A True Story of a Rebel Founder

The Art of Defiance: Creating Identity and Success in the Face of Fear

Buckle up for a tale where mishaps meet moxie: Discover how a founder's emotionally challenging misadventures morph into a masterclass in resilience, offering you a heartwarming guide to turning 'oh-sh*t' into 'a-ha' moments with flair and a dash of humor.

For those who might have missed my previous piece, "The Imperfect Speaker: My Not So Smooth Talk at Entrepreneur Week," here's a bit of background: this speech was the heart of that tale. The visuals you'll see were meant to adorn my presentation, playing pivotal roles in my narrative—roles they were sadly denied during that memorable tech mishap.

Rebel Threads: The Spirit of Leather Jackets

Johnny Depp in Cry Baby

Have you ever looked at a well-worn leather jacket and thought about the stories it could tell? The scrapes and scars, each a badge of honor, a testament of battles fought and won.

Now, why bring up leather jackets at a conference about entrepreneurship? Because, my friends, they symbolize the essence of our journey—rebellion, resilience, and the raw courage to face the unknown.

Remember these cool icons — Johnny Depp in 'Cry Baby,' John Travolta in Grease,’ and, my personal favorite, Fonzie from 'Happy Days.'

Their jackets weren't just fashion statements, they were armor, an expression of their colorful paths, trouble and all.

But this isn’t a fashion lecture.

It's about what those jackets represent for us as entrepreneurs: the audacity to stand out, to embrace our imperfections, and to forge ahead, even when the path is difficult to see.

I’m here to talk to you about what it means to wear your challenges like armor and how to transform your struggles into the source of your power. 

An Immigrant Family's American Dream

My parents, Juan and Silvia in 1982.

My Founder’s Story on building a 7-figure jewelry brand begins with a young, ambitious couple from Guatemala who immigrated to the US back in the early 80s. They were madly in love and a little crazy. They were importing all kinds of goods from their travels and selling them at a booth in the French Market.

After a decade of hard labor, they shifted their attention to jewelry and opened a brick-and-mortar jewelry store in the French Quarter. Some of you may be familiar with it, Sterling Silvia, still operating to this day. They grew from pure old-fashioned grit, strong work ethic, and the booming tourism industry New Orleans offered.

Lone Star: Growing Up Between Cultures

That’s me! Cristy Asturias, in 1992.

At some point in time, for some reason, they decided to welcome a child into their busy lives and realized very quickly one was enough. Especially trying to raise a child in a foreign country, away from all family. There was no Abuelita to cook for us, no tia to watch over me, no primos to play with. There was nobody. Nadie!

Growing up under these circumstances was tough. I struggled with self-worth because my parents were working all the time and I didn’t feel seen or valued. For over a decade, depression and self-harming thoughts were a daily battle, with no one to talk to about it. I struggled with self-identity growing up as a minority and being conditioned to believe I was at a disadvantage for being born brown. (I know I’m pretty white right now, but I promise you I am 50 shades of brown. When I’d come back from Guatemala as a little Chiquita 8-year old, after spending the whole summer there, I looked like a chocolate caramel brownie.

Don’t believe me?

My family wanted to eat me up, but the kids at elementary school, did not so much. I was bullied relentlessly.

Artistic Alchemy: Finding My Voice Through Design

When Katrina hit, I was a sophomore at Ursuline Academy. My parents needed help. I saw this as an opportunity to participate in the business that had kept them from spending time with me. One day, unbeknownst to me, my mother submitted one of my art project sketches to a jewelry casting company to turn it into a necklace, because she loved the meaning so much.

The very first piece of jewelry produced from my artwork.

When I arrived at the shop, my mom revealed this piece of jewelry made from my artwork. I realized this was her love language, making me feel seen and appreciated. That day, someone bought the necklace, and I experienced a deep sense of fulfillment I never had before. It's a feeling many of you understand! It was at this moment I knew this was my purpose. The business I once resented became a creative outlet of expression for me and a way to feel more connected to my family.

Internal Turmoil: Clash of the Generations

For the next seven years I dedicated myself to the business. As is common with many family businesses, the dynamic of our relationship underwent a lot of strain as we experienced a classic clash of the generations. My new, innovative ideas to modernize and elevate their company was met with so much resistance, that it created an underlying current of frustration and resentment between us.

Eventually, this reached a breaking point and I felt I had no other choice but to walk away. I walked away from everything I had ever known as an act of love to demonstrate that I choose family over business, my Latin parents interpreted this as an act of betrayal.

I wouldn’t speak to them for the next 7 years.

In walking away, I learned the hardest lesson of all: sometimes, love means letting go, not just for the sake of preserving what's left of a relationship, but to honor one's own path. This was a very dark time in my entrepreneurial journey, but paradoxically, where I also found my light.

New Beginnings: The Influence of Jack

Then I met a man named Jack Cali. I give Jack so much credit, who was there when I decided to walk away and encouraged me to start my own company. He believed in me before I believed in myself.

For the next 10 years, he supported my dream of building a jewelry brand. While we may no longer be married, we remain friends, and the legacy of the energy and love he contributed will live on through the name. Needless to say, the divorce was the most painful heartbreak I ever experienced in my life. Yet another example of letting go.

Guess who showed up to help me get through it? My family.
Guess who started to value our time together more? My family.
Guess who’s also asking for business advice now? My family.

And this is why I also founded an e-commerce agency. 

Believing We Are More Than Enough

As you can see, my companies were created from the dark shadows on the road, the feeling of being unaccepted and rejected by my own family. If my mother and father couldn’t see the value of my work and ideas, why would anyone else?

The very act of starting a business was an act of courage and embracing the fear that I wasn’t enough - not good enough, not creative enough, not smart enough and that my name could never be enough to become a designer brand. 

A picture of the short-lived storefront I had on Magazine Street, opening a mere 4 months before the pandemic.

Perseverance: Learning to Dance with Our Shadows

The shadows on the entrepreneurial road will never go away. These dark, low moments are opportunities for us to demonstrate to ourselves how resilient, strong, empathetic, (fill in the blank) we can be.

We create our own light by tapping into the Divinity that gives us life. Don’t you see? The power that we channel comes from the Divine. We not only owe it to ourselves, but also the people we serve with our businesses. We have the power to choose to embrace and wear our shadows, for everyone to see that the trouble we’ve gone through expanded us to be better leaders, better friends, and better people. 

Shine On: The Power of Embracing Your Story

I'm not just going to leave you with a pat on the back and a “go get em tiger.” No, we're rebels, remember?

So, here's your mission, should you choose to accept it: I challenge you to embrace your fears, your troubles, and those dark moments to discover the light/fire within you. Remember, you are more than enough.

I can’t wait to see you shine. Connect with me on Instagram so I can support you!