Kalika Yap

Kalika Joy Nacion Yap is an American entrepreneur and inventor. She is known for inventing the Luxe Link, a fashion accessory that hangs women’s purses to keep them off the floor. Yap is the founder and CEO of an interactive design and consulting agency called Citrus Studios, based in Santa Monica, California, and The Waxing Company, a waxing salon in Honolulu. Yap is president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization and is host of its podcast, Wonder.

Biography
In 1999, Yap founded Citrus Studios, Inc., a brand and digital marketing agency. She is also the author of The Little Brand Book.

In 2005, Yap invented and patented Luxe Link. Luxe Link is a fashion accessory that acts as an instant hanger to keep women’s purses off the floor.

According to Entrepreneur Magazine, by 2008, Luxe Link achieved a million dollars in revenue. The company has licensing deals with Cole Haan, Michael Kors, The Beatles, Hello Kitty, Wells Fargo, Live Nation, and other major brands.

On February 19, 2013, Luxe Link announced a $350,000 settlement of its patent-infringement lawsuit against online retailer Provide Commerce Inc. Luxe Link filed the lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court in Los Angeles in 2012, accusing Provide Commerce of selling patent-infringing purse hooks on RedEnvelope.com. As part of the settlement, Provide Commerce began selling Luxe Link exclusively on RedEnvelope.

Yap launched her third business – The Waxing Company, a waxing salon in her hometown of Honolulu.

Awards and press
Yap is a member of the Entrepreneur’s Organization and was named a Rising Star with the National Women Business Owners Corporation and is a trustee of the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, Calif.

Yap has been honored for her entrepreneurial efforts by the Anti-Defamation League. as well as Farmers Insurance

In 2011, she was one of twenty Los Angeles business leaders to meet with Beatrice Hidalgo, senior policy advisor in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House to discuss needs of small business entrepreneurs.

In March 2014, she was a panelist on an Urban Economic Forum hosted by the Obama White House and U.S. Small Business Administration.

In November 2014, Yap was featured as a business expert on the MSNBC show "Your Business", where she answered viewer questions about growing their small business through acquisitions and whether or not the size of your office space really matters. She also appeared on the program in February 2016.

In February 2015, Kalika Yap was selected as part of global fashion brand BCBG's New Guard campaign featuring "the county's most interesting women" both in print and video. Kalika is featured along with Kiva founder Jessica Jackley, TechCrunch co-editor Alexia Tsotsis, and CBS journalist Alison Harmelin.

In 2017, Yap was honored by BMW as one of four female social entrepreneurs in Los Angeles as “Women Who Pay It 4Ward." She was recently included in Microsoft's ebook "10 under 10" that features 10 successful entrepreneurs with less than 10 employees. She was also a featured speaker at the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2018 Women's Council & Awards.

Personal background
Yap is married to Rodney Yap, a former financial reporter and editor for Bloomberg News. The couple have two daughters, Malia and Kailani. They have homes in Santa Monica, California, Las Vegas, Nevada and Honolulu, Hawaii.