Meet Valorie Young | Co-Founder & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Valorie Young and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Valorie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My husband and I both come from a long line of entrepreneurs so starting our own business came naturally! He had his own painting company and I have had a real estate business since 2005. We have a portfolio of rental properties around Virginia and we’re looking to expand into the Florida market as we have a lot of family there! After my husband shut down his painting business, he became a professional caddie. Seeing all of the ailments and anxieties that golfers have as well as our own pains, we wanted to develop a business that could help! I broke my back in a car accident in 2002 so getting through a round is tough without something to aid in the pain. That’s how Kadii was born! There is quite a bit more to the story (and we have another CBD brand), but I have a feeling I can answer more in subsequent questions.

What should our readers know about your business?
I was a D1 athlete and played lacrosse at UVA. I had a horrific car accident in 2002 and broke my back, fractured my skull, broke 7 ribs, punctured & collapsed my skull among other things! I had to re-learn to read, write, walk & talk. I was put back a year in college (the semester I wrecked in and the following semester) even though I did attend classes. It was a technicality with the University unfortunately because I couldn’t complete ONE class from the prior semester and I was a week away from finals in the 2nd semester and had to withdraw from that class. If you withdraw after the completion of the semester, you automatically have to take the following semester off. It was CRUSHING! I was fighting for my life and my college career and when that happened…it was devastating. I didn’t let it hold me down though! I’m MOST proud of graduating from college! I pulled myself up and I took 21 hours every semester and summer school and I was able to walk at graduation with my class! Economic texts books on tape was less than riveting… I made it through and I showed myself that I have that fight and grit inside of me and I know that I can be successful and overcome just about anything! I know that’s early on, but it comes back full circle…I promise! 🙂 I got my real estate license in 2005 in Jacksonville, FL and moved to Virginia in 2007. I had my daughter in 2008 and my son in 2010. My husband and I divorced in 2013/2014 and I was a single mom of a 3 & 5 year old. It was tough, but I am blessed with a lot of family support. I was able to grow my real estate business to where I had 7 employees at one point and we were one of the top real estate teams in the area! It was rewarding to be able to help people find their “dream homes” and help navigate through stressful times. In 2014 I lost my little brother to opiates. He was only 25 and they destroyed his body. He was prescribed them initially for a minor back injury and he got addicted. We don’t really know what happened as his autopsy was inconclusive, but I saw him struggle with getting off opiates and it broke my heart. I knew that one day I wanted to do something in his honor because he was such a bright light and just a really good soul! My kids called him Uncle Yogi and that’s where our first CBD business, Uncle Yogi’s was born! It’s a skincare, health and wellness brand and it has taken us almost 5 years to get to where we are. We even got our all natural and organic skincare formulation certificates because we wanted to know exactly what each ingredient did that our chemists were putting in to our products! It has been seemingly impossible at times to get to where we are, but we are so incredibly proud of our formulations and we already have some great ideas for serums and other products! After we got Uncle Yogi’s formulations complete, we wanted to provide all natural products for pain as well. That’s how Kadii was born! My husband, Arthur, was a professional caddie for well over a decade so we really worked hard to create products that were tailored to the athlete so our products are truly formulated for golfers, by golfers! Kadii was created out of necessity because over the counter pain medications (NSAIDs) are incredibly dangerous if used on a regular basis, and with my broken back issues…I need pain relief!
We aim to help educate people on how they can manage their ailments with all natural products from sleep to pain, anxiety, skin conditions, hair growth…you name it! The hemp plant is an incredible plant and we are constantly learning and looking to develop new and better products. Both of our companies are working to unlock the full potential of the hemp plant by combining other all natural ingredients like Lion’s Mane and other all natural ingredients. Everyone has lost someone to depression, anxiety, drugs. There are natural ways with minimal to no side effects. If one strain of hemp doesn’t work for you, try another! Don’t give up! Some pain medications work better than others for different people! Use us as a resource as we are happy to answer any and all questions and if we don’t know the answer, I can assure you that we know someone that does! WE succeed through helping those around us. If we can just change the trajectory of one person’s life by helping them better cope with all natural ingredients, then we have succeeded. Our story was born through tragedy, but yours doesn’t have to be. We can help!

Lessons along the way…..just don’t give up. You will have dozens of obstacles thrown in front of you. Learn. Pivot. Fail forward. There will be a point along your journey when the light at the end of the tunnel is actually a light (and not a freight train). Godspeed!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I were visiting Miami, I would most likely go to the beaches or find somewhere to paddle board. Anything roof top is right up my alley! Here in Charlottesville, it is really hard to leave our house! We have amazing views, privacy and a hot tub! If I had to leave to entertain friends, I would definitely take them to the Downtown Mall and IX Art Park. There are all kinds of neat restaurants and little venues. We’d have to head up the 151 corridor one day and visit all of the wineries and breweries. We have some great distilleries as well. After that, if you come to Charlottesville, you have to go to Monticello, Ash Lawn Highlands & Montpelier. A walk around the Rotunda at UVA would be fun too. From the Corner at UVA, I would head to Maya and visit my favorite bartender, Ted, at Maya! Great farm to table food with a Southern flair! If you like hiking, Blue Hole or Humpback Rock is a great and beginner hike. We have a lot going on here in Virginia!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Personally, I would give a shout out to my parents. I saw them both work diligently in their own businesses growing up and it was inspiring! I see a lot of “give up” in the world today and if people just pushed a little bit harder or worked on tweaking their ideas a little bit before throwing in the towel, they could see the fruits of their labor come in to fruition! We get road block after road block with our CBD brands. We have lost tens of thousands of dollars due to investments in bad marketing. We have been shut down from our payment processor because our one sale when we started turned into a charge back! We have paid for certificates of analysis for our CBD products and the company we hired sent back fraudulent reports. It has been one thing after another…after another. Most people would have given up but we have just kept on pushing through because we believe in what we have created! My parents taught me to have that “grit” and to finish what I started! They’re the best!

Website: www.kadii.com & www.uncleyogis.com

Instagram: @kadiigolf & @uncleyogis

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncleyogis & https://www.linkedin.com/company/kadii-cbd/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/uncleyogis & https://www.twitter.com/kadiicbd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncleyogis & https://www.facebook.com/kadiicbd

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@unceyogis & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLgZY2AoNx7dflWwMeplaA

Image Credits
@AaronMoney