Meet Katie Stryker | Co-Owner/Founding Partner

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

Hi Katie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think any entrepreneur that doesn’t acknowledge that their business would be impossible without their support system is doing a disservice to future entrepreneurs. Opening a business is risky and difficult, and I’ve yet to meet anyone who genuinely did it on their own without relying on an investor or mentor, parents, a romantic partner, or friends.

It’s okay to rely on others. Calculated risks with safety nets are the best way to move forward. It’s not sexy or glamorous, and if it is then it’s probably a facade. Everything felt like a huge risk, but we always evaluated the potential fall-out to make sure it was survivable. Being able to take risks is a privilege, and it’s okay to use that privilege to do something risky, but you should acknowledge the privilege and thank your support system whenever possible.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
In my career so far in animal rescue, I’m most proud of co-founding Tally Cat Cafe with my friends Courtney and Joshua Kendrick. When we decided we were going to open a cat cafe in 2017 – the idea was unfamiliar to most people, and I was 23, a senior in college. Josh and Courtney both had full time jobs, working 9-5, and couldn’t take unlimited time off to work on the business. I was the with availability, with a lighter college class schedule, and would serve as the main contact person. Every person we met with, to potentially work with, had to both like animals, and respect young women. If they didn’t, that step in our process would just stall and fail.

I had a loan officer ask me if I knew what a credit score was, I had a contractor ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had a realtor declare that cats were kind of gross and she didn’t know why a landlord would agree to house our business. It was so odd to see the starkness between people who, openly or otherwise, loved animals and respected young women, and those who didn’t. There were several interactions that left me feeling so small and so defeated, but when we were able to find a few people who believed in us and our cause, doors started opening.

Our coffee partner, Lucky Goat Coffee, back then was owned by Ben Pautsch. He was one of the first people who believed in us and connected us with several members of the community who were able to help us advance the incredibly long process of opening a storefront, including a loan officer and contractor who were great. He also personally accompanied us to tour locations to judge whether they could manage the coffee equipment we planned to have. Connections we weren’t able to make with his help were all found through the humane society. Our realtor regularly donated her commissions, our accountant has adopted from the humane society and also does their audits, our network became all animal lovers.

Our business grew through finding people in our community who believed in us and believed in helping animals. We carry that through even now when we choose new business relationships to form. Time and time again, relationships are more successful when they share our values, and supporting them is always worth paying for. I would always choose to support those who support me back over the cheapest option. I highly recommend giving consideration to who you give your business too, as a consumer, as a business, it matters and makes a difference. Lifting others up has a ripple effect that uplifts others.

After we opened, I got deeper into the world of animal rescue. I graduated from Florida State University the month the Cafe opened, May 2018, with a bachelor’s in business management. I had interned at the Leon County Humane Society as a junior, which is how the cafe’s relationship with LCHS began. Being in the college of business, I interned under the Director of Operations, April Rider, doing tasks “behind the scenes” like data entry, monetary management, filing, sneaking away to pet kittens, etc. After the cafe opened, my main responsibilities were the cats and marketing.

I track and monitor their health, make sure they get their vaccines on time, bring them to the vet when they’re sick, make sure their records are accurate before adoption, and advocate for their well-being. I was able to be a lot more hands on with animal care and learned a lot about veterinary care for cats and rescue medicine in general. As for marketing, I had a side gig in college doing some photography. I mostly did grad shoots, but I had also done maternity, weddings, engagement. When the cafe opened, I was able to just take photos of cats and focus on making our social media as appealing as possible.

After a year of the cafe being open, LCHS opened hiring for a Marketing Coordinator. I enjoyed being at the cafe and I was proud of our adoption rate but wanted to help animals more. I felt the skills I had acquired through the cafe would allow me to help more animals get adopted, so I applied.

There are pros and cons, I feel like I have two full time jobs, but at least those two jobs make a pretty Venn Diagram. It also keeps rescue, and the reason for opening the cat cafe, close to my heart.

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?
When I was a Sophomore in college at Florida State, I interned at Leon County Humane Society. I was in the college of business, and looking to go into Human Resource Management, but I loved animals and the Director of Operations at LCHS handled a lot of HR/Business related responsibilities that I could help with while staying relevant. I expected to help with quickbooks, pet animals once in a while, put in my time, and move onward. Instead, I fell in love with that organization, the people in it, and the way it was run with absolute integrity. In the rescue/animal world, there are so many different ways to conduct a rescue, or shelter, or boarding facility, or vet clinic.

The way LCHS operated was always geared toward what was best for animals and their people. Unwaveringly.

Even though the Director of Operations was supposed to be “behind the scenes,” she patiently answered phone call after phone call, answered ignorant questions, educated people politely and respectfully, and helped them. I mean – REALLY helped them. She never took the easy way out of the conversation. She would walk through an animal’s entire history with an owner, trying to figure out what the pet needed, if surrender was the answer, if there was a program that offered what they needed, if she knew a trainer that had success with that behavior, if she knew a vet who had seen that problem before, she stayed on the line until they got to the bottom of the issue and found a solution. When the solution was an answer that was hard, she was gentle and compassionate.

I watched their Executive Director go out every morning to a family with an outdoor dog who was being neglected. The family wasn’t “bad” or “cruel,” they just had very little, and a dog had wandered up to their house. They had tried contacting the shelter, but were told they were full, so they kept her, because they didn’t want her to be euthanized. She lived outside, but the kids in the home loved her, and had grown attached. the Executive Director went out and visited regularly, brought flea and heartworm preventative, helped transport her to be spayed, found a lawn care service willing to treat the yard since it was filled with fleas, she brought them an outdoor dog hutch and did everything to make the animal’s living situation as humane as possible. She offered several times to take the dog, but they always declined. She also brought the kids in the home new school supplies and backpacks when she noticed they needed them. The dog finally entered our care two years later, willingly, and was adopted by a vet partner, but I know our Director still worries about those kids and that family.

Their Cat Coordinator had a soft spot for the hissy kittens. Kittens who were turned down by the shelter for being “fractious” or “feral” and would be euthanized for “failing to thrive at the shelter.” Those kittens and cats were her favorite. I would walk by a kennel labeled “CAUTION, DEIDRE CAT,” and know that meant this kitten/cat might bite me today, but by next week they’d be purring and loving. She understood that they were going through something stressful, and that going through something stressful without showing any signs of stress was just an unfair expectation. The “mean” cats were some of the sweetest, they just needed compassion and decompression. She could pull them out and kiss them while they hissed, and soon they begged for kisses.

The Dog Coordinator lives, breathes, works dog rescue. She brings it home, her phone lights up and rings nonstop with questions from fosters and requests to take in dogs from other shelters and situations. When the program is full, (and it’s rarely too full for just one more,) she works to help facilitate transfers to other rescues so that the dogs she can’t take still make it out of rescue. Her commitment is damn near unmatched, and she does it because she genuinely wants to. She wants to help as many dogs as she can, and she’ll push to the limit to do that. Southern states are overwhelmed, and our neighboring counties aren’t impressive when it comes to animal welfare. She steps up to help other animal control offices, and pushes for change and support in rural areas. She makes tough decisions that I don’t envy and doesn’t let it knock her down.

I have not, to this day, found an organization with this amount of ethics, empathy, and care. I truly believe that I am in the field I am in because of this specific rescue and the way they conduct themselves. Watching them work drove me to help open Tally Cat Cafe, it drove me to come on board as Marketing Coordinator, and it drives me to do work that helps. Seeing what they were doing in our community made it clear to me that I needed to help them do more, because I saw the value that came from their compassion firsthand.

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?
First stop has to be coffee and cats at Tally Cat Cafe! After petting our fill of cats and drinking Cattuccinos, we’d head over to Railroad Square Art District! Railroad Square has lots of small businesses and interesting finds. One of my favorites is Otherside Vintage, where you can always find neat trinkets and unique clothing. Also in Railroad Square is Flippin’ Great Pinball, where you pay by the hour to enjoy a huge selection of vintage and new pinball games along with other popular arcade games, all free to play during your paid hour.

By then we’ll have built up an appetite and can head over to the Bark, just around the corner. The Bark is a vegan diner and bar that also hosts shows, karaoke, and stand up comedy depending on the night! Their food is delicious, whether you’re vegan or not, and they also have amazing drinks, or mocktails for those looking to DD or abstain. After dinner, up the road is The Wilbury, a bar where you can keep the fun rolling with mini bowling and pool.

The next day we’d take a short 40 minute drive to St. Marks Refuge. It’s a beautiful drive that ends at St. Marks Lighthouse on the gulf. There are trailheads throughout the park, and there are often alligator, deer, armadillo, owl, even flamingo sightings! Avid bird watchers come from all over to try and catch a glimpse of the infamous Pinky the Flamingo. In October, St. Marks is also a rest stop for the monarch migration, giving visitors a chance to see hundreds of monarchs clinging to trees at the beach, building strength for the final leg of their migration journey. Dinner would be back in town at Bella Bella, our favorite place for Italian food with locally renowned “bubble bread” that’s a must-try.

Breakfast at Lofty Pursuits is always a good idea! With amazing french toast, Lofty Pursuits is also a toy store! They stock tons of vintage games that will make the nostalgia inside itch. After a delicious meal and perusing all the fun items, we can head to Maclay Gardens! There’s a small entry fee per car, and another if you choose to enter the gardens during season, but it’s completely worth it. The gardens are overflowing with azaleas, carmillas, and magnolias, all in between giant live oak trees covered in spanish moss. There’s a small house that’s open to the public to see that belonged to the Maclays, and a lovely reflecting pool and pond. Bring a camera!

If we wanted to be fancy, we could go out to Lucillas or Sage for dinner. Both places are well known in town and popular choices for anniversary dinners or special occasions, and for good reason! If we wanted to be more casual, there’s always Sweet Pea, another great vegan restaurant in town. If we feel like pizza, Gaines Street Pies is my go-to. Locally owned and always hits the spot – we even served it at our wedding.

Another breakfast stop we’d have to check off is Donut Kingdom. Their red velvet donuts are homemade and to die for. After breakfast, we could head over to Tallahassee Museum. “Museum” isn’t the best descriptor, it’s a large outdoor area with exhibits of native wildlife, including wolves, bears, deer, alligators, foxes, and more! There are also old farm buildings, educational exhibits, and ziplining! Even as a resident, I try to make it over to Tallahassee Museum regularly.

Choosing what to eat and where to eat every day of my life is my biggest weakness, but I know we still have to make it to Midtown Caboose! They serve specialty burgers that are both creative and delicious. I also love to bring visitors to Bar 1901 for drinks, it’s a bar in an old converted library and is gorgeous. Tallahassee has no shortage on bars – 926 Bar and Grill is the main LGBTQ bar in town and never disappoints, and often has drag shows and other events. Liberty Bar and Grill has amazing food, particularly their mac n cheese, along with drinks that you never forget and dream about years after having.

As the week winds down, we could take a stroll around Lake Ella, a lovely pond surrounded by local businesses! The ducks quack as you walk around the “lake,” probably sipping on coffee from Black Dog or a Slushy from Big Easy Snowballs. You can’t walk around Lake Ella without stopping in to Quarter Moon, a little shop with fun gifts that always make me smile.

Being in a college town has its benefits, there are often bands playing at The Moon or even in Cascades park! It would be easy to grab tickets and enjoy a show. There are also plenty of open mic nights, karaoke bars, trivia nights, ect that could easily fill every single night of the month. It’s hard to be bored in Tallahassee, and worst comes to worst, we always have a mini cat cafe at our house with our 7 cats.

Website: www.tallycatcafe.com

Instagram: tallahasseecatcafe

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tallycatcafe

Image Credits
All of those are mine, but the photo of me was taken by Abigail O’Laughlin.