How I Got Here: Kic co-founder Laura Henshaw on leaving your ego at the door
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Marten Ascenzo
WORDS BY DAISY HENRY
“As a young woman in business, it’s easy to get caught up in feeling like you’re not experienced enough.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how on earth they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While the internet and social media might have us believe that our ideal job is a mere pipe dream, the individuals who have these jobs were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
But behind the awe-inspiring titles and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to women who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly the knowledge, advice, and practical tips they’ve gleaned along the way.
This week we hear from Laura Henshaw, co-founder and CEO of the popular health and wellness app, Kic. If you’re into fashion or keeping fit (or both), you’ve likely heard of Laura before – perhaps from her modelling days, her ‘Do I Want Kids?‘ podcast miniseries, or her TikToks about running, motivation and mental health. Along with her business partner, Steph Claire Smith, Laura’s career is undoubtedly one that many people envy.
Though there are parts of her job that are as glamorous as expected, she spends the majority of her days problem-solving. Jumping from client meetings to recording her podcast, the constantly changing nature of her role means she’s had to learn how to comfortably pivot and adapt.
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Hi Laura! Tell us a little about who you are and what you do.
I’m the CEO and co-founder of Kic, a health and wellness app on a mission to change the relationship people have with wellness and themselves. The crux of my role is around steering the ship, ensuring the team has a clear vision of where we’re heading and ensuring they have everything they need to get there, while supporting to remove any blockers that inevitably come up along the way.
As the face of the brand, my day-to-day (even hour-to-hour) can shift 180 degrees – I could go from an important advisor meeting to filming TikToks, and everything in between. On Friday mornings, you’ll always find me recording our podcast, Kicpod.
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Take us back to when you were first starting out. Did you study to get into your chosen field or start as a junior and climb the ladder?
In year 12, my goal was to study dietetics at uni. But when my ATAR score landed in my inbox, I realised I qualified for a law degree – and wouldn’t that make my parents proud?! So, I took on a double degree in law and business and on the side I started a protein brand and a recipe blog – clearly my passion for healthy living was real!
To make a really long story short, I was doing some modelling while studying and I met Steph, my now best friend and business partner at fashion week. We instantly connected. You know those people that you know you’ll be friends with? That was Steph. We both chased our international model dreams – Steph moved to New York City and I went to Milan.
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We quickly realised the reality of modelling abroad, and the unrealistic body standards of the international industry. The pressure from our agencies sparked our unique yet similar negative relationships with excessive exercise, and disordered eating. It was a dark place, but when we returned from overseas, we surrounded ourselves with friends and family, and slowly gained our confidence back in our bodies, and ourselves.
This was during a time when quick fixes, skinny teas and before-and-after pics flooded our Instagram feeds. We knew that if we both shared this experience, we couldn’t be the only ones. Toxic diet culture was everywhere and we knew we had to do something about it. We came up with the idea to create an e-book (Steph actually had a dream about this) so we went for it. We launched our e-book in 2015 and then our Keep it Cleaner subscription website in 2016, which evolved into our Kic app in 2018.
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In 2022 I was appointed CEO of Kic, which had always been a dream of mine. Before that, the only title we had was co-founder. Having clarity of my role and purpose in the business has been vital, for both me personally and our team. In terms of my law degree, it’s been really helpful in my role. I’m a big believer that if you can get through a 3.5 hour law exam you can get through anything, ha!
What challenges have you faced getting to where you are now?
Believing in myself and trusting my gut as a founder has definitely been a challenge. As a young woman in business, it’s easy to get caught up in feeling like you’re not experienced enough. It’s taken me years to navigate these limiting beliefs – to be honest, I’m still on the journey and imposter syndrome is very real – but I now have so many tools to help me work through it and I’ve learnt to trust myself through many failed attempts.
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What do you want people to know about your industry and role?
The role of a founder and CEO in 2024 in the age of social media means you have to wear a lot of hats, especially being a community-led brand where Steph and I are front-facing. The wellness industry is constantly reinventing ways to target our insecurities and repackage toxic diet culture as ‘wellness’. For us at Kic, it means staying true to our mission is so important. On top of this, we need to ensure that our workout content and the app itself is world class and we’re constantly pushing boundaries with our marketing, as it’s an incredibly competitive space.
What’s the best part about your role?
Being able to make a real impact on our community’s lives is hands down the best part of my job. The way we work at Kic means we’re so connected with our community, we’re able to directly see and hear the positive impact that Kic has had on their relationship with food, movement and most importantly, themselves. That feeling is truly magical, it never gets old and it’s the driving force that keeps us going.
And our internal Kic community – being an enabler for the best team in the world is such a privilege. Our brand really is in the best hands and I’m incredibly grateful and proud of the talented humans behind the scenes at Kic.
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What would surprise people about your role?
I think being the face of the brand it can seem like my role is very glamorous and fun – and don’t get me wrong, it absolutely is at times – but the majority of my time is spent problem-solving! Balancing this with forward-thinking and planning is incredibly important.
What skills have served you well in your industry?
Problem-solving and empowering our team to take ownership and initiative. Two years ago Steph and I were in every single meeting, but as you grow as a business, that’s just not feasible, or necessary! To be a good leader, you need to empower your team to do what they do best – they are the experts in their fields after all. Personality-wise, I’m an empath through and through, which has allowed me to connect and relate so deeply with our community.
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What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in a role like yours one day?
Learning to trust yourself is one of the most important lessons you can learn. Clarity is key in the role of a CEO and I have learnt along the way this is impossible to do without trusting yourself within.
What about a practical tip?
Leave your ego at the door. Our ego does not serve us in many places (aka none) in life, especially not as a leader.
Keep up with Laura here.
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