Kristina Latraverse never tested the market before opening her business — here are the lessons she’s learned about growth and community.

Kristina Latraverse, a former art teacher and art supervisor, saw that opportunity. The founder of Seagrass Pottery vowed to rent a building she loved in Indialantic, Florida, if it ever came available. The next day, a “for rent” sign appeared and she made her move. She says she never tested the market and just went for it because, “A town without arts is not the same as a town that doesn’t want any.” And while some might see it as impulsive, Latraverse says for a founder, that gut feeling “is just what you need to put yourself over the edge” to seize the moment.

Today, Seagrass Pottery has four revenue streams: handmade retail and wholesale pottery; classes, workshops and retreats; a community studio membership; and ceramics materials and supplies. Latraverse explained her method for spotting new opportunities: “We can really watch our customers, see where they’re going, see where they’ve been, and kind of meet their needs where they are.”

The big takeaway, Feifer notes, is that to find success, you don’t need to know where the business is going to go: “You just need to watch your customer closely enough to see what they need, and then you follow.”

Watch the video above to learn why Latraverse chose to go bigger when her studio ran out of room, how she creates a place where “people feel safe to fail,” and why a 2,300-degree kiln is a perfect metaphor for entrepreneurship.

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