The inspirational story behind the brand Ponyback Hats.

Welcome back to the Inspiring Women series and today, I am delighted to share the inspirational story behind the brand, Ponyback Hats, and this interview with its founder, Stacey Keller.

If you have ever said, “I can’t wear baseball hats, my head is too…”, then Ponyback Hats has got you covered!  

Ponyback Hats was founded by Stacey Keller, an active mom of three boys, who was struggling to find a baseball hat that she loved, so she finally took matters into her own hands, and designed her own! And that was the beginning of the story behind the brand Ponyback Hats.

Stacey is committed to bringing a quality, fashionable, and functional hat to the market that will forever transform how women and girls feel about wearing baseball hats. It’s the ultimate ponytail hat that lets you style your hair your way for all head sizes and hair types. 

Statistics show that seven out of every ten hats worn in the United States are baseball hats, but women who opt to wear baseball hats tend to incur a major challenge if they want to showcase their ponytail in style. The team at Ponyback has created a flawless solution for ponytail wearing with a discrete magnetic opening at the back of their hats.

Not only do Ponyback baseball hats accommodate women’s hair, but they also come in several sizes and are made with a spandex blend that ensures they are compatible with every head shape. 

“The struggle to find a high quality hat for women with long hair, one that looks great and fits their hairstyle, is finally over”

spokesperson for the Ponyback team

Ponyback Hats lets you wear your hair up or down and look great! For women and girls everywhere, make your fashion statement meet your on-the-go lifestyle. 

For women looking to make the most of each day, Ponyback Hats are stylish and practical. Who better to design a hat that meets all purposes that an active mom herself?  

Stacey Keller was frustrated that there weren’t baseball hats that worked for her hair and so she created her own version. Fast forward to today and Ponyback Hats are the essential wardrobe item for women of all ages. It’s a fit for every pony!

Today I am delighted to share Stacey’s inspirational story behind the brand Ponyback Hats with you as well as her hopes for the future and her advice for other women who want to launch their own business.  

Exclusive interview with Stacey Keller, and the inspirational story behind the brand Ponyback Hats

Can you tell me what inspired you to take the leap to launch Ponytail Hats as a brand, and can you describe your brand to us in a few words? 

When I discovered the idea with my first prototype it was a sensation of ‘Oh my god, I have to do this.’ I felt something deep within my being, that just ‘felt right’. I knew if I didn’t act on it, I would forever wonder ‘what if’… It was honestly such a strong feeling and I didn’t want to do anything else!

At the time, I didn’t really even have the words to describe it – it was a feeling on my heart so intensely that it just moved me. 

 The Ponyback brand is functionally cute, fun and welcoming with a bit of inspiration and silly on the side! 

Can you tell us what makes Ponytail Hats unique compared to other brands? 

The magnetic back closure is discrete, which means that when you aren’t using it for your ponytail or bun, it looks like a normal fullback hat. One of my favorite moves I like to showcase to any newcomer is surprising them by opening the back of the hat unexpectedly. It is usually accompanied by a gasp! Lol.

Can you tell us a little about your career path prior to launching Ponytail Hats?  Did you always have an interest in the fashion industry? 

Before Ponyback, I was a high school business studies teacher for 10 years. Prior to teaching, I worked in a few different accounting roles. I have had zero experience in the fashion industry, but I was always a hat snob.

Each year I’d buy my sons a cute, branded fullback hat of their favorite team. I’m a quick learner, and quickly connected myself with a few key mentors who knew their stuff. 

Can you take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product?

My very first prototype (verion 1), was pulled together quickly one afternoon while my boys were napping. I had ripped a part the back seam of a very nice Oakley hat.

I knew I wanted a closeable opening, but just didn’t know how to do it. About an hour after a failed attempt at trying to sew a piece of yoga pant fabric in the back of hat (big fail lol!), I realized as the hat was sitting there back seam exposed – that it wouldn’t really take much for it to close up, my next thought was how do I do that discretely and what do I have in my house to help.

After going through the options: velcro, snaps, buttons, zipper – all terrible for your hair and quickly eliminated… I thought “MAGNETS”… and then… “Where do I have magnetics in my house…. My kids Magformers toys!!!”. The magnets from the toys gave the seam the boost it needed to stay closed. I felt an immediate surge of excitement. 

The prototyping continued, because just adding magnetics wasn’t enough, I needed it to truly look ‘invisible’ that was the goal. Months and months of iterations. Months and months of destroying and hand sewing prototypes – fingers raw, it led to the patent-pending design that I now have. 

Finding a manufacturer was reaaaallly hard. I didn’t realize it was going to be soo tough. I thought I could just Google it and have an answer, but sadly no. I posted in Facebook groups, I went to trade shows, I emailed random places, but shied away from random companies (I have trust issues).

Then I got lucky. I was networking with a connection of a connection I knew, who led me to a guy (with massive experience in the hat industry), who led me to another guy (sorry of all the vagueness, but I’d rather not give away trade secrets! Lol), who ultimately connected me to the amazing manufacturer that I have now. This was a series of luck, that I will be forever grateful for. 

Where do you sell your pieces? Are you able to purchase them from somewhere other than your website?

Currently, all Ponyback hats are being sold on my website. My hope is to some day have retail distribution, because I think a hat is an important item to try on first. 

What kind of woman is a “Ponyback Hats” customer?

The Ponyback hat customer is fun loving and obviously has long hair Lol. She likes to look cute while doing all the things: exercising, golfing, or going to the grocery store. 

What has been the biggest challenge/ hurdle you have faced so far? 

There have been challenges, but most were solvable with a little bit of ingenuity and creativity. The hardest thing was mustering the confidence to really go for it.

I’m not a risk taker, and even though I felt very compelled to move on this idea, it was still hard to let go of the secure job and regular pay cheque for a big IF. Overcoming the fear of taking the leap was the hardest thing. 

Can you tell us how you manage to balance your work with bringing up a family? And what advice can you give to other Moms to establish a healthy work/life balance? 

I am VERY privileged and blessed to have one incredible support network. Grandparents on both sides of our family are very involved and my husband has honestly picked up my slack.

I’m not sure that my ‘balance’ is always healthy at times. I work a lot – I really love building this company, and to me it doesn’t feel like work.  All of my current Ponyback operations are happening out of my house. We’ve turned our basement into our storage and packing facility.

As an entrepreneur I have the flexibility to drop what I’m doing at any given moment to help the kids when needed – and I love that. My kids are lucky to have tremendous amount of love and support, and I know that it doesn’t always need to come from me. They see me happy, striving hard toward a goal and doing what I love – I don’t hold guilt about having this dream. Instead, I truly believe that watching their mom strive for this goal and living her best life will be ‘for’ them in some way, shape or form. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives today. Can you tell us what are the biggest challenges you are facing as a woman in business during this pandemic? And how are you overcoming them? 

I launched Ponyback during the pandemic in June 2020, and literally don’t know any other reality!

I’ve had to become my own model, photographer, videographer, photo editor, graphic designer and the list continues. But, it has given me a tremendous amount of new skills and capabilities – that I may have otherwise paid someone else to do, and I’m honestly glad I was forced to learn the skills (it also saved me a lot of money! Lol). 

I don’t actually see the pandemic as providing any challenges for me – only opportunities. We’ve been forced to stay at home more, we have less activities and less ‘other things’ taking up our day to day. It has really allowed me more time to focus on building this business.

For the few months of virtual school that my kids had – it was a little nutty, managing all the things, I won’t lie… But my husband and I tag teamed as best we could and we got through it. My hours were a little unconventional during that time, but we made it work.  

Can you share your strategies about how to stay sane and serene during this difficult period?

I just keep focusing on all the positives and let go of all the things I can’t control. Also, a good Netflix show, to just escape from time to time doesn’t hurt. Lol. I recommend Brooklyn 99 and Schitts Creek for a good laugh. 

What has been your biggest milestone / achievement so far? 

 A few weeks ago, I had a TikTok video go viral. It gained me a ton of new followers (and sales!). I am really loving TikTok for its organic reach and supportive community. I gained 10,000 followers in two weeks!! INSANITY! 

What are your aspirations for the future? Where would you like to see your brand 5 years from now and are there any imminent plans for the company that you’d like to share?

In 5 years, I’d love to see Ponyback hats on the shelves of major retailers like Lids, that has been a dream since day 1.

As for imminent plans, I will be adding to the Ponyback line up this summer with a sweat wicking fabric made with recycled polyester – I can’t wait for this! 

What words of advice do you have for any female entrepreneurs trying to launch their own brand? 

Take every opportunity you can to network and enter into programs that support entrepreneurs. The power of networking, can be magical. 

“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity”

Seneca

This quote speaks directly to my experience, and I believe it to be true 100%.  

Is there anything else you would like to share with us today? 

Thanks so much for your thoughtful questions – I really had fun sharing my experience with you! I am very grateful your support, encouragement and kind words.

So many women are wearing hats right now, either as a quick hair fix or a stylish accent. Finally, there’s a hat that allows you to style your hair your way and fits super comfortably. Ponytail wearers will love it! 

You can find out more about the story behind the brand Ponyback Hats on their website, on Instagram, on TikTok and on Facebook, and have a look here for more of our inspiring women features.