When Kyla Dufresne first launched Foxy Box Laser & Wax Bars, she didn’t have a storefront or a polished business plan. What she did have was a massage table in her dining room, four skeptical roommates, and a vision that’s now grown into 24 locations across Canada.
“I used to give my customers a shot of tequila or whiskey to make them relax while I practiced doing Brazilians on them,” Dufresne recalls with a laugh. That was back in 2012, when she first saw a gap in the waxing market while bartending in Victoria.
“Back then the only places to get waxed were either you found someone awesome that worked out of their home, or you would go to a high-end spa and you’d be in a room with someone who probably didn’t want to be there, and spend over a hundred bucks and not get a very good job… or the back of a nail salon, which probably didn’t have the best hygienic standards.”
From those humble beginnings—working out of her home and then the back of a jewelry store—Dufresne has grown Foxy Box into a national franchise.
“Technically I started Foxy Box back in 2012, I had a little room in the back of a jewelry store and then I was only there for maybe three or four months before I knew I needed a bigger space.”
Of the 24 current locations, Dufresne owns two. “I have owned five. I’ve since sold three of them off to franchisees. It’s good for me to own corporate stores because then we get to test out things before we roll them out to the system.”
But Foxy Box wasn’t her first entrepreneurial venture. “My first business I owned a T-shirt line,” she says. “I put like funny music sayings on T-shirts. And then I sold them at music festivals and at markets.” That venture, while creatively fulfilling, didn’t prove scalable. “I was probably just breaking even with the amount of time that I was putting into it.”
Still, it was part of a larger pattern. “I guess I’ve always been like a hustler,” she says. “I dropped out in grade 10 and started working full-time… I wanted to become a mental health worker, and so I needed some credits to upgrade.”
She did eventually earn her high school diploma, became certified, and worked with youth with behavioural disorders for nearly a year. “I loved the boys and they were the best behaviour with me. But it was stressful… It wasn’t my forever game.”
Now living in Mill Bay on Vancouver Island, Dufresne juggles her role as CEO with life as a mother of three—including a toddler. “I have a one and a half year old boy as well and lots of nephews,” she says. Her stepsons are 14 and 17.
So how does she balance the demands of motherhood with a growing business?
“I don’t like the word balance,” she says. “You have to find your flow… Nothing has changed for me. I just now have a baby on my hip.” She even signed a lease for a new store in Vancouver two days before giving birth. “We built out that store over in Vancouver while he was just a few months old.”
The key, she says, is support and structure. “I have childcare two days a week… That’s when I schedule all my meetings, like back to back. And then in between, I’m checking my email or working while he naps.” She adds, jokingly: “The way that you run a successful growing company is—you hire people that don’t have kids.”
Dufresne credits her Chief Operating Officer, Cheryl (Laing), with helping run the day-to-day. “She’s been my business partner for a long time… She doesn’t want to have kids. She’s the best in the whole world and she’s just got time and is focused on Foxy Box.”
As for advice to young people uncertain about their path? Dufresne keeps it simple: “It doesn’t matter what you do, you just got to try shit. Just try it and if you don’t like it, then try something else… Everything is a learning experience.”
She brings the same philosophy into her leadership style. “Fun. Have fun,” she says. “As soon as we’re not having fun, I don’t think I want to do it anymore.”
Her approach combines fun with radical transparency. “We share all the weekly KPIs with all 24 locations every week with the entire system because we believe we can lean on each other and learn from one another.”
Two core values guide the company: “Humour is critical,” and “Don’t beat around the bush.” Dufresne elaborates: “Transparency is everything to me… We own it and we put it out right away.”
From dropping out of high school to leading a Canada-wide beauty brand, Kyla Dufresne’s story is a testament to entrepreneurial grit, creative vision, and staying true to your values—even if that means bringing your baby to a boardroom.
As she puts it, “If I were to look back, it would be really challenging to start this with a one and a half year old… But I built up the infrastructure to support the system. And then had Bronson.”
And what a system it’s become.
In a LinkedIn post, Dufresne said she didn’t grow up thinking she would be a CEO.
“I just knew I never wanted to settle.I watched my mom run a bakery for 12 years. She worked hard, day and night, and still struggled to get ahead. That lit something in me. Not just to build something of my own…But to build something that lifts other women with me. Entrepreneurship gave me freedom, confidence, and a way to rewrite the rules. Not just for myself but for every woman who’s ever thought, “Can I really do this?”
“Here’s what I’ve learned:
✅ You don’t need perfect. You need momentum.
✅ Failure isn’t a red flag. It’s part of the process.
✅ The goal isn’t just profit—it’s purpose, power, and potential.”
Related Retail Insider stories:
- Foxy Box Wax Bar Plans Major Expansion Across North America
- Foxy Box franchise owners in Cambridge share their entrepreneurial journey and plans for expansion
That is a great storey !