We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kylie Fagnano a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kylie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
Strata was named as a bold acknowledgement of all the different layers we all bring to the table when we are working on healing. Food, supplements, past trauma, family/friend dynamics, feelings of deservedness and self worth, actual physical pain, mental/emotional pain, etc…
We are all built from these layers and they are unique to us. This is why those who have felt failed by conventional methods thrive with this approach. There is an expectation of being heard, listened to, knowing that you matter and you are cared for. There is room for that with Kylie’s approach and practice!
If healing the gut or an autoimmune disease was as simple as changing what you eat, there wouldn’t be so many people who still need guidance and hand holding. It’s not that simple! It takes deep reflection, a willingness to be vulnerable, and someone to guide you through the complicated components that an average human being would never be expected to know for themselves.
Strata Nutrition helps you feel safe to be vulnerable so you can really get at the root of what’s causing a barrier to your healing process.
Diets, supplements, testing, protocols, lifestyles alterations – we do it all. It’s all important. But maybe the most important things offered is…space. To share, to be afraid, to be angry, to be in pain, and…to heal.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Kylie is an integrative and functional dietitian specializing in gut and digestive health and autoimmune diseases. In her practice, Strata Nutrition, she draws a big emphasis on the connection between the gut and the brain as a way to reintegrate the body and accomplish deep, long term healing.
She helps people find healing and relief from constipation, diarrhea, heart burn, SIBO, bacterial dysbiosis, bloating, and pain during and after eating, and other gut infections (H.Pylori, etc…). She also works with folks who have been suffering from autoimmunity and feel confused and overwhelmed about the process of helping themselves heal.
Emotionally and mentally, many of the clients that Kylie works with have felt failed by conventional methods that have been offered to them, they feel like they are not being listened to, and being told “it’s all in their head”, or “you’re just anxious”.
When they come to Kylie, they get a deep analysis of what is happening in their body at that moment in order to ID some of the most important information needed to take action steps forward. Having a great understanding of where you are is VITAL to understanding how to move forward. And this is one of the hardest things Kylie’s clients complain of: feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and defeated.
Kylie’s work helps move her client’s into a place of feeling confident navigating food again. Her goal is to act as a guide for her clients to help them understand exactly what to prioritize, when those priorities need to change, and what is essential to form habits around for long term success and health!
Kylie has recently launched a supplement line: Strata Supplements! The starting line up features basic health and inflammatory aids: omega 3 fish oil, liposomal vitamin D, and a comprehensive multi vitamin/mineral with added phytonutrients. Additionally, there are two gut healing supplements: a digestive enzyme (with added liver support) and a resistant starch/fiber powder to help build connection between the gut and the brain.
Her newest project is actually in the food manufacturing world! Kylie has recently been accepted in a Food Accelerator in Washington, DC to bring to market That Gut Drink. This is a gut health drink that Kylie created for herself and her clients and felt like it was WAY TOO good and beneficial to keep to herself! So, she’s bringing it to the world! It will be in stores in December, 2022 in the DC area and will slowly become available nation wide!
That Gut Drink contains several layers of vital gut health in one tasty drink! It’s perfect for those who are not at all concerned about their gut but want a health boosting drink AND for those who are actively working on healing.
Stay tuned to see it in stores near you!
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
When I was in school doing my Masters in Nutrition and becoming a Registered Dietitian I always knew I wanted to go into private practice. I remember crying every Sunday night before I had to go into my Food Service rotation during my internship because it was SO challenging for me to do something all day long that felt so outside of what lit me up.
My first year in the professional world, I worked a clinical job as a dietitian in a small hospital. I loved the people that I worked with (thank GOD!) but the work itself was not rewarding, challenging, or in line with what I knew I could really do to help people. After 8 months of that job, I opened my private practice: Strata Nutrition.
It started very slow with just a handful of clients. As it grew slowly, I went part time at the hospital. At one point I worked on the weekend at a cafe, was teaching dance, working PT at the hospital, working at the ALS clinic, AND running my practice. It was a lot! But it allowed me enough wiggle room to start to take some chances and grow my practice!
The needle mover for me was doing radio ads! I got connected with the hosts of everyone’s favorite local radio morning show and worked with that station to put together some really moving radio spots and it helped me get in front of the right people QUICKLY! One of the best investments I’ve ever made in my business.
Other investments included various business coaches. My advice here: they are not all created equal. Know what you really need for YOU to feel supported. If it’s mindset, look for that, if it’s actionable steps to take, look for that. I’ve made a lot of investments in coaching that were made from a place of feeling afraid and lost rather than really needing support. However, the ones that I made from the right place were MAGICAL so I highly recommend finding the right person and letting them help you transform.
Th newest project, That Gut Drink, was born out of pure intuitive action. I was making a drink for myself that was loaded with so many different supplements for my own gut healing that I needed to make it delicious and something to look forward to. When I realized that this was something everyone could seriously benefit from, I just took action with the resources that I knew were around me to try to bring it to life. I didn’t have any investors and had no idea how I was going to fund it (this was actually a question on the application to the Food Accelerator I am a part of and I felt like putting “no idea, but I’ll figure it out – I always do”!). AND I DID! Today I have investors and it’s growing and I cannot wait to be able to bring the product to you!
One thing that has always weighed on my heart has been the fact that not everyone has the resources to be able to afford integrative and functional health care (rarely covered by insurance). So this drink will be one way I can reach millions of more people!
Another way I get to help mitigate that sad fact is through the podcast that I co-host: Curious Women! It’s amazing, we have incredible guests that share juicy health details and we can share this information FOR FREE! So powerful.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
One of things that I learned (too slowly) was to stop trying to be everyone else. The online world is such a beast. There is so much filtering through your consciousness that sometimes it’s difficult to even remember how you want to represent YOU and YOUR BRAND.
Permission to let go of needing to do anything “perfectly” or “like that person” was one of the best gifts. As soon as I did that, things opened and flowed!
Some of the best advice I’ve received is that there is room for everyone in this world. There are people who will connect with me and my message and there are people who will not. And it’s all totally great. Letting go has been a big (and consistent) lesson I’m trying to lean into.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stratanutrition.com/
- Instagram: @the.gut.therapist
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylie-fagnano-33325b146/
- Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCJwKn53JZumj8SP-xYbHlLA/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D
- Other: Curious Women Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curious-women/id1614039124 Gut Health Quiz: https://www.stratanutrition.com/gut-health-quiz-part-one/ Services Overview: https://www.stratanutrition.com/work-with-me/
Image Credits
Tasha Pucky Photography: https://tashapuckeyphotography.com/ IG: @tashapuckeyphotography