In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews serial entrepreneur, inventor, speaker, and mother Kalika Nacion Yap. Kalika shares her origin story of turning a painful breakup and unemployment into her first venture, Citrus Studios, after discovering the internet in 1996. She emphasizes the power of branding, citing her work launching Dollar Shave Club and how a strong brand narrative can lead to billion‑dollar exits. Her overarching business advice is to work on becoming your best self so you can serve others. When asked what she would tell her younger self, she recommends meditation. She defines happiness as a connection with oneself and others, quoting Carl Jung. Kalika’s favorite recent read is The Diamond Cutter, which taught her about karma and imprints in scaling a business. Her favorite quote is Aristotle’s “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” She directs listeners to her website kalika.com and her Wikipedia page for more information.
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All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. Today I have Kalika Nashon Yap, and she is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, speaker, and mom. So welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me, Tyler Wagner.
Of course, grateful to have you on and Happy New Year as well. The first one we got for you— thank you so much. The first one we got for you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, I think in life you always have to make lemonade out of lemons. That was actually the reason why I made my first company, Citrus Studios. After college, I followed my college boyfriend to California, and he dumped me after 3 weeks because he wanted to date the receptionist. And so I— it set me off on a journey of self-discovery. I had no car, no friends, no job. And it was— that was in 1996 when I first discovered the internet. I was a former journalist at Bloomberg Business News and CNBC, and coming from being a journalist to having no job, being unemployed and getting paid $6 under the table making lattes days was really a different type of life for me. But I learned about the internet and started teaching people about the internet and learning how to build and code. And it helped me, you know, get on a journey of being an entrepreneur. So make lemonade out of lemons. Yeah.
Yeah. And sometimes the toughest times turn into great opportunities, right?
Yes, absolutely.
So the next one I got for you is, and I know you run, you know, multiple different businesses. So whatever, you know, expertise or industry you you want to choose. The next one is, is what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
So I really believe that branding equals billions. One of the companies that we helped launch was the Dollar Shave Club. And I think before I understood what branding was all about, I was just really transactional. You know, we just built websites, you know, that was end of story. Like, Period. And when I realized that when you can articulate your story and you can set yourself apart from everyone else, everyone else because of your brand, it can really lead to a billion-dollar exit, just like what Michael Thieman had.
And, uh, could tie in, uh, but what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Work on being your best self so that you can Be your best self for others.
And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Meditate.
Ah, I like that one.
Yeah.
And then kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Connection with oneself and connection with others. Carl Jung says, "Those who look outside dream, those who look inside awaken." Love Carl Jung.
That's awesome. And then what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
The best book I read this year, because I'm an avid reader, is The Diamond Cutter. And it was a story about this Tibetan monk who basically took a business that had $50,000 and created a $250 million business out of it using Tibetan practices. And the biggest thing that you learn is really about how vital karma and imprints are. So I would definitely encourage everyone to read that book. It's a business book that is also disguised as an educational book for your life.
Got it. And then what is your favorite quote and why?
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but habit," by Aristotle.
Got it. Well, thank you so much for coming on. The last one I got for you is where can our audience best find and/or connect with you online?
All my information is on kalika.com or on my Wikipedia page. Just Google me.
Perfect. Thanks again for coming on.
Thanks, Tyler Wagner. Have a great day.
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