From Instant Noodles to Instagram Legacy: How Katrin Klimova Is Disrupting the Mom Industry in Russia and Beyond

Rags to riches is a tale as old as time. However, Katrin Klimova does not believe in clichés. This social media success story did not follow any fairytale playbook. Her 1.4 million audience on Instagram is one of the largest Mompreneur accounts on the platform. She runs two popular brands for kids and pre-teens, champions women leaders as a motivational speaker at events and in the press while raising three beautiful children. Life wasn’t always “charmed” for the inspiring family influencer. She was born on the Russian Pacific coast into a troubled family. Early on, her father lost parental custody and her mother tragically died when she was just twelve years old. She had to relocate halfway around the continent to live with her grandmother.

Katrin Klimova

After a decade of studies, determination, and hard work in several businesses she mastered fashion design and communication skills and moved to Moscow. When her daughter was born in 2013, she started reflecting on her experiences on social media as well as sewing baby clothes and accessories. The audience quickly grew and soon included young talents among Russia’s new cultural elite: singer Victoria Daineko, actress Anna Khilkevich, gymnast Liasan Utiasheva and others. “It all happened so intuitively,” says Katrin. A desire to connect and share, handmade products, life’s little lifehacks. A “hobby” was taking more and more of her time and generating more income for the family. With the second child on his way, she committed to the entrepreneurial family influencer lifestyle fulltime. 

Who are the disruptors that inspire you?

There are many people worth admiring, but we often overlook those closest to us. I would have to say that my favorite disruptor is my grandmother! It took me a long time to realize that rebellious stage is natural and yet I still carry all her life lessons with me. She bought me my first sewing machine, helped me change my life and build confidence in my ability to follow a dream and earn a living. Work hard because nothing is given or guaranteed. You must start by disrupting your old patterns first.

How do you disrupt negative personal or business habits? 

The most important thing is independent thinking. You must learn to identify a problem, set goals to solve it, and follow your own action plan step by step. I think sports helped me train these skills. I practiced judo and played volleyball since I was younger. Sports teach you quick decision making, self-reliance and working as a team. Creative approach to business and life is about trusting your own vision and power. Focus on what you want for yourself and your family. 

Now Katrin caters not just to curiosity of her loyal audience, but to their practical needs as well. She launched two successful brands: wowsocks for cute baby socks and Okidoki for fun pre-teen clothing. Both brands are among the bestsellers on Wildberries, the largest Russian e-commerce platform. Remarkably, this company was started by a woman during her maternity leave, too! Katrin and her adorable “team” have also worked on different promos with some of the biggest family-friendly brands: Amway, Yandex, Rixos Hotels, FrutoNanny, and others. Now she is focused on her next business goal: a spa-quality line of innovative nailcare products TOP LAK. It maybe revolutionary for the nail polish market because it delivers high-performance results at home. The launch of TOP LAK has been one of the most successful in Russian beauty industry. 

How do you see the future of influencer disruption? 

I think social media will continue to diversify. We keep hearing about this new app and that must-have app. The future of education and entertainment and commerce is on social. It is impossible to image the world otherwise anymore. Followers are a type of social capital now. I would support my children on their own digital path. They just need to find the right topic to be passionate about. However, if they choose to do something completely different, it’s ok. There are many ways to become and be happy. I am excited for my own next steps and projects, too! 

Follow @katrinka_family_tut as they take on the world.