For Hanna Kim-Yoo, founder of kidswear brand Oori Noa, growth has meant more orders, expenses, and inventory, but not necessarily more people to manage it. She moved her inventory out of her parents’ basement just this summer and still has a hand in nearly every part of the business.
Now, she’s using the newly launched Intuit Intelligence as an extra set of hands, from categorizing expenses and getting answers about P&L(Profit and Loss) and cash flow to building reports that help her understand what Oori Noa can afford as it grows.
Biggest challenges
“One of the biggest challenges has been inventory and cash flow, because as we grow, the decisions get bigger and you have to make them earlier. For something like Black Friday or the holiday season, I need to be thinking about inventory while it’s still summer, and manufacturers can require 50 to 100 per cent of the cost upfront. That means I’m committing a significant amount of cash well before I know exactly how the season is going to play out. There’s a real balancing act between having enough product to meet demand and not tying up too much cash in inventory that may take longer to sell,” said Kim-Yoo.
“I’m also a team of one, so the operational side of the business really falls to me. In the early days, I would sometimes look at what was in the bank account and make a decision from there. As the business has grown, that’s just not enough information. I need to understand my cash flow, profit and loss, expenses and how much money is already tied up in inventory before deciding what we can realistically afford to invest in next. As order volumes and inventory commitments grow, those financial decisions become a much bigger part of running the brand.”
Using Intuit Intelligence
Kim-Yoo is using Intuit Intelligence in the business, helping her manage expenses, understand cash flow or make decisions about what the business can afford.
“A lot of it comes down to giving me a clearer picture of the business without having to spend hours pulling that picture together myself. Intuit Intelligence automatically categorizes expenses for me to review, and I can use conversational reporting to ask questions about my profit and loss rather than digging through the numbers manually,” she said. “I’ve also set up a monthly update to help me track cash flow. It gives me confidence in my decision making.
“That’s especially helpful with inventory. Instead of looking at my bank balance and thinking, ‘There’s money there, so maybe I can place this order,’ I can look at cash flow, seasonality and how much I already have invested in inventory. For me, the value isn’t just seeing what already happened. It’s having that financial context available when I’m deciding what to do next. It gives me much better context for deciding what the business can actually afford, particularly when I’m planning months ahead for a major retail period like Black Friday or the holidays.”
Financial tasks for AI
Kim-Yoo said she’s very comfortable letting AI take some of the administrative work off her plate. Things like categorizing expenses for her review, creating the reports she needs or handling recurring tasks are areas where automation can save her a lot of time – the sweet spot is
having AI take on the work, without taking over the decision.
“I still want to understand the finances and make the decisions myself. If I’m deciding how much inventory to buy, whether we can afford to expand or where I want to invest in the business, that’s where my own judgment matters. That can’t be replaced. The technology can do more of the legwork and surface the information I need, but I’m still making the final call,” she noted.
Tangible business benefits
The biggest benefit since adopting the technology has been reducing the amount of time she spends on administrative work. Expenses can be automatically categorized for her review, She can get answers about her financials much more quickly, and even the time she spends with her accountant has changed.
“Previously, part of our calls would be spent categorizing expenses together. Now that work is largely done before we talk, so we can use that time for bigger conversations, like expansion,” she said.
“As a founder, that’s really valuable because the more time I can take away from administration, the more I can put back into the parts of Oori Noa that really need me: product, the creative direction of the brand, understanding our customers, and planning for growth. Those are the things where my time and judgment really matter. And personally, I’m also a mom to a baby and a toddler, so being able to close my laptop at 5 p.m. and be present with them is a very real benefit for me.”
AI tools used for growth
As Oori Noa grows, Kim-Yoo said AI can help her understand when the business is actually ready for that next investment.
“Whether I’m looking at inventory or expansion, having a clearer, more forward-looking picture of cash flow gives me better information to bring into those decisions rather than reacting to whatever happens to be in the bank account that day,” she explained.
“At the same time, I don’t think AI replaces the judgment you develop as a business owner. I still want to understand why the numbers look the way they do and make the final call myself. AI can surface information, automate some of the repetitive work and help me see things I might otherwise miss, but when there’s a meaningful financial or operational decision involved, I want to stay in control.”
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