Riffraff owner Kirsten Stuckey / Courtesy photo
New York-based business magazine Inc. has identified its 30 best and brightest entrepreneurs of 2015, and a Fayetteville native is on the list.
Riffraff’s Fayetteville location / Photo: Courtney Halligan
Kirsten Stuckey, 28, owner of local boutique Riffraff, is included in the magazine’s 30 Under 30 list this year as one of the country’s most promising young business people.
Along with the nomination is an interesting profile on Stuckey, who started the company at just 21, and was able to turn her $100 initial investment into a multi-million dollar women’s boutique, all in the middle of one of the worst recessions in U.S. history.
The store began by selling Stuckey’s refurbished furniture creations on Mission Boulevard in Fayetteville in 2009 before moving to the square in 2010. Now, five years later, Stuckey has built an e-commerce empire that sells clothing and accessories to women across the country. Recently, she has also opened a second brick-and-mortar location in Dallas, and created her own wholesale brand called Charlie Southern.
The company has exploded with 670,000 Facebook fans, 120,000 Instagram followers, 15 full-time employees, 14 part-timers, and six interns. According to the Inc. profile, Riffraff sold over $4 million in merchandise last year, and is on track for over $6 million in sales in 2015.
She’s among some pretty incredible company on Inc.’s 30 Under 30 list, too. Since the magazine started the feature in 2006, they’ve profiled the likes of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, America’s youngest self-made female billionaire Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, Sam Altman of Y Combinator, and Ben Kaufman of Quirky, among other wildly successful entrepreneurs.
Stuckey modeling one of her Charlie Southern tees / Courtesy
It’s not the first time Stuckey has been recognized nationally for her business acumen. Earlier this year, she was among just 25 people nationally recognized by the National Retail Federation on “The list of people shaping retail’s future,” by a committee that included Pinterest head of Partnerships Joanne Bradford, Martha Stewart Living Chief Creative Officer Jonathan Sokoloff, and tennis player Serena Williams.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Kirsten is trailing the leader in the readers’ choice voting to be recognized as America’s favorite young entrepreneur by a little more than 150 votes.
Voting closes at the close of business on Wednesday, April 29, and the winner will be announced on April 30.
Here’s where to vote for the local girl.
