Alyssa Collazo is a 21-year-old senior at Mount Saint Mary College who runs a small business that isn’t so small anymore. Collazo is the owner of Fabulyss Boutique, an online shop that went viral on TikTok and is now known for its cute but practical self defense key chains. Her Campus at UCLA had the opportunity to interview Collazo and learn more about her journey as an entrepreneur as well as her platform about self-defense.
Alyssa Colazzo: I’m currently 21, I am a senior in college. I just started this business [in] July of 2020, and I never actually intended to have a business. I’m a psych major, but what made me want to start was that about two semesters ago, I was being sexually harassed on campus by a staff member at the cafeteria. I had to see this man every single day. I had to eat. It was either get harassed or starve, so I didn’t really feel safe. That’s when I started carrying around pepper spray. But then, my car started getting broken into. I was being robbed. The last straw for me was my roommates’ car was getting zip ties on it, which is a sign of sex trafficking. That is what inspired me to get my own self-defense keychain, but when quarantine started, I just decided […] to sell it to friends and family, and this whole business happened. I did not expect this at all!
HC: Wow, I’m sorry to hear all of that happened to you. Your platform seems to be primarily about self-defense for women. That has been a topic of conversation that has become increasingly relevant, but I wanted to know, in addition to your story, why do you think it’s important that women have proactive measures to defend themselves?
AC: It’s just important because there’s so many scary people out there, not just men. I hear so many stories about sex trafficking where they’ll use other women to lure women in. It doesn’t matter what age you are, you just need to have something on you. You just never know. You can’t trust anybody; it’s just too scary.
HC: What was the origin behind the name “Fabulyss Boutique?”
AC: I wanted something with my name. My name is Alyssa, and my nickname is Lyss. So I was just thinking about what word has my name in it. I thought of “fabulous,” and I changed the spelling to fabu-lyss, so my name is at the end.
HC: That’s so cute! So, within the last few months, you’ve blown up on TikTok. Last time I checked your account, you had almost 480K followers and 10 million likes. Can you tell me more about your journey going viral?
AC: It actually happened with just one video that just explained what comes on our self-defense keychain. Ever since then, I gain at least 1000 followers a day. It’s crazy! It definitely opened opportunities for me. I have consistent customers, and because of me blowing up on TikTok, once I graduate, this is going to be my full time job.
HC: Yeah, the last few times you have restocked, you have sold out almost within a half hour or an hour! What is it like dealing with such a massive amount of orders?
AC: I still get so surprised because I double the quantity every time. I think, “Okay, this will last me a few weeks.” But no, I still sell out within minutes and hours. […] I’m going to hire employees. Right now, I still do it all alone, but now it’s given me the opportunity to have my own office space. It’s growing tremendously because of TikTok and all of these followers, so it’s great!
HC: You do it all alone, and you are also a college student. How has it been balancing your small business with school?
AC: It’s been rough. It’s been very, very hard. Before this whole business, I was already behind in school because I was a nursing major and failed out […] But, it has helped me realize that this is my passion. I’ve been doing these internships at school, and I can’t see myself doing any of this stuff. I just want to do business. I’m struggling with grades, but it is helping me realize my purpose.
HC: That’s great that you’re learning about yourself. We talked about how this is going to be your full time job after college. How do you want to continue expanding your business?
AC: I actually just started working out of my room, and because of how fast I grew, I did get an office space. […] I probably make more money doing this than I would getting a job after college. I do plan on getting a warehouse eventually and just continually stepping it up. It takes time because I’m doing it all alone, and I’m still in school. […] It’s just taking a little longer than expected.
HC: Right, and you have said in a couple of your videos that your family, like your grandmother and brothers, have helped you. How have they played a role in all of this?
AC: Actually, nobody knew at first. I kept it a secret because I was just embarrassed. I was like, “If I fail, I don’t want anybody knowing.” But, once I blew up, my grandma said, “Oh, I can help make the wristlets.” My brothers help me package orders and they take them to the post office. My parents actually made our whole basement my own office for me. Everyone’s been hands on with me, and it’s nice to have support.
HC: That’s nice! Not only are you a woman in business, but you are also a minority in business. Has your race or gender had an impact on you at all? Have you faced any forms of discrimination or challenges related to these?
AC: Starting and getting the support wasn’t hard. When people heard I was a girl, they wanted to support, and when they heard I was Puerto Rican, they were like, “Oh my gosh, take my money!” But, I’ve had issues with finding spaces and having people trust me. They’ll look at me and say ,“You know this space is an office, a place for business, right sweetie?” Because they think since I’m so young, and then they […] see me as Hispanic, they think I probably can’t afford it. […] People make backhanded compliments like “I hope you have a steady income.” It’s been rough in the real outside world, but online, I’ve had no issues with being a woman and Hispanic.
HC: How do you overcome those backhanded compliments and comments?
AC: I do feel frustrated on the inside, and the mask helps because they can’t see my face when I’m upset. But, once I show them the money, they are like “Oh, shoot, this girl is serious.” Once they […] check my website out and see everything is sold out, that’s when everyone wants to be nice to me. So, I just like to show off my website, and they’ll see they were wrong.
HC: What has been your favorite part about building your brand?
AC: My favorite part is definitely hearing the customers’ stories. I hear stories like “I was raped and your keychains give me comfort.” Other people have stepped up and said “I was harassed on campus too.” Just the feeling of making people feel safe and safe enough that they can even tell me these things makes everything worth it.
HC: What’s it like hearing those stories?
AC: It feels encouraging because I was actually scared to say anything about what I went through. When I did report it to school, they told me [I was] the first person to have ever reported something like it. That was the first step of feeling like I’m making change. When I hear people’s stories, I think “Okay good, I’m making them comfortable to come out and say what they want without feeling scared.”
HC: I saw yesterday you posted that your next restock will have keychains designed for male-identifying customers. What are you most excited for about that?
AC: I’m very excited to provide something for the men who are scared to speak out. Because as you hear about women getting raped and abducted, men can be even more afraid because of the conception that “You’re a man, can’t you defend yourself?” Now, they just can buy it and feel defended at all times.
HC: Very inclusive, and I love that. We already brushed on this before a little, but do you have any particular memories that have stood out to you in running your business?
AC: So hard… I think my favorite would be, and I know this sounds weird, but when I was getting bashed on. I remember, Black Friday, I was getting bashed on because [my followers], were like “Oh my gosh, your prices are so expensive.” This is when my video blew up, and that’s when Trisha [Paytas] reached out to me, people from the Hype House reached out to me. They were like, “We want your products. We are going to promote them because your prices aren’t too expensive.” That’s when I was like, “Wow, other people see my value. They see my worth.” That’s when my growth started to be very consistent, even to this day.
HC: That’s great! What has it been like getting those endorsements? Can you give us a little more detail on that?
AC: It’s just crazy because these influencers, they wanted to pay full price. They knew I was a small business, so they wanted to pay full price. And I was just like “No, just please take the keychain.” When they would post it, I think it just hit me when people from their page would come onto my page and say, “Hey, I came from Trisha. I came from […],” and I was just like “Wow, who thought through social media, you can influence so many people.” Keep in mind, I don’t pay for any ads […] it’s all the influencers. It’s actually just my customers who pay for it, so I just think it’s amazing having these connections.
HC: It really does show the power of social media and word of mouth. You mentioned that you are 21. What advice would you give to someone your age about starting a business?
AC: I would tell them to first just find something they are passionate about. Don’t do something that’s trendy. Once you find that passion, you just have to be consistent with posting. You see one video is popular, okay, your customers like that, you just gotta keep pumping out the content they like. That’s really how I got here, so you really just have to listen to the fans, to be honest.
HC: So I know you are graduating soon, and we know you cannot give too much away, but what is next for Fabulyss Boutique?
AC: Definitely more inclusive [items]. As you know, I just dropped the men’s [keychain]. I do plan on doing things for children, maybe more older ladies. […] I just want my website to be somewhere that everybody can shop without having to go get guns and stuff that people don’t feel comfortable with. So those are definitely my plans for the future.
HC: What would you say is one thing you want people to know about you? It can be anything, you as a small business owner, or just as who you are as a person, as Alyssa.
AC: I think what’s important is [I believe] that you should do what makes you happy. You should just take risks […] I took a chance with this business. I invested so much money. I said, “You know, take a risk,” and look where it got me. And surprisingly, I had support. I do have problems with some people in my family who do not support [me], but I just say, do what makes you happy whether you have support or not. Just go for your dreams because life is short.
We had so much fun during this interview. Hearing Alyssa Collazo’s story was truly inspiring, and her business is impacting people’s lives. From her journey, I hope everyone takes away the importance of pursuing your dreams and living your truth.