"Together Talks" feature # 89: VKTORI presented by KLS, freight company
Some Background on VKTORI
Today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS had the opportunity to interview VKTORI and Founder, Keona Moy. They have engineered a patent-pending, skin and sensory wearable solution for women in the workplace who choose not to wear a bra or who cannot due to medical conditions like inflamed skin from eczema or sensory sensitivities from being neurodiverse. VKTORI addresses two key issues: firstly, the discomfort of wearing a bra, and secondly, the mental discomfort caused by visible nipples. Concurrently, they are building a neuro-inclusive company from the ground up, believing neuro inclusivity to be a competitive advantage.
Kickstarter to launch
Keona began her journey while consulting for a healthcare brand. She shared that her professional wardrobe came with struggles due to her sensitive skin. She sought a solution for what she called "a base layer of uncomfortability." Her ideal was not wearing a bra, a challenging prospect in her job setting. In 2022, she launched a Kickstarter campaign. After a successful run, she brought her product to market in November 2022. Keona described the exhilaration of launching her company, saying, "It felt amazing knowing I could start something with no background and follow through on my word. This entire journey has allowed me to build self-confidence." She emphasized that seeing a goal through is one of the most underrated aspects of entrepreneurship. Despite challenges, she said it has provided her the biggest self-confidence boost of her life.
Innovation and Purpose
While competing with other braless apparel brands, Keona believes VKTORI's all-inclusive approach sets them apart. The products are particularly beneficial for individuals suffering from Eczema or ADHD. "We design for the extremes and make a comfortable shirt for them and, as a result, everyone else," Keona explained. VKTORI's focus is on providing support-free and nip-concealing apparel.
Keona believes that their approach is relatable, crediting her appropriate tone. "I suffer from the exact thing we are solving. It allows me to speak to customers from the same pain point. We speak the truths of what we have had to endure and how this solves such a huge problem for others with our bodies, nipping," Keona said. She mentioned how entering an industry with no prior knowledge initially seemed a hindrance, but it actually provided her with a fresh perspective for creating innovative solutions. Her mission is to integrate these solutions into VKTORI's culture.
Partner with KLS
KLS offers LTL and FTL for both dry and reefer transportation.
Our nationwide coverage provides companies a reliable, consistent, and dependable logistics partner to handle your trucking needs.
For more information on how we can help call our office today 708-980-0920 or reach us via our email quote request here!
Challenges
Being a startup, VKTORI faced challenges in funding and financing inventory. Educating consumers has been difficult as the product appears like a regular t-shirt from the outside. The innovative technology is only experienced when felt or worn. Keona recounted a period when an investment plan, which was expected to take the company to the next level, fell through. "After our successful Kickstarter, we hired a lawyer for the investor. I thought everything was ironed out, but it fell through. It felt like a giant loss at that moment. But looking back, there is a saying of 'don't sign with the first interested investor', which is tongue in cheek. But what I realized, reflecting after, was knowing my value when an investor is interested in my company rather than just agreeing to everything for their capital," she shared. This experience was a lesson in resilience and growth as a founder.
Self buy-in
A significant personal moment for Keona was her father's health scare. He was initially given a year to live after being diagnosed with cancer, but fortunately, a second opinion revealed a more positive outcome. For four months, Keona thought she was going to lose her dad. "I realized I was worried about what others thought of me and wasn't doing what makes me happy. Everybody has a moment in life where they are not going to take any shit anymore and go for what they want. This was mine," Keona shared. She acknowledged that she was in her own way until this internal shift occurred. After being laid off from her career, she saw it as a sign from the universe to go all in on VKTORI.
Keona divulged that embarking on this journey has been the "biggest self-development journey" of her life. "Whatever happens with my company, I'll come out of this a better human," she said. Being a founder forces you to face your demons, evolve, and adapt. Betting on yourself, she noted, removes the cushion and forces you to chase what you truly want. "It is incredibly scary, but when you actually make that jump, it is really freeing," Keona added.
Creating her path
Raised in a household of immigrant parents, Keona was taught values not conducive to entrepreneurship. "I was taught to keep my head down and work hard. Also, Asian women are generally viewed as quiet in media. The opposite of what a Founder needs to be," she said. Overcoming this conditioning was a challenge, but essential for her transformation into the CEO of her company.
Keona believes there are two limiting factors for aspiring entrepreneurs: money and mindset. Being small allows for adaptability and creativity. She advised cherishing the time when you can be scrappy, as being resourceful pushes you to become a better version of yourself.
Triumphs and Advice
Triumphs and AdviceA moment of triumph for Keona was getting accepted into an accelerator program. "Washington Technology Industry Association accepted me. Getting access to their platform, I realized the opportunity to scale the company and expand into the tech space, being a fashion company. Having a patent-pending design and another patent-pending prototype makes us a very unique company within the fashion space," she explained. VKTORI offers a skin-sensitive solution for women in the workplace without a bra.
Keona's parting piece of advice was: "You know best, trust your intuition. A lot of people give advice, and you will seek a lot of advice, but you started your company for a reason. There wouldn’t be a company without you. Overthinking keeps you up at night. Be confident in your decisions and trust yourself."
Interested in being featured with "Together Talks"?
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Contact us as we would love to learn your story and share it amongst our audience.
Weekly we provide 2 companies our platform to expand their reach courtesy of our campaign. Let's collaborate!!!
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Keona Moy, Founder, of Vktori for today's "Together Talks" feature. Keep up to date with Vktori by following their blog on their website, check it out here. Follow along for the Vktori journey with their social handles below!
Klimson Logistics Solutions - Together Talks with Vktori feature # 89
*Klimson Logistics Solutions is an Industry Leading Customer Service 3PL. Our focus and commitment to our clients has us striving to be the BEST customer service 3PL for LTL, FTL, Reefer, and Drayage in the country. KLS, freight company, is a 3PL providing nationwide logistics solutions. KLS shipping services include: LTL freight, FTL freight, Reefer LTL freight, Reefer FTL freight, and Drayage. Klimson Logistics Solutions thanks you for viewing our marketing campaign, "Together Talks". If you have any interest in being featured or questions regarding your freight operations please contact us today!
Why KLS?
Our precise and reliable effort.
We handle every shipment with the exact same process. It does not matter if you move one shipment a year or ten per day, you will receive the same level of customer service from us. When we started this company, we had one goal in mind, treat every shipment like it was our own. With our vast knowledge of the industry, we understood what a customer would want from a communication standpoint. We applied that process to be the standard here at KLS. Our reliability and being able to depend on our consistency is why we have such long-standing relationships with our clients.
Our Process?
Every shipment in our industry starts with a quote. We are firm believers that time is money, thus we strive to have quotes back in a 5-10 minute reply time for LTL and FTL, any FCL quotes are at the mercy of the carriers getting back to us. For LTL we have the flexibility to quote both off of NMFC and also Density depending on the carrier. Utilizing our services, you’re allowing us to use our expertise to class your freight accordingly to ensure we are providing the best rate we possibly can.
Once a quote has been submitted and a client chooses to proceed with KLS handling the arrangement of the shipment our full process begins. We create the BOL that will be used for the shipment. If it is a new location for our system, we will obtain all the important/special details (reference numbers, contact details, shipping hours, closed for lunch, dock/doors, etc.). We meticulously build every detail into our software for all future shipments involving that location. After we have both locations built and necessary reference numbers have been applied we will tender the shipment to the carrier. We use this method because it provides us a real time pickup number from the carrier to obtain updates prior to pickup. Our staff will either email the BOL directly to you or to the shipper (at your request) the minute after the tender has been accepted by the carrier. LTL carriers require a 2 hour window prior to close time in order to schedule it for a same-day pickup attempt.
The following morning you’ll receive an email from us. It will either provide the reason the pickup was missed (driver’s trailer filled up, driver missed the close time, truck broke down, shipper said no freight, etc.) or if the pickup was successful you will receive the PRO (tracking) number from us, along with the eta for delivery. Our staff will track it throughout the duration of transit and advise if anything happens that will alter the estimated delivery date. The day the shipment delivers we will email you with confirmation and the POD (Proof of Delivery), should you require it.
Your shipment has been quoted, scheduled, picked up, and delivered. The next step is waiting for the carrier to invoice us and make sure the rate matches up. If it does, we close out the invoice from the carrier in our system and automatically your invoice is created and sent to the requested party at your company. In the event the carrier has an additional charge on their invoice “Variance”, we will never send you an invoice with an additional charge without first identifying you of the charge.
Let us repeat, NEVER WILL WE JUST BILL OUT AN EXTRA CHARGE WITHOUT YOU BEING NOTIFIED.
You are our customer, we represent you. Should the carrier provide an extra charge on an invoice, “Lift gate, additional weight, reclass, detention, etc.) We notify you of the charge via email first. Second, within that email we identify what is required should you choose to dispute the charge. Again our goal is to honor your request, if you want to dispute, we will dispute. During a dispute we will provide you updates every step along the way. Once a dispute is closed out, whether it is approved or rejected, then we will invoice you as the invoice has been resolved.
For reference, our company only had 6.2% of all shipments go to dispute in 2022 and we successfully won 91% of those disputes on behalf of our customers.
This is our process for every single shipment you move with us. We don’t cut corners, we don’t hide from difficult situations. We believe in being available, honest, and transparent. We don’t ever want to tell you that a shipment is lost, damaged, misrouted, but it is our duty to notify you the second we find out something has gone wrong. We hate to present bad news, but it is part of the job. What you can guarantee is that we will work a shipment all the way through and turn over every stone until we get a resolution for our clients.
Services offered?
Our core business is LTL and FTL. Within these options we have options for both dry and refrigerated/frozen. We also offer FCL/Drayage options. Our company as a 3PL has nationwide options and services clients across the US.
Let’s breakdown our services more in-depth
LTL:
Standard and Guaranteed
CFS (Imports & Exports)
Tradeshows
Hazmat
Anything that is on a pallet can be moved LTL. Typically LTL is up to 10 pallets, but the sweet spot for a carrier is 6-8 pallets at most for an individual shipment. LTL quotes are good between 5-30 days depending on the carrier. LTL can be quoted either via NMFC or density to determine the class (we do this for you).
Volume:
Anything over 10-12’ of space in the truck is the technical rule for a volume shipment. When we run a quote for you we will determine if it qualifies for volume and provide you a rate if available. Volume moves allow you to get a reduced rate for larger shipments. The caveat to volume shipments it the quotes are only valid for 3-7 days and they move on capacity between terminals. If a terminal is backed up they will move their LTL freight first before the volume freight, which can lead to longer transit times for volume moves.
FTL/Dedicated/Expedited: 53’ Dry and Reefer 26’ Box trucks with lift gate Sprinter Van The main difference for FTL vs LTL is space and transit time. For standard pallets you can fit either 26 or 30 pallets in a 53’ dry van. The other main difference is transit time, for FTL each day counts in the transit time, whereas LTL does not count the day of pickup, weekends, or holidays in their transit time.
Reefer/Frozen:
LTL and FTL
We specialize working in the CPG space with food manufacturers. We regularly deliver to
the following locations:
Kehe
UNFI
Core Mark
DPI
Wegmans
Cugini
H.T. Hackney
Netrition
HEB
ALDI
Chambers and Owens
EBY Brown
Nassau Candy
Harris Teeter
Wakefern
NU INC
Long Distribution
What makes KLS different?
There are thousands of freight brokers and 3PL in our industry. Barrier to entry is rather easy and agents or owners will often hire sales people without any intention of properly training them. It results in high turnover for many freight companies and a forgettable experience for the client. We choose to operate differently through our consistency. We truly care about doing right by our clients and prospects too. While we would love to help provide our services to every company we speak with, that just isn’t realistic. We won’t always be the right fit for every company that moves freight and that is ok. Our authenticity as a shipping company sets us apart from the competition and that is backed up by our testimonials. We also run a marketing campaign bi-weekly called “Together Talks”. We interview, highlight, and promote two businesses every week. Our goal is to grow our network, make new connections, and learn something new with each collaboration. Check it out on our website and if you’re interested in being featured reach out.
Our company also runs a year long charity promotion. Book your first shipment through KLS and we donate to the charity of your choice in your name. Our way of thanking you for giving us an opportunity to show you the KLS way and what makes us one of a kind. This entire package is what we offer to every prospect and every client. Our goal is to help provide answers that customers may have when it comes to shipping. We want to always be available as a resource and will always offer a lending hand whenever we can.
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