Amanda Kao turned being bad into a business. She’s the founder and CEO of Bad Academy, one of Vancouver’s exceptional women-owned businesses. Bad Academy curates workshops specifically for and by women and gender-expansive folks. She started Bad Academy to teach women to be more self-sufficient by getting good with being bad at something — and doing it anyway.
It all started when Amanda moved from New York to Vancouver 10 years ago. She found herself in a predicament many transplants face: the struggle to make friends in a new city. Determined to connect with others, she attended workshops for women and gender-expansive folks. But she quickly realized how limiting the typical female-targeted crafting and homemaker workshops could be.
Craving something more practical, intriguing, or even offbeat, inspiration struck: Why not create workshops for women and gender-expansive people that covered everything from car maintenance to financial literacy? Things that many women were considered “bad” at. Things that were never advertised as being for women. And thus, the women-owned business Bad Academy was born.
How Bad Academy got started.
Colleen Christison: Can you tell me about the beginning of Bad Academy? Amanda Kao: The first workshop Bad Academy launched was Car Maintenance 101, and it sold out within a day. I wasn’t expecting it to be huge. I wasn’t even working full-time on Bad Academy then; it was just a side project. But it got a lot of momentum and attention, so I was just like, “Oh, I guess I should keep going with this.” Now, I think we’re up to about 250 workshops in five years, and I’m doing this full-time. It’s really a dream come true, to be honest.
Bad Academy: The name, the brand, and the philosophy.
Colleen: You mentioned before you kind of fell into business ownership and being an entrepreneur through the search for friends. But was there a moment or experience that motivated you to continue with the entrepreneurial journey? Because it’s a lot of work, as you know, and I’m sure you’ve checked off the goal of making friends by now.
Amanda: Oh, yeah, I basically started this business so I could build a community. It’s definitely been nice; I’ve made a lot of great friends through Bad Academy.
I had the opportunity a year ago to go full-time with Bad Academy when I was let go from my job. I was looking for full-time jobs, but my heart wasn’t in it. I could feel myself pulling away from the process. So I started exploring what an alternative work experience could look like for me.
I had Bad Academy going, but it was quiet at that moment because I’d been focusing on other things. It had been a long time since I hadn’t been employed, so it just felt like the perfect recipe to take this risk. Taking risks like that in a financial climate like this is hard, so I’m grateful for the diligence I’ve had in saving and for my circumstances that have left me more privileged than most. I understand and recognize the financial barriers that make entrepreneurship risky, and I totally respect that.
Colleen: I want to ask you about the name. Can you tell me the story behind the name “Bad Academy”? Amanda: When I was trying to come up with a name for this organization, I was waking up at 5 in the morning and working until 9 A.M. on Bad Academy, then working 9 to 5 with my job, and then I’d work after that on Bad Academy. I know it sounds brutal, but I remember telling my partner at the time, “I’m not tired. I love this.”
But it needed a name for me to really visualize what it was going to look like. I didn’t want it to be overtly feminine, which is a hang-up of mine with many women’s groups. There’s nothing wrong with it, but anything with “babes” or “ladies” makes me feel like it’s not me, and I don’t think all women identify that way. I wanted to attract a certain demographic, and “Academy” sounds cool because it could be like “Flight Academy” — which is badass.
Then, I was thinking about the attitude behind Bad Academy. I thought about Michael Jackson’s album “Bad,” and I was like, “Oh my gosh! Bad Academy.”
Later on, it was a happy accident that not only is it badass to do the things we do for Bad Academy, but we’re also bad at them. We’re here to learn; we don’t know anything about this. I’m teaching people, specifically women, to embrace the vulnerability of admitting they’re bad at something so we can start from there and move forward.
“Not only is it badass to do the things we do for Bad Academy, but we’re also bad at them… Embrace the vulnerability of being bad at something so you can start there and move forward.”
Colleen: There are so many classes I want to take or things I want to do, but I think, “I’m going to be bad at it.” And that’s such a barrier. Embracing that and making it part of your branding is a special kind of brilliant, and I love it. Amanda: Yeah, I mean, it’s also great for me because no one has high expectations of me either. They’re like, “Well, she already admitted she’s bad at it.” You name the fear, and as soon as you do that, it has no power.
The community behind Bad Academy and how it grew.
Colleen: What’s the story of when you first started out? Who supported you? Did you have help building Bad Academy into what it is today?
Amanda: I still run it by myself, besides the wonderful team at Vancity as my choir of angels behind me. At the time, my partner was a designer, and he helped me design the first iteration of the logo. He was all in and very supportive. But overall, I’d say the help I got was from the community.
People just wanted to help — whether it was graphic designers, writers, developers, people offering spaces in the city for workshops. Everyone came out of the woodwork to support me. It’s humbling and makes me want to cry thinking about the people who resonate with it and want to help. I wouldn’t be anywhere if people hadn’t supported me the way they have.
I’m teaching people, specifically women, to embrace the vulnerability of admitting they’re bad at something so we can start from there and move forward.
Colleen: That’s a beautiful thing — this idea of community. It seems like we have some similar things in common. For me, it’s hard to accept help sometimes; I like to do everything myself.
Amanda: Yeah, same here. But the community care people put into this can’t be replaced. It’s not just telling a friend or buying a ticket. People wrestle tasks away from me because they know who I am and that I need help. It’s a different kind of care.
Colleen: Those are the best kinds of friends. I want to talk a little bit more about your beginning. A lot of people struggle to make a profit when starting a business. Was there a turning point for the Bad Academy when you became profitable?
Amanda: I’ve never really understood the business side of things like being in the red all the time. I’m not a business person; I went to school for film. I started it without any idea of profit — I just wanted to build community, make friends, and learn cool stuff. When I started to get some profit, my idea was low overhead. I’m also trying to prove you can be ethical and make a profit. A lot of people assume Bad Academy is a nonprofit, but I’m very much for-profit because I deserve to be paid for what I do. I want all women to feel that way, too, so I’m leading by example and not taking advantage of others to make more money.
“I’m very much for-profit because I deserve to be paid for what I do. I want all women to feel that way, too.”
The point of profit came when I realized that what I was doing was worth something. I was holding myself back. I was taking odd jobs last year, like dog-walking like a maniac, fearing I wouldn’t make enough with Bad Academy. Then I realized that if I put all my focus and energy into this thing, I’d have no choice but to make money from it.
Colleen: Exactly! My next question for you is about realizing Bad Academy would be successful, and it sounds like there’s a mix of things for you. The community aspect, supporting your community — that’s one form of success. And then what you just mentioned, about putting everything into it so it has to become financially successful. Was there a particular moment when you realized that what you were doing was going to have long-lasting success?
Amanda: Sometimes, when you’re freelancing or doing your own thing, you’re just like, “I don’t have a plan.” You’re like, “I have this contract, and it’ll end at this time. Then I don’t know…” But it always seems to work itself out.
Not to say I don’t put work into it, but I’ve noticed if you keep your head down and work hard, someone will notice, or you’ll find those opportunities. I can present a brand with an idea of how I can collaborate with them. It’s a way for me to sustain my lifestyle and help the organization as a whole.
Colleen: As a freelancer, I totally understand. Sometimes, you only know what the next month is going to look like.
Amanda: Exactly. You’re trading instability for freedom. I can be a goblin at 2 A.M. working on something because no one is telling me not to. But I value my freedom and flexibility so much more than security. That’s a privileged thing, of course. Once I realized I was hungry for that feeling, there was no going back. I can’t live my life any other way, so what choice do I have but to give this my best shot?
Colleen: Exactly! The freedom is addictive. But I think we should talk about the sacrifices, too. We’ve got to give people the whole picture.
Tune in to part two of the Bad Academy series to see the trials, tribulations, and hard-won success Amanda’s found with her business.
To all the women-owned businesses and women and gender-expansive entrepreneurs out there, Vancity has your back every step of the way.
