About Kat

• Founder and recognized thought leader on Gen Z in the workforce. Kat consults with leaders across all public and private industries, helping them attract, integrate, develop, motivate, and communicate with Gen Z in their workplaces. 

• Kat's career began with her first commercial business at age five. Since then, she has been at the forefront of seeing early signals for business. 
  For three decades, Kat has funded, coached, and advised young professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs on their startups and other entrepreneurial endeavors.
  •    Frequent Guest lecturer on news, radio, podcasts, and colleges. 
  •    She has guest lectured at some of the nation's top universities, including the University of Notre Dame. 
  •    Kat maintains an advisory role at the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
  •    Prior to her current role, Kat acted as Chief Legacy Officer for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals. Kat created the strategies and managed the execution of over 25 personal and family legacies, with project values over $100M.
  •    Before that, Kat founded a VC fund, raising and managing $50M, where she identified potential early startups for investment opportunities.
  •    In 1993, Kat founded and ran The Monthly Gourmet, the first subscription model, direct-to-consumer, mail-order meal kit business.
  •    Throughout her career, she has started and exited two first-in businesses and introduced several new products.
   

My Passion for People and Purpose

I’m enamored by people who cherish and celebrate their uniqueness and live authentically. I’ve learned that these people are the happiest, most accomplished, live with the grandest intentions, and earn their own personal legacies. These special people have more energy, produce optimal results, have the most robust relationships, and show high empathy and emotional intelligence levels. They appear in all professions, trades, non-profits, and families. They are quickest to share their non-tangible gifts to encourage success in others. They make the best leaders.

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I have tracked my passion for people and my love of Purpose, Legacy, and Development Planning back to my childhood and the first person I ever knew with a Gen Z mentality - my dad.

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My summers were spent living on a boat in Southeast Alaska - I continue to be in awe of my parents for having the courage to transplant a family of six every year for three months to live out their dreams. They couldn’t have known the education I was to receive and how it would inform the rest of my life.

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I learned to walk on a boat, having to re-learn to stand up straight and walk on solid ground upon mooring.  I discovered that the best building in any small village is the library, where people gather to share knowledge and experiences. I know seafood caught, cleaned, and cooked within minutes on a tiny stove or beach fire didn’t need seasonings. I can sleep while the sun is still out, enjoy a hike in the rain, and slow down to look at critters. I believe nature smells invigorating, sounds serene, tastes traditional, feels textured, and looks pure. 

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Those lessons impacted my life, but the ones that deeply touched my heart and soul came from the rich knowledge of my Indigenous friends. My Tlingit and Haida friends would be horrified to be called knowledge keepers, but that’s exactly who they are to me. They were my teachers, mentors, and heroes. Their art, stories, music, astronomy, totems, traditions, food, and hunting and fishing skills enriched my mind, heart, and career. They taught me that unique perspectives and new ideas are often the most valuable.

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I feel eternally grateful for my summers spent boating on the Clarence and Chatham Straits, ducking into the little tributaries, bays, inlets, and coves along the winding water pathways. The water was clear, the air was fresh, and the world was majestic. My Alaskan summers taught me to be observant and curious, to explore broadly, and to take thoughtful risks. These are just a few lessons I share with my clients and Gen Z when I help them build their lives of meaning.     

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Kat Walsh