Ep. 94 From Founder to Force: Kathleen Chan on Building a Business and Trusting the Vision Artwork

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Ep. 94 From Founder to Force: Kathleen Chan on Building a Business and Trusting the Vision

October 17, 2025 • Heidi Schalk • Episode 94

In this episode, I sit down with Kathleen Chan, the powerhouse founder and CEO of Calico. Kathleen shares how her frustration with fragmented supply chains sparked the creation of Calico, and why building the right team is everything, even when you’re building solo.

We talk about risk, resilience, and the mindset shifts required to leap into entrepreneurship again and again. Kathleen opens up about navigating doubt, protecting your vision, and surrounding yourself with people who challenge you to think bigger….like 10X bigger. If you’ve ever felt the tug of a bold idea but hesitated to share it, this conversation will remind you: the right people won’t just support your dream, they’ll help you scale it.

Kathleen Chan is the founder and CEO of Calico, a sourcing co-pilot for consumer brands that streamlines the most complex and fragmented parts of production—using AI to help teams generate manufacturable design concepts, compare regional factory pricing, source the right partners, manage costs, and move from concept to production faster.

A three-time founder with deep experience in fashion and retail, Kathleen previously built and scaled DTC brands in the jewelry and apparel space, where she oversaw everything from design to sourcing to go-to-market strategy. Her frustration navigating global production across time zones, spreadsheets, and unreliable partners became the spark for Calico, which is now used by leading brands to bring speed and resilience to their supply chains.

She began her career at Microsoft and was named one of Sourcing Journal’s 2025 Female Founders to Watch.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

Website: https://www.joincalico.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenchan/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/calicoai/

Connect with me:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidischalkcoaching

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/femaleentrepreneursandleaders

Spotlight to Scale: https://www.spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Ready to grow your biz: scalewithheidi.com