1851

For any person who subscribes to the myth that millennials don&rsquo;t hustle and carry a sense of entitlement, they need only look at Kaylen Ralph&rsquo;s resume to be proven wrong. This young entrepreneur defies that misperception, while also not abiding by the rule so many believe to be true: you must commit to just one path. Clearly, Ralph is a rule&mdash;and a glass ceiling&mdash;breaker.

Driven early on, Ralph dove into her first business endeavor, The Riveter Magazine, before graduating from the University of Missouri in 2013. Since then, she&rsquo;s juggled waitressing gigs, freelancing, and working in the fashion industry&mdash;all for the sake of staying active in the creative environment in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she currently lives.

Finally finding the balance she&rsquo;s craved for the past three years, Ralph is now a full-time stylist for Anthropologie by day, and runs The Riveter, a long-form journalism platform for female writers, along with co-founder Joanna Demkiewicz, by night and weekend. &nbsp;

&ldquo;I initially really struggled to find a career that I enjoyed and didn&rsquo;t just feel like a means to support me doing the Riveter,&rdquo; says Ralph of when she first moved to Minneapolis after graduating from college. &ldquo;Where [Joanna and I] are now professionally is so much better than when we first moved here, scraping as many odd jobs together as we could just to pay the rent. Working in fashion has become really fulfilling for me creatively, in a way that fills my tank and makes me even more excited to come home and work on the Riveter.&rdquo;

Fulfilling her creative spirit, and noticing a deficiency in the industry, is why she embarked on creating a platform for female writers and journalists. Co-founder Demkiewicz &nbsp;and Ralph met working alongside each other at Mizzou&rsquo;s student publication, Vox magazine. The duo recognized their shared interests and desire to create a space dedicated to female journalists, which they felt didn&rsquo;t really exist in a satisfying way at the time.

&ldquo;It became more urgent to us to actually create a magazine by our senior year,&rdquo; says Ralph. &ldquo;We were preparing to graduate and realized just how far reaching the gender problem really was in long-form journalism. So we launched The Riveter right before we graduated and moved the operation to Minneapolis to give it a home base that was urban and artsy. Long story short, we started the magazine because we wanted to create a space to publish work by women who didn&rsquo;t feel there was a dedicated space for them in the magazine industry.&rdquo;

An area that The Riveter has really thrived is with their collaborations, which evokes the inclusive environment they sought to create since the publication&rsquo;s inception. Ralph runs, and is expanding upon, a book club that combines fashion and literature at the Anthropologie location where she works as a stylist. Once a month, they choose a book that has been reviewed by the Riveter. And Ralph curates outfits with Anthropologie&rsquo;s current line to emulate either specific characters or a period in time in which the book takes place. Currently taking place at one location, Ralph is working towards expanding the club to other stores throughout the country.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve learned that I&rsquo;m better at creating for the Riveter if I&rsquo;m constantly flexing my creation muscles, using different platforms to flex those skills so they&rsquo;re malleable,&rdquo; says Ralph. &ldquo;I think a common trait of more entrepreneurial-inclined people is that they have a lot of interests. So learning how to balance their first passion with other interests to fulfill themselves creatively and still support themselves financially is key.&rdquo; &nbsp;

Young Entrepreneurs: Kaylen Ralph of The Riveter Magazine

1851 Franchise

This young entrepreneur weaves together all of her many interests to create a fulfilling career that’s 100 percent her. 


young-entrepreneurs-kaylen-ralph-of-the-riveter-magazine

HomeTeam Inspection Service

Good Day Columbus: Home Insurance Expert Reveals Why Central Ohio Premiums Are Rising and How to Combat Costs

rising-home-insurance-costs-ohio

CapitalSpring

Primetime Fitness Expands Crunch Portfolio With CapitalSpring’s Backing

primetime-fitness-expands-crunch-portfolio-with-capitalsprings-backing

Children's Lighthouse

How Children’s Lighthouse Franchisees Scale to Multiple Locations

how-childrens-lighthouse-franchisees-scale-to-multiple-locations

Express Employment Professionals

Betting on Himself: How Chris Brown Built an Express Employment Professionals Franchise From the Ground Up

betting-on-himself-how-chris-brown-built-an-express-employment-professionals-franchise-from-the-ground-up

Comfort Keepers

Comfort Keepers® Named One of America’s Best Home-Care Providers

comfort-keepers-named-one-of-americas-best-home-care-providers

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Potbelly to be Acquired by RaceTrac in $566 Million Deal 

racetrac-acquires-potbelly-in-566-million-deal

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities - 1851 Franchise Agg

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities 

health-care-hiring-slowdown-in-home-care-franchise-opportunities

Caribou Coffee Names Scott Kennedy CEO, Eyes Continued Growth

caribou-coffee-names-scott-kennedy-ceo-eyes-continued-growth

McDonald’s Launches New Extra Value Meals as Consumer Demand for Value Continues to Climb

mcdonalds-launches-extra-value-meals

Power Eats: Smoothie King Rolls Out Food Nationwide To Fuel Franchise Growth

smoothie-king-food-menu-power-eats

DevHub - Meet the Supplier - 1851 Franchise

DevHub: Scalable Digital Marketing for Franchises and Multi-Location Brands

devhub-meet-the-supplier

Mike Revak - Chief Business Officer - Sky Zone - Franchise Marketing Leaders - 1851 Franchise

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Mike Revak — President and Chief Business Officer, Sky Zone

top-25-franchise-marketing-leaders-mike-revak-chief-business-officer-sky-zone

What It Really Feels Like To Franchise Your Business

what-it-really-feels-like-to-franchise-your-business

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Cathy Chavenet — Chief Marketing Officer, Paris Baguette

top-25-franchise-marketing-leaders-cathy-chavenet-chief-marketing-officer-paris-baguette

Hely and Hiral Patel Bring Their Longtime Dream to Life With The Brass Tap

brass-tap-franchise-pasadena-maryland-hely-hiral-patel

1851 Keyword - The Secret To Succeeding With a Part-Time Franchise Is Picking the Right Model

The Secret To Succeeding With a Part-Time Franchise Is Picking the Right Model

part-time-franchises-picking-the-right-model

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Ricki Oberoi and Layne's Chicken Fingers logo

Multi-Unit Wendy’s Operator Signs 12-Unit Deal With Layne’s Chicken Fingers

ricki-oberoi-laynes-chicken-fingers-growth

Design with school-aged child standing on pencil with text "Education Franchises" and "<$500K"

Top Education Franchises Under $500K To Explore in 2025

top-education-franchises-under-500k

1851 Franchise Deep Dive graphic with Sparkle Squad logo

Sparkle Squad Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

franchise-deep-dive-sparkle-squad-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data

Young Entrepreneurs: Kaylen Ralph of The Riveter Magazine

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS