Today I am joined by Mallory Killingstad! Mallory grew up in Dallas, Texas, and every summer her family would rent a house in Seaside for a month—a place she has always considered her happy place. In fact, the artist for Pavilion was her best friend in middle school, who often joined her family on those summer trips—neither of them realizing they’d one day collaborate on a company inspired by 30A in their thirties.

She attended SMU for undergrad, and living in Dallas helped shape her appreciation for fashion, which later translated into interiors and home. With an undergraduate degree in engineering, Mallory’s career path has been anything but linear. She owned a clothing boutique for several years, lived in Aspen while working in community marketing for Outdoor Voices during its startup days, and eventually returned to Dallas.

After losing her father at 31, Mallory made the bold decision to pursue her MBA at 32, an intimidating step at the time, and she proudly graduated at 34. In the years that followed, she got married, broke her leg, started a family, and is now a mom to two little girls. Through it all, Mallory has held tightly to hope, choosing to believe she would always land on her feet—a perspective she admits she didn’t fully embrace in her twenties.

In this episode Mallory and I talked about her twenties, the first business she started, why she decided to leave that business behind, going back to school, how she started Pavilion, why having a cofounder is so important, and more!

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