Kalilah Wright: Mess in a Bottle

In this episode of Badass Black Girl, Nehemie and Jasmine talk with the founder and CEO of Mess in a Bottle, Kalilah Wright. Mess in a Bottle is an amazing apparel company that utilizes powerful and inspirational messages as a centerpiece of their design. Kalilah discusses her motivation for founding the apparel line after the death of Freddie Gray, an unarmed Black man who died while in police custody in Baltimore. The death sparked protests, which led Kalilah to search for a way to give voice to the voiceless.

They talk about her priorities for her company, the importance of self-care and setting boundaries, and the transition from a six figure job in the corporate world into life as an entrepreneur. They also discuss the inspiration she draws from her hometowns of Brooklyn and Baltimore, and Black women she looks up to and admires. Kalilah also offers some advice for budding entrepreneurs, and makes some predictions about the next generation of badass Black girl entrepreneurs.

Jamaican born, Brooklyn bred, Kalilah Wright is a trained architect, who merged her love of fashion and architecture to peruse entrepreneurship — crafting cool MESSages on t-shirts, birthing apparel brand, Mess in a Bottle. Kalilah’s mission is to help entrepreneurs figure out their MESS. She too, worked a corporate job but left feeling unfulfilled. Through motivational speaking and one-on-one consultation, her goal is to sketch entrepreneur’s vision and curate a schematic design to transform their ideas into something they can monetize.