Endless stacks of shipping boxes and countless racks of clothing surround BYU student Kylee Middleton as she simultaneously entertains her 1-year-old daughter and discusses inventory with her husband and business partner, Nate.
Kylee and Nate are the founders of the fast-growing online clothing boutique Piper and Scoot.
Kylee started selling her used clothes on Instagram in 2014 through an account she called Piper and Scoot. Kylee’s trendy clothes and witty captions attracted many social media users. She decided to start buying clothes for resale for Piper and Scoot when she noticed she had gained a substantial amount of followers.
“I just felt like there was a really big gap in boutiques,” Kylee said. “I worked in a boutique and I was like, ‘Man, they would make a killing if they went online.'”
Kylee’s computer skills and love for fashion mixed with her social media account became what she calls “the perfect storm.”
She said Piper and Scoot allows her to connect with people through social media. She likes interacting with her consumers and selling them something they will love but the freedom and flexibility of her business is what she values the most.
“The best part about Piper and Scoot for me is that I’m able to have these ambitious dreams for my career and still feel like I’m fulfilling my role as a mom,” Kylee said.
Kylee and Nate tag-team the roles of business owners and parents as they run their business and take care of their daughter, all while Kylee is still in school.
Kylee said she thoroughly enjoys being her own boss, although it can be stressful at times.
“I am a terrible employee,” Kylee said. “I’m independent, a little bit stubborn — well, a lot a bit stubborn, I should admit that.”
A former boss once told her she “wasn’t cut out for the fashion industry,” Kylee recalled.
“Sometimes those words are my driving motivation,” Kylee said. “I march to my own drum and that just didn’t jive with her.”
Kylee and her husband are known to be both passionate and persistent, according to Piper and Scoot’s manager and Kylee’s sister-in-law Allie Middleton.
“Since they never stop working, the business never stops working,” Allie said. “It makes a big difference how successful they are.”
Piper and Scoot currently has more than 50,000 Instagram followers, and Kylee personally manages all Piper and Scoot social media. Kylee said it is important to her that her readers feel like they are buying from a person not just a company.
Nate attributes a lot of Piper and Scoot’s success to Kylee’s ability to relate with her readers.
“Kylee has a very strong voice through all of her marketing and advertising,” Nate said. “It’s a voice that people can relate to so it’s deeper than just clothing.”
Kylee hopes to express both herself and her personal style through Piper and Scoot.
“I want Piper and Scoot to be an extension of me, an extension of who I am,” Kylee said. “Not just of my style but my personality as well.”
