Kellee Khalil is Founder & CEO at Loverly, World's first bridal search engine. An Entrepreneurial Studies Graduate from USC, Kellee started the company after realizing firsthand the inefficiencies of the wedding industry when she was planning her sister's wedding. She moved to NYC, invested her post-grad savings and launched Lover.ly in February of 2012. Kellee is vegetarian and a yoga enthusiast.
Kellee Khalil (Photo by: Leila Brewster)
Q: What does entrepreneurship mean to you, and what makes for a successful entrepreneur?
KK: Entrepreneurship is all about blazing your own path. It's creating something from nothing and seeing your vision come to life. A successful entrepreneur doesn't give up or take no for an answer. Passion and creativity are the keys to entrepreneurial success.
Q:. What are you most proud of in your professional career? If you could do something over in your life, what would it be?
KK: I'm extremely proud of the team that I've built here at Loverly. As a nimble and collaborative team, we're working together to build a unique wedding search and commerce platform that redefines the way couples plan their weddings. My only regret is not starting Loverly sooner!
Q: Tell us about an instance where you had to go against the flow to realize your goal.
KK: Before founding Loverly, I was working in a high-stakes financial job. After helping my sister plan her wedding in 2010, I experienced first hand the difficulty of making a wedding come to life. Making the jump from finance to bridal was definitely going against the flow, but it was worth it. Today, Lover.ly reaches 10.5 million across site, mobile, social and network with users viewing approximately 40 million images a month.
Q: How is Loverly changing the game in the wedding industry?
KK: As the first and only wedding inspiration and ecommerce platform, Lover.ly is forever changing the way brides and grooms plan weddings. On Loverly, couples can discover the best wedding ideas, shop renowned designers, organize details, get expert advice and hire their wedding day dream team all in one place. We're also bringing bridal into the 21st century by allowing couples to plan on the go with our iPhone and Android apps, garnering combined downloads of over 150,000.
Q: LinkedIn style - If you were to give advice to your 22 old self, what would it be?
KK: Never give up. As a female in the male dominated tech industry, you will often be faced with adversities and you'll hear a lot of "nos". No matter what, if you're passionate about your company and you're persistent, it will all work out in the end.
Follow Kellee Khalil at @kellee, and check out the other interviews in Going Against the Flow series at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-sharma/ or thestartupsutra.com.