams, bakeries, boutiques and kombucha shops. It has taken a ton of time spent networking, learning what my target market will buy, trial and error and not taking it personally if it didn’t work out. There have been multiple times that I spend a lot of time on clothing designs that end up not turning out how I would have hoped or not selling as well as planned. But I have learned to overcome these challenges and am smarter when it comes to designing clothing, creating logos and color combinations that are going to do well and most importantly it has allowed me to gain confidence in myself and my work and I have gained clarity of where I see my brand going and my vision. I have learned to go with the flow and not limit myself to being just an apparel brand but to also expand to graphic design and helping small businesses grow!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to CrossFit Loveland to get a nice workout in. We would go hiking and running through the mountains. Some of my favorite places include Gem Lake, Dream Lake, Horsetooth Rock, the Mummy Mountain range and Lily Mountain. But really anywhere in the Colorado Mountains is worth exploring. Some of my favorite places to eat are the Rock Inn in Estes Park, Ed’s Mexican Food, Seedz Cafe or Salt & Lime in Steamboat & Cafe Athens. Some good places for drinks are Turtle Mountain Kombucha, Wave Brewing in Steamboat, Backyard Tap in Loveland or Sweetheart Winery.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents have been my biggest support system throughout my journey of building Kompass Apparel. They help me at almost all of my events and pop ups. I can count on them to pick up some inventory if I am short on time, help tear down or set up at a show if I double book myself and they always are the first to purchase my newest designs! They have restocked boutiques for me when I wasn’t able to and they have helped teach me a lot of the behind the scenes processes such as the accounting, finances and marketing. Not to mention, they allowed me to make our garage into the “Kompass Headquarters” while I was living with them. I can truly count on them for almost anything regarding my business!

Website: www.kompass-apparel.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kompass.apparel

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kompassapparelllc

Image Credits
Manuel Trujillo Geri Saye