On the Matriarch Movement podcast, Chelsee, founder of the Indigenous-owned brand aaniin hello, shared her inspiring journey from launching a drop-shipping website in 2021 to opening Toronto’s first Indigenous-owned retail store. Despite facing financial challenges that led to the closure of the physical store, she generated over $800,000 in sales and emphasized the importance of Indigenous representation, financial literacy, and ownership.

Chelsee’s entrepreneurial path began with a successful drop-shipping website that sold out within the first week, bringing in $3,000 in sales. However, after initial success, she realized the need to integrate and showcase language revitalization, such as adding QR codes to the apparel to pass on translations of Indigenous languages, aligning with aaniin’s slogan: “Every conversation starts with aaniin.”

Her brand quickly gained traction, leading her to open a physical store after making significant sales at the Stackt Market in Toronto. aaniin’s best-selling line, the “Tkaronto design,” generated $15,000, helping Chelsee transition to working on her business full-time. Yet, despite these accomplishments, Chelsee had to close the store due to the challenges of accessing capital and managing growth.

Throughout the conversation, Chelsee emphasized the critical importance of financial literacy and Indigenous ownership. She spoke about the barriers Indigenous entrepreneurs face, including systemic obstacles to accessing capital and the risk of “recolonization” through non-Indigenous investments. Her message is clear: Indigenous entrepreneurs must retain ownership and control of their businesses to preserve their cultural identity and avoid dilution of Indigenous representation.

Looking ahead, Chelsee plans to refocus on online sales, with the goal of reaching $1 million, and continue engaging her community through meaningful connections. She also highlighted the need for improved financial support systems for Indigenous businesses to ensure their long-term success.

Thanks for checking out this episode of the Matriarch Movement podcast! If you enjoyed the conversation, please leave a comment and thumbs-up on YouTube, or leave a five star review on your favourite podcast app!

Find out more about Chelsee Pettit and her company: https://www.aaniin.shop/pages/our-story

Find Shayla Oulette Stonechild on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shayla0h/

Find more about Matriarch Movement: https://matriarchmovement.ca/

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@matriarch.movement

Our producer is Nicole Robertson with Muskwa Productions.

Our podcast producer is Kattie Laur.

Our videographer is Sara Cornthwaite.

Behind the scenes photography is by Kiki Guerard, Michelle Aregentieri, and Stephanie Neves.

Special thanks to the Indigenous Screen Office for supporting this video podcast!