Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Missy Kelly’s Impact Matrix for Success

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios. It’s time for Women in Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: I’m Lee Kantor here for another episode of Women in Motion. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories today on the show. We have Missy Kelly, who is the co-founder and CEO with CatTongue Grips. Welcome.

Missy Kelly: Thank you Lee. It’s wonderful to be here. Appreciate you having me on.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to get caught up with you. For folks who aren’t familiar, can you share a little bit about CatTongue Grips. How you serving, folks?

Missy Kelly: Of course. Yes. So I’m co-founder and CEO, as mentioned, a company called CatTongue Grips. And what we do is we produce non-abrasive non-slip products that essentially prevent items, people, animals, cargo from slip, sliding, spilling and dropping.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you talk about the genesis of the idea? How did this get started?

Missy Kelly: Oh, of course, of course. Well, it’s interesting because it happened way back in 2015 when my husband walked into a Verizon store to upgrade his phone, and he just noticed how slippery the back of the phone was. And of course, he made a comment to the salesperson and she tried to sell him insurance and not wanting another bill, the light bulb went on and he went to the nearby skateboard store, cut out skateboard grip tape and slapped it on the back of his phone. Later on, I said to him, what do you have going on here? This feels like a cat. It’s gonna scratch every surface. Like you can’t have it. So he challenged me to find something like it. Challenge accepted. Um, and I couldn’t. So that’s when we decided to make it. And we sourced a manufacturer. And it took about a year and a half and nine prototypes later, we had ourselves a material, and we launched the first foam grip in November of 2017. But what really started, um, was interesting because customers started then reaching out to us. Uh, we launched a laptop grip because they wanted something bigger. And then we started hearing questions. So, hey, can we cut this material? Can we use it on slippery tools? Can we use it in bathtubs? Can we use it under furniture? Uh, one woman even said, can we use it on my son’s hearing aids? So all of a sudden, it became clear that the value wasn’t just in the phone rep, but it was in the material itself. And that’s when we launched our product. It’s the Griffin rule where we put the product on a roll. So then the customer could cut it and use it wherever they needed to apply grip.

Lee Kantor: So when you started and this is a great lesson for entrepreneurs, um, you kind of saw it as a solution for phones, but then your customers kind of were telling you, hey, there’s more here. You may not be seeing it yet, but we have other needs. And you were just kind of following their suggestions.

Missy Kelly: 100%, I’d say we are a customer driven company that, um, actually parlayed to us meeting a man at an event. His name is Chris Waddell. He is a Paralympian. I it’s something like summer Winter Olympics. Nine medals. Hall of Famer has summited Mount Kilimanjaro in a hand cycle. Just incredible. And man. And he said to me that stuff falls off his lap in his wheelchair every day, and he could really use our products. So I sent him the laptop, the tablet and the new Egyptian roll that had just come out. And this is back in 2019. And he said when I checked in with him about two weeks later, he said, wow, Missy, you’ve created a life hack for the adaptive community that he was able to get in his car and put his phone on the dash and not worry about it falling between the seats or sliding off because of the product, the grips on the other side using it on his wheelchair footplate so his feet he could wear socks with confidence and ease. Um, also on his hand cycle. So all of a sudden, it became a greater mission for the company to really help people in their day to day living. And and that’s a testament to what you said. What started as a phone grip has parlayed into now a multiple seven figure global brand serving industries all the way from the adopted community to seniors aging in place, health care and now the US Navy.

Lee Kantor: And I think, again, this is a testament to your creativity and your adaptability. But you may be on the at the beginning of the journey. You would have been happy if you were, hey, we’re a leader in phone grips. And now, like you said, it’s become a mission and the why has gotten so much bigger. And it allows you to dream bigger because of how your customers are really kind of informing what you should do next. I mean, that must feel so rewarding.

Missy Kelly: It really is. It’s rewarding to have that greater mission and why. And you tapped into something as well is that as I worked on myself and my own mindset as a leader, and my vision for the company has gotten bigger. That’s how it seems. Everything has gotten bigger. Um, from, like you said, serving. We’re actually leaving tomorrow for our first international trade show we’ll be doing in Germany. So, you know, it started as a phone grip for my husband is now truly, uh, gone global. We export to Australia, we export to New Zealand, South America, of course, Canada. And now we’re taking the leap going over into the EU. So yes, but I had to expand my own mindset in order to become the leader I am today.

Lee Kantor: Now let’s kind of dive into that, because that’s also part of the journey for a lot of the entrepreneurs that listen to this. How did you like the first time a customer is like, hey, do it this way, and you’re like, okay, I guess we can do that. And then you just kept adding to it and you were seeing, you know, I guess it’s kind of slowly unveiling to you what it could be. When did you kind of lean into that and say, okay, this is where we are a bigger thing. We are we are on a path to being global. And now I have to maybe adjust some of the goals and some of the ways that I’m communicating to kind of live into that. We are as big as, as as it seems to be growing into.

Missy Kelly: Well, yes, I think that we are our own limitations. Right. And I love to say cat tongue. It’s it’s a she, she’s a she and she has a mind of her own. And it’s really been as opportunities have presented themselves. Uh, it’s living in that uncomfortable zone, trusting my own intuition. Intuition when to step through that doorway of opportunity. When to say yes. Trusting myself that I deserve and am worthy of a seat at this table. And that, um, as I mentioned, as I got more comfortable in my own role of CEO, as a leader, as really a woman owned business, it’s it’s just become incredible, the opportunities that have presented themselves.

Lee Kantor: So how did you kind of, um, manage that mind shift? The mindset shift was it did you have a coach? Was there something that you were just kind of a lifelong learner and you were reading everything like, how did you kind of, um, you know, navigate that path?

Missy Kelly: Well, I would say d all the above. Um, you know, we I think it’s very important to have mentors. Uh, entrepreneurship is a is a lonely journey. And so, uh, along the way, I had incredible mentors and still do, You. Um, and for me, definitely mindset was a key piece of it. And as we found ourselves more successful and more further reaching and growing from that idea and that zero revenue to, uh, multiple seven figure company today, uh, I really I, I had to grow into the mindset to have that and I’d get questions and or I do over the last year or so. Um, actually is really when I was speaking at an event in 2024 and I get the question, so how how are you able to hold it all together? How have you how have you been able to do this? You know, being a mother, being a wife, being a community advocate, a CEO, uh, being out there. And the secret truly is my mindset and tending to that each and every day And what I did was really dive in to my my own mindset and what I do to really strengthen it. And I created what’s called the impact matrix. And for us it’s a it each each letter stands for something where I is really that um, that intention, that vision. So having that North Star compass of where I’m going with the company, but also in the other areas of my life, in my health, you know, my relationships as well as my wealth and business. And then m having that mindset around it.

Missy Kelly: So really, um, I there’s two types of personalities. There’s the personality of scarcity and there’s the personality of abundance. And really diving in for myself, the limiting beliefs that keep us in that, um, that scarcity mindset where we want to be in the abundant mindset and working on that. Um, I’d say having purpose. That’s the key. It’s that why why do I wake up every day and, you know, go to work? And what drives me in this company, and it really is, as I mentioned earlier, uh, I have the purpose to help people across the world in their day to day living with our products. Uh, the A would be action. So, um, and I’d like to say some people call it inspired, some it’s aligned action where really, you know, we’re all just dreamers as entrepreneurs unless we’re taking the action. And I think that sometimes it’s easier to take action than others. But as long as consistently, consistently, excuse me, we’re taking action each day toward our goals that, uh, we’ll get there and then we’ll we’ll head into it as thi. That conviction, that belief. Uh, it’s a non-negotiable. Non-negotiable belief in myself and the belief in what I’m building with my team and the company. And then lastly, I think is probably the hardest is the trust. Just trusting that, um, I’m on the right path. And even though there may be fires to put out or obstacles that, uh, pop up trusting I am in the right place in the right time, and, um, and that the path will illuminate as I keep moving forward.

Lee Kantor: Now, how important was it, uh, to be part of this Riebeeck West community? How how does that fit into your journey?

Missy Kelly: We back west has been just an incredible part of the journey, I would say, because in our business, um, it’s been instrumental to getting us to where we are today. Um, for our business, we have four channels of revenue. We have, uh, we started with the wholesale retail. So that is on the Amazon, but also, uh, the Lowe’s, Home Depot, ace do at Best Stores. And, uh, we bank was instrumental in unlocking um, or those doors of opportunity through supplier diversity to get us on those shelves. Um, we also have another channel of revenue, which is on the B2B side. So we work with large corporations that use our product for safety in their facilities. And again, having those, uh, connections, those champions in supplier diversity that have, um, that now we’re working with SpaceX, Blue Origin, Sony Pictures Entertainment. Lance Dorsey was a huge advocate of ours in getting into the expendable stores on the Sony lot. So, um, lots, Lots of, uh, just relationship building through we back west. We also do a custom side of our business where companies come to us who love our material, but even for their own manufacturing process. And then lastly, now with the US government using that OSB certification to again, uh, get a seat at the table, right. It doesn’t guarantee you, uh, in the door or even, uh, on the shelves or that contract, but it’s it’s letting you get a seat at that table, having those supplier diversity advocates, uh, just championing us along the way.

Lee Kantor: Now, as part of, uh, your evolution, uh, are you doing anything with that impact matrix, um, as a standalone coaching or maybe sharing that kind of, um, the value of that in other entrepreneurs growth?

Missy Kelly: You know, I have hardly. It’s been amazing. This year I actually launched a new company called born for impact, and it is a speaking platform where now I’m asked to speak on mindset and share my own journey. Also, um, helping female entrepreneurs with mindset. And I actually have a free, um, event coming up, uh, which is called born for impact. Unlock your 2.0, which will it will be a virtual event so you can attend anywhere. It’s for one hour. Well, we’ll just dive into those key pieces of mindset that can help you release old identities that may be keeping you stuck and help you step in to that, uh, that version that’s calling to you in both your life and business. And that will be on December 9th, and I’m super excited about it. I did it earlier this year and it was very successful. And I actually have a 12 week mastermind that, um, where I take people through a deep dive into the impact matrix. So, um, a lot of things, uh, exciting things happening around this just so I can use what I’ve learned to help others a be even more successful than they already are, or b just really identify and break through the, um, being stuck or full of self-doubt or really just not knowing what’s next. So it’s been an incredible journey for me to be able to help others.

Lee Kantor: And you should consider doing, um, a session on branding and naming, because CatTongue Grips is one of the the most vivid imagery and on the nose naming of a product I’ve ever seen. So congrats on that.

Missy Kelly: Thank you. And again, it just it just one of those things it it’s that action piece right. It’s having that inspiration and and taking the action and and the name was part of that.

Lee Kantor: It’s one of those names where as soon as you say it, you know exactly what it is.

Missy Kelly: Well thank you. I definitely when we’re at trade shows, it’s either they know exactly what it is or it sparks curiosity and they come up and be like, what’s Cat tundra? So I think there’s two camps there now.

Lee Kantor: Is there, um, a place where our listeners can go to learn more about CatTongue Grips or learn more about, uh, taking that, um, the session that you described earlier about.

Missy Kelly: Of course. Of course. So, um, Captain Grips com is definitely where, uh, to go to really dive into, um, our website, everything about the product in the, um, product and different ways that you can use the product. And we, we have not only the one description role is our best selling product, but we definitely have a whole array. We have the black clear. We even have a new glow in the dark product. That’s been pretty exciting as well. And then the other side is Mrx Telecom. And even following me on social at Kelly, um, my personal, uh, Instagram. I definitely have a lot of, uh, that’ll be where the registration link will be. It will also be on Mrx Telecom.

Lee Kantor: Well, Missy, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Missy Kelly: Oh, well, thank you. And actually, I was just able to find the actual link which is born for impact llc.com. Yeah. And thank you. I appreciate you having me. It’s it’s always fun to chat with you, Lee. And, uh, and just, uh, be part of the we back West community.

Lee Kantor: And you’re you’re in Utah, right?

Missy Kelly: I am, I’m in Park City, Utah.

Lee Kantor: And that’s where next year I think the conference is going to be.

Missy Kelly: It sure will. It’ll be downtown Salt Lake City, which is about 40 minutes from me. And, um, Utah is so beautiful that time of year. Just perfect weather. Uh, it’ll encourage everyone to at least get up into the mountains maybe one day, or extend your trip. Uh, because I think it’s going to be an exciting time for us to all come together in the beautiful high desert of Salt Lake.

Lee Kantor: All right, well, looking forward to that. Well, thank you again, missy. It’s always great catching up.

Missy Kelly: Thank you. Lee. Appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time in Women in Motion.

Speaker3: Help us kick me off when I’m down.