#323: How This Founder Used Social Media to Turn a Failed Etsy Shop Into a Multi-Million Dollar Business with Keida Dervishi, Co-Founder of Soulmate Customs

·1 hr 3 min·5 clips

How did a failed Etsy shop owner's TikTok video of her first custom embroidery order go viral and bring in 1,400 orders in a month?

Host Yasmin Nouri interviews Keida Dervishi, co-founder of Soulmate Customs, a personalized gift brand. Keida started the business in 2021 after creating a custom embroidered sweatshirt for her mother's birthday. Before that, she tried various side hustles on Etsy and Depop without lasting success. Her breakthrough came when she shifted to custom embroidery and posted a TikTok video of her first order, which went viral with 3.7 million views and generated over 1,400 orders in a month. The business reached over 1.3 billion people across social media and surpassed a million in sales within 11 months. Keida grew up with entrepreneurial parents but initially pursued singing and acting until COVID-19 disrupted the entertainment industry. She then explored entrepreneurship, learning marketing through TikTok. Her previous Etsy shop was shut down due to copyright infringement after she created designs based on Olivia Rodrigo lyrics. This failure taught her that marketing is crucial, even with a great product. Keida emphasizes scrappiness, teaching herself embroidery via YouTube, and involving her family in the business. She posts content seven times daily across six platforms, totaling 42 posts per day, and argues that consistency, not perfection, drives viral success. The episode covers the pressures of scaling, hiring challenges as a young founder, and the emotional weight of supporting her family. Keida shares how a seminar with Aaron Spivak helped her find her purpose: providing financial stability for her family and inspiring others. She also uses journaling and ChatGPT to reflect on leadership mistakes and improve her hiring processes. The conversation touches on burnout, discipline, and the mindset shifts needed to push through difficult times.

As heard by us

A side-hustle origin story becomes a practical lesson in product focus and persistent social distribution.

Behind Her Empire traces Keita Dervishi's route to Soulmate Customs, beginning with side hustles on Etsy and Depop that never quite held, then turning on a personalized embroidered sweatshirt made for her mother's birthday.

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Why you'd press play

You want the unglamorous math of turning one birthday sweatshirt into a custom gift brand.

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