Kate Socatiyanurak on building her first brand, the heritage of Thai silk and staying grounded

Kate Socatiyanurak is one of the co-founders of Merandi, a startup based in Bangkok, Thailand, focusing on luxury bag inserts and accessories crafted out of Thai silk. 

The twenty-five-year-old entrepreneur talks to Anne about her journey from boarding school to a masters at London School of Economics to content creation for luxury brands once she was back in Thailand. Kate shares how Merandi, the brand, was born from a single conversation with her friend and other co-founder, Grace. The savvy marketer also talks about branding, the importance of a strong unique selling point and corporate social responsibility and reminding herself it’s good to build a brand and create thoughtful products (all made to order) but that it’s equally important to stay grounded and to find ways to give back to society. 

Kate admits that despite her background in content creation, it’s harder for her to focus on this area of the business, having her plate full as a co-founder. The young entrepreneur also discusses her relationship to creativity in business as well as her love of Thai classical piano (her mother is a renowned artist) before talking about mindful rituals and her newfound interest in Ashtanga yoga, which helps her get away from her to-do list to find some peace and quiet. 

A thoughtful interview with a bright entrepreneur. Happy listening!

***

Selected links from episode 

You can find Kate on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katesocatiyanurak/

on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/katenatch/

Discover Merandi products - https://merandiworld.com/

And on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/merandiworld/

And Kate & Grace's new projects: 

Good Cha - https://www.instagram.com/goodcha.bkk/

and Good Bento - https://www.instagram.com/goodbento.bkk/

LSE or London School of Economics - https://www.lse.ac.uk/

Beauty Gems - https://beautygems.com/company/

Judith Lieber - https://judithleiber.com/

Songkran - Thai New Year - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran_(Thailand)

Bombyx Mori - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombyx_mori

Ashtanga yoga - https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/types-of-yoga/ashtanga-yoga/

"cras amet qui numquam amavit quique amavit cras amet" - Kate's favorite quote, in Latin, from a poem by Tiberius, meaning: "Let those love now who never loved before,
Let those who always lov'd, now love the more."

The song Hallelujah - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4

Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story - https://books.google.ch/books/about/Michael_Jackson.html?id=7EkwuCFnE28C&redir_esc=y

Music for the outro of our episode feature a Thai traditional song played on the piano by Kate. 

***

If you enjoyed this episode, click subscribe for more, and consider writing a review of the show on Apple Podcasts, we really appreciate your support and feedback. And thank you  so much for listening! 

For all notes and transcripts, please visit Out Of The Clouds on Simplecast - https://out-of-the-clouds.simplecast.com/  

Sign up for Anne's email newsletter for more from Out of the Clouds at https://annevmuhlethaler.com. 

Follow Anne: 

IG: @_outoftheclouds or  @annvi  

This episode is brought to you by AVM Consulting 

Struggling to connect with your audience? Feeling disconnected from your brand's purpose? Is motivating your team becoming a daunting task?

AVM Consulting offers a unique blend of coaching, consulting, and storytelling services designed to help your brand connect authentically, align with your values, and inspire your team to achieve greatness.

With a track record of success in working with fashion and luxury partners worldwide, AVM Consulting, led by industry expert and certified coach Anne Mühlethaler, is your trusted partner in achieving your brand's vision. 

Ready to transform your brand and drive meaningful change? Don't wait any longer. We like to make magic happen.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AVM CONSULTING HERE.

***

If you enjoyed this episode, click subscribe for more, and consider writing a review of the show on Apple Podcasts, we really appreciate your support and feedback. And thank you  so much for listening! 

For all notes and transcripts, please visit Out Of The Clouds on Simplecast - https://out-of-the-clouds.simplecast.com/  

Sign up for Anne's email newsletter for more from Out of the Clouds at https://annevmuhlethaler.com. 

Follow Anne and Out of the Clouds: 

IG: @_outoftheclouds or  @annvi  

Or on Threads @annvi

On Youtube @OutoftheClouds

For more, you can read and subscribe to Anne's Substack, the Mettā View, her weekly dose of insights on coaching, brand development, the future of work, and storytelling, with a hint of mindfulness.