While the links between her more than 20-year journey as an entrepreneur and her studies are not immediately obvious, Kati says she can see a clear connection.
“I think studying was a really worthwhile thing to do—having a BA helps you become a thinking person. The degree that I did helped me massively in my communication skills as a teacher and a trainer. I now do a lot of presentations to huge groups of people, so my communication skills have been really useful.
“I think just studying in general was really beneficial—especially in a different city to where I grew up. It helps you to become an independent person.”
Growing up in Napier in the 1960s, Kati learned some early lessons from her parents, both refugees from Hungary.
Her father was a leading winemaker who helped transform the New Zealand wine industry, while her mother was a trained herbalist and horticulturalist.
Kati remembers begging her father to accompany him to the laboratory to watch him experiment with winemaking.
“That whole world of creation and beauty around winemaking had a really big effect on me. Having a good nose was also beneficial thing to learn.
“My upbringing was all about learning the qualities of nature—my parents were always cultivating things and teaching me about the medicinal benefits of herbs.”
Kati says she chose to study at Victoria University for several reasons. Her brother and sister had previously moved to Wellington so there was a family connection—and in fact her brother is also a Victoria University alumnus, having studied music and going on to become a violinist in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
She also chose Wellington because of her love of languages—“that’s what I was good at, and Victoria University was a great place to study languages,” says Kati. After studying French, German, Māori and Linguistics, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1983.
Kati has strong memories of the Von Zedlitz building, which had just opened and was where languages were taught, as well as of Linguistics lectures with Emeritus Professor Lydia Wevers, who recently retired as Director of the University’s Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies.
“Lydia really inspired me and was instrumental in me switching my major from English to Linguistics—I absolutely loved it, and consequently did really well.”
After graduating, Kati became a French and English teacher, and later an international flight attendant and crew trainer for Air New Zealand. It was during this period that she accidentally planted the seeds of her skincare business.
“While I was flying internationally on a regular basis it really created havoc for my skin, and I just couldn’t find products that solved my skin problems.
“My mother encouraged me to harness the power of botanicals, so I pretty much just picked up a recipe book and started making my own products, literally in my kitchen sink.”
Kati began selling her skincare products to friends and colleagues, who encouraged her to turn her hobby into a business—Evolu Natural Skincare. “The demand quickly outstripped my capacity,” she says.
Around this time Kati met her husband Paul, who had a background in advertising and was able to help the fledgling business with branding and marketing. Evolu is still independently owned by Kati and Paul, who are about to celebrate the company’s 21st birthday.
Kati says there are many highlights from her time at the helm of Evolu. When the company was just two years old they won a contract to supply first and business class skincare amenities for Air New Zealand.
“That really assisted us through the first phase of our growth and helped our brand become well known in New Zealand.”
She’s also proud of the company’s more recent growth, which has seen the husband and wife team entering offshore markets in Singapore, Taiwan and Chile and being invited to sell Evolu products with online retailer Amazon.
“We’re certainly not in the kitchen sink anymore,” she says with a laugh.
Kati is currently a member of the Institute of Directors and she hopes to be able to pass on her expertise and advice to other entrepreneurs who are just starting out.
What would Kati’s advice be to her younger self?
“I think I was probably in my bubble a little bit too much. I was really shy about joining groups, and I think if I had done more of that I would probably have gotten even more out of my time at university.
“Also I would say don’t give up—it can be hard but whatever you’re studying will lead to opportunities.”