Success for businesses is more than growing followers and churning out content — it’s about telling a story that can bring a brand to life. Alyssa Cate, Founder and Creative Director at Alyssaya, knows storytelling is core to a brand’s success and firmly believes that businesses can succeed in ways that uplift communities, protect the environment, and positively impact society.
After building her own successful ethical brand, Alyssa realized how closely operations and creativity are linked. For social enterprises and small businesses, being authentic, efficient, and creative is essential, and Alyssa’s superpower is making this happen, especially on social media platforms.
Growing up in a spiritual household deeply influenced her approach to life and business. Early meditation sessions with her mom and a health-conscious lifestyle before it was mainstream laid the foundation for her core values. This philosophy is reflected in the lion of the Alyssaya logo. As an August Leo, symbolized by the lion tattoo on her forearm, she embodies strength, confidence, loyalty, and sensitivity, and applies this to her business by consciously guiding her clients toward their goals.
With her experience living in different countries, storytelling comes naturally to her. Her ultimate goal with her current venture, Alyssaya, is to help others amplify their stories and empower women to build their brands with confidence. Her clients receive a fully personalized experience where they co-create a strategy that aligns perfectly with their brand’s DNA.
But like any venture, Alyssa faces challenges, particularly in balancing her time and energy. The deeply personal and creative nature of her branding and marketing work can't be rushed or squeezed into a strict timeline. Over time, she’s learned to communicate this to her clients, helping them appreciate the value of her thoughtful and deliberate approach.
While her business focus is on business strategy, creative marketing, and social media, Alyssa’s approach is more than a menu of services. She combines a boutique experience with conscious practices, ensuring that decisions are beneficial for her clients success while positively impacting the world around us.
Before the year ends, her goal is to add one more regular client. But she’s being selective in finding someone as she’s seeking a partner who's willing to break away from traditional social media practices and embrace something that hasn’t been done before. She’s looking for the creative freedom to make a bold statement—whether it comes from a new client who trusts her vision or from launching something of her own. Either way, it’s on the horizon, and she’s ready for it.
Alyssa credits her impressive following and high engagement with taking relationships offline. When she first launched Alyssaya, she hosted ethical retreats in rural Guatemala every month. Partnering with top creatives in the travel community and global brands like Corona helped her build a network that shares Alyssaya’s core values of authentic storytelling. While this can mean something different to everyone, that feeling is reflected in the connections she builds on social media and in person.
It’s no surprise that she brings that same level of attention and care to her social media strategy. Alyssa personally engages with every comment and DM, while maintaining a safe space by filtering out harmful interactions. Partnering with Planoly allows her to scale these efforts, easily dragging, dropping, merging, and playing with the grid design while collaborating seamlessly within the platform. Through cultivating a mindful and positive online presence, Alyssa has organically built a community of like-minded individuals who are equally committed to making the world a better place.
It’s easy to get caught up with trends and social metrics, but Alyssa encourages anyone creating something new to take a step back, be your authentic self, and see the bigger picture. She lives mantra “Be true to yourself. No one is you, and that is your power!”
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