Her Story
About Allison
Allison Kilburn is the founder of Slope and Fog, a premium matcha company that has developed a ready-to-drink matcha latte. She launched the business in 2024 after transitioning from a career in manufacturing, where she worked in automotive and building materials and advanced to a director role leading the quality organization. Kilburn studied forensic science at Eastern Kentucky University and added a minor in quality assurance technology, which supported her entry into manufacturing and quality-focused roles. As founder, she oversees all aspects of the business including product development, sales, supply chain, and marketing. She values integrity, quality, putting people first, and thoughtful innovation. Kilburn attributes her success to supportive mentors and the importance of hard work, and she advises leading by example while encouraging women to confidently claim their seat at the table. Outside of work, she volunteers at her church, including at summer camp programs.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Allison
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my success number one I've been very fortunate to have some really good mentors and people that have crossed my path at different points in my life that have helped me see what I hadn't seen in myself before. And then on the other side more personal I've just seen that it's really important to put in hard work even if it's a late night there's benefit and there's value to working hard to achieve a goal that you have.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Some of the best advice that I've received and that I've tried to live and also share with others is not asking others to do what you wouldn't do yourself. Especially in a leadership position it's important that you demonstrate anything that you're asking your team your peers anybody to do is something that either you've already done or that you're willing to get down in the weeds with them and do as well.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice for women would be you deserve a seat at the table just as much as anybody else. Don't be afraid to go after the hopes and the dreams that you might have. I've worked in industries where it's been primarily male-dominated so I've just had to find ways to make sure and be confident that what I'm bringing to the table is valuable. Don't be afraid to be confident in what you bring and always want to be cheering other women on.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge so far has just been transitioning from large organization-type structure and established resources to basically building all of that myself from the ground up. As the founder I'm responsible for everything from product development to sales supply chain marketing all of that. It's all incredibly rewarding but it definitely requires constant learning and adaptability from my end.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
For me personally I think integrity is the biggest one. It's really important that you're the same person whether people are looking at you or not. From a business standpoint we're focused on quality so that's at the heart of everything that we do. We source premium ingredients we produce at high standards we always want to make sure that we're consistent in what we're delivering. We want to have people first. I want to be thoughtful with innovation as well so be curious about what might be next look for ways to continuously improve.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.