Katie McCarthy from Wauchope is an enterprising young woman who credits her grandfather for inspiring her success.
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Katie is the granddaughter of the late Wauchope GP, Dr Keith Beck OAM She set up her own company as a creative outlet from her full-time career as a Sydney dental health therapist, after seeing the need for functional and innovative hair accessories for women, particularly in sport.
The idea of having her own business was always an avenue Katie wanted to explore, after her mother, Denise McCarthy gave her a book called The Game Changer by Samantha Brett, which convinced her to take the leap.
"Early last year, scrunchies were becoming the fashion accessory for the masses," said Katie.
"It became apparent that when women were both on and off the sporting field, there wasn't a functional scrunchie that kept hair off the face, and was made from high quality fabrics. Women were looking for scrunchies that could be worn many times without breaking or losing elasticity from high impact activity."
After much research, Katie contacted Danni Davis, a Touch Football prodigy to be the ambassador for Scrunchiko. When she went to New Zealand, she requested a team scrunchie for the Australian kit, and Katie made her first team order.
After interest from social media, and a small collaboration with Danni before the inaugural NRL Women's State of Origin, Scrunchiko became known as the trailblazer of team scrunchies.
"My pop, Dr Keith Beck, was a really hard worker and I probably got my business savvy from him. I love highlighting what women's sport should be about," says Katie, who went to St Joseph's Primary in Wauchope, St Joseph's Regional College and McKillop College.
"I didn't think a little scrunchie would have such a big impact," she smiled.