Get All Access for $5/mo

How This Entrepreneur Turned Her Freelancing Career Into Something More Karla Welch is a creative director, A-list celebrity stylist and now tech founder.

By Kathleen Griffith

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Force in fashion Karla Welch has dressed celebrities like Oprah, Justin Bieber, Karlie Kloss, Olivia Wilde and guided numerous projects, as well as clothing lines with a keen eye toward sustainability. But, as a consummate entrepreneur, she's only just beginning, having recently launched a premium online styling app called Wishi with a strong technology backbone.

I sat down with Welch to discuss her activist spirit, unshakable sense of self confidence (she has a voice and is not afraid to use it!) and global ambition Wishi, which seeks to make high-level styling affordable for everyone. She was open and honest about the sacrifices involved in doing all that she does, and shared how she's developed the confidence to tackle anything.

"Sometimes your best mentors are right beside you," she emphasized. You can learn just as much from your peers as you can from working from someone at the very top if you're diligent about it.

Watch the video above to learn how Welch turned her freelancing career into something greater (and to hear how she once had to skip out on a family vacation to dress Mariah Carey).

A special thank you to our incredible venue partners Convene for hosting us in Downtown LA.

Producer: Kari Jones.

Kathleen Griffith

Founder, Build Like a Woman; Founder/CEO of Grayce & Co

Kathleen Griffith is founder of Build Like a Woman, and CEO of Grayce & Co, a marketing and media consultancy for Fortune 100 brands and media companies. Grayce aims to help those brands reach and engage the female consumer. Griffith is committed to advancing women through Grayce & Co Ventures, Cannes Lions SIBI and Build Like A Woman.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Growing a Business

You'll Never Satisfy Your Customers — or Grow Your Business — Without Doing These 3 Things

Customer feedback can be used to drive sustainable growth. Here are three approaches to how you can move past measurement to drive improvement and ultimately grow your business.

Business News

Southwest Airlines Is Switching Up Its Boarding Policy and Assigning Seats for the First Time Ever

The airline, known for its unique open seating model, will assign seats for the first time in company history.

Leadership

From Crisis to Control — How to Lead Effectively in High-Stress Scenarios

From the eye of the storm to the heart of leadership: How BELFOR's Sheldon Yellen's approach to the disaster recovery industry is revolutionizing resilience in business.

Growing a Business

5 Lessons Nonprofit Leaders Can Learn from Big Tech

Nonprofits can do more good by adopting a few key lessons from tech companies — like focusing on efficiency and using data for strategic decision-making.

Starting a Business

How to Find the Right Programmers: A Brief Guideline for Startup Founders

For startup founders under a plethora of challenges like timing, investors and changing market demand, it is extremely hard to hire programmers who can deliver.

Fundraising

Working Remote? These Are the Biggest Dos and Don'ts of Video Conferencing

As more and more businesses go remote, these are ways to be more effective and efficient on conference calls.