Kelly Cooper is an entrepreneur and the founder and head designer of the clothing label Tomato Superstar. After serving in the U.S. Air Force for almost a decade and working a handful of years after as a government consultant in Washington, Kelly knew that she needed to express herself. She knew that her creativity never fit in with the corporate world, and she certainly didn’t want to be bound by a 9 to 5 schedule. Her clothing brand was the result, and she hasn’t looked back since.
Her path has been littered with failures and successes since the brand was founded, and she’s fully embraced the idea of failing forward. Rather than letting her failures define her and her brand, Kelly has learned incredibly valuablre lessons from her failures and has become better as a result. She credits her ability to fight through adversity and maintain a positive mindset for her success, and Tomato Superstar wouldn’t be where it is today without her resilience.
Tomato Superstar encourages girls to live authentically. For every purchase made on the company’s website, Tomato Superstar gives money to non-profits combating human trafficking and the marginalization of girls around the world. Kelly’s mission all stems from her daughter Hannah, who inspired her to start the company in the first place. Having kids has not only changed her priorities, but it’s truly put her life in perspective. She’s been able to align her career with her children as a result of starting the brand, and has been able to be present for all of her children’s most important moments thus far.
While starting a clothing brand has afforded her tremendous freedom in her life and the ability to be there for her children, starting the business from the ground up has been a challenge for her. Being a full time mom is never easy, and scaling a business from the ground up is just as hard. Being able to do both all at once is a testament to Kelly’s incredible work ethic and persistence, and it’s no surprise that she’s already been so successful as an entrepreneur.
