Inspiring Conversations with K. La’Shay of KLA

Sure!  I am K. La’Shay, an international venture capitalist and consultant. I specialize in business operational systems. I help make companies accessible, functional, and palatable in domestic and international markets.  My curiosity for business operations began in my childhood.

At age 7, I entered the world of competitive sales and promotions.  I learned very early how to communicate effectively and make a persuasive appeal.  From bake sales to beauty competitions, I was always in the midst of something that caused me to interface with business owners and investors.

For over a decade in my childhood, I attained a myriad of financial sponsorships on my own and gave my “pitch” explaining why I was deserving of financial support. Because I am naturally curious about how things worked, many experts I’ve met throughout my lifetime nurtured me with insider details of their respective fields. These experiences paved the way for higher education, serial entrepreneurship, and a mastery of organizational structure.

 As a girl mom, it is one of my passions to foster a great foundation to help little girls thrive in their own journeys. Our childhood is pivotal to our future success.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Smooth rides aren’t always the best; I embrace that whole-heartedly.  I am a firm believer in surrendering to this rollercoaster ride called life and finding your way to enjoyment (hands up). I have had more dark thrillers than I have desired, but they have made me a person of mastery and compassion.

I have three fancy degrees and a few dozen certifications, all of which were finished with a very favorable GPA.  However, what I am most proud of is the maintenance of my integrity throughout every storm I’ve weathered.  The accolades only tell you about the pinnacles of a person’s story, but I’m more in awe of the journey.

Seeing my degrees doesn’t tell you I dropped out of school 4 times, experienced deep depression, and depleted my earnings to recover.  Seeing three thriving businesses under my belt doesn’t expose the first eleven that failed miserably.  Watching the seamless bonds of my partnerships today doesn’t beam a light on the nights I’ve cried relentlessly due to the broken bonds that didn’t last.

Those are the details that give my experience substance. I don’t only know how to win, but I know how to help my clients recover if they have lost. Resilience is a skill I have mastered.  It is our failures that REFINES us. It is our tenacity to push through that DEFINES us.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about KLA?

I am immensely structured, and my business thrives in classified transactions. Confidentiality is key to many of my stakeholders.  I dedicate 80% of my business to multinational companies, 5% to brand personas, and I give the remaining space to domestic accounts that I pull from a lottery of inquiries.

Business operational systems are my playground.  I take strategic steps to help companies integrate their business practices beyond coastal lines.  My clients range from Fortune 100 companies to domestic startups.

I dominate resources, I’m not just resourceful. I provide my client’s definitive direction to catapult their businesses to a higher level. I have a no-nonsense style of management that has proven to not only sharpen many businesses and organizations but also increase their profitability.

My business model is not for the sluggish nor those who may be uncertain.  It is rather for those who know where they desire to go and are willing to do the work. I am an advocate for developing companies that create generational wealth.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?

Integrity, Compassion, and Resilience.

In any business industry, you will face obstacles.  What I find to be a core value in success, is not allowing those hardships to alter your good nature.  I also believe that compassion allows me to connect to my clients on a human level.  This is great for business as it helps you understand what causes the business culture and brand persona to thrive.  I like for the work to draw my clients forward not push them into action.

 

Both characteristics make way for one of the most important attributes of maintaining success, resilience.  If you can roll with the punches and ride the waves of success and failure, greatness will be there to adorn you.