The 6- figure decision-

Maya previously worked at a luxury- store Pierre Hardy as a retail assistant.

Given her experience working in jewelry stores, she noticed a gap in the jewelry market for hyposensitive pieces.

Most jewelry in the market was either too pricey or made from low-grade, hyper allergenic materials that gave her rashes.

That’s when she had the idea of starting an affordable, skin-friendly jewelry brand that would provide hypoallergenic pieces at affordable prices.

This came with her having to quit her day job within a month and a half.

She recalls people calling her insane-

“I was only a month and a half in [to my job] and I was sitting in the office with my two associates and I said, ‘I’m going to start a jewelry brand’ – and they thought I was insane.”

The 6 figure journey to a CEO-

Maya started with just $2000 to her name, but she was determined to prove that the risk would pay off.

When she finally launched her business, it took her more than 6 weeks to map the idea and to ‘get the process going’

When Kitten co jewelry started out, it sold a single style of ring and partnered with social media influencers to give it the required exposure.

Gradually her jewelry was getting noticed and were featured by other big names in the social media industry which led to an increasing sales influx.

That’s when she improved her pricing strategy, product sourcing, variety in her pieces along with the distribution cycle and made- according to her- one of the best investment of her life-

An online class- her best investment-

Maya recalls,

“Once I started to get a consistent $10,000 (£8000) a month, I knew this business could actually change my life in a real way.”

She reinvested her income into productive online classes covering advertising, tools required for running a business, expanding customer base and increased exposure.

In her opinion, the class that helped her win her business game was an online class taught by internet marketing entrepreneur Abu Fofanah

“That class alone scaled my company to a point that’s unimaginable. That $3000 class probably made me $700,000.”

And, as the business grew, her yearly salary scaled six figures. 

“From there, that ten grand became thirty grand (a month).”

And since then there was no looking back.

Maya’s Celebrity Moment-

kittencojewelry’s annual turnover in 2019 was $250,000 (£210,000), while in 2020 almost doubled to $472,000 (£396,000). 

Today kittencojewelry. functions with three employees- one including her mum who acts as a pillar of her business.

The business presents a variety of styles, and lines, all available in an affordable price range starting from $30 to $250.

Moreover, last year, Portrreal had her ‘celebrity moment’ when Saweetie-the rapper sported Kitten Co. Jewelry’s Maiko butterfly necklace in her official music video for the single “Best Friend,” with fellow rapper Doja Cat.

Is a day job necessary?

When Maya quit her job in 2020, she faced a choice- and she chose her business.

However, unlike other online gurus who claim day jobs to be completely unnecessary, Maya says otherwise-

‘“A day job gives you cash flow to risk it all. “A day job gives you the time to step out of your comfort zone.”