Meet Kristin Mountcastle | Growing Our Girls Founder

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

Hi Kristin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In the summer of 2015, I was a mother of two young daughters and a change management consultant at a major consulting firm in Charlotte. I loved my work, but often felt a quiet tug to expand my impact and do something more. One ordinary July day, the quiet tug grew to a louder calling that was impossible to ignore. Visions of a girl empowerment platform came flooding in over the course of minutes, demanding my attention. Unable to think about much else, the brainstorming and designing began over the coming days, weeks, and months. I met with various experts in the fields of STEM, mental health, and summer camps, and began to build the foundation of Growing Our Girls (GOG), a vision that merged my passion for girl empowerment and background in psychology, with my experiences as a mother.

Life continued to evolve, and just over a year later, we welcomed a third daughter alongside our two toddlers. Priorities shifted and GOG was placed on hold as I left corporate America and focused on navigating motherhood and family life. Fast forward 8 years later to early 2024, the quiet tug returned—this time in a bolder, more persistent way. With my daughters now 11, 9 and 7, and the challenges of raising girls in today’s society more apparent, I dusted off my dream and reimagined GOG. By spring 2024, I relaunched with renewed energy, hosting focus groups with over 50 moms to refine the platform’s vision. The conversations were honest, emotional, and inspiring, reaffirming the need for a space where mothers and daughters could connect, grow, and thrive together.

Today, GOG has blossomed into a vibrant platform offering workshops, mother-daughter activities, volunteer opportunities, and resources to empower girls and support the women raising them throughout Charlotte and surrounding areas. In less than a year, we’ve created a community and started a movement fueled by the incredible support of local Charlotteans and beyond. As we step into 2025, I’m excited to expand GOG’s impact with new programs that foster connection, growth, and even broader community.

What should our readers know about your business?
What began as a vision to empower girls through summer camps and afterschool programs has evolved into a refined focus on the mother-daughter relationship. Simply put, even the best empowerment efforts can only go so far if the most influential voice at home isn’t reinforcing and modeling those messages.

Through focus groups, I discovered a significant gap: few organizations prioritized creating opportunities for moms and daughters to bond and grow together. Growing Our Girls not only fills that space but also works to break the stigma around mental health, providing access to local professionals who help women and girls embrace the best versions of themselves.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Helene gave our community an opportunity to demonstrate the power of service in the mother-daughter experience. As families across North Carolina felt powerless in the face of the horrific flooding, Growing Our Girls stepped up to organize a Halloween costume and candy drive for kids in Western NC. The response from the Charlotte community was overwhelming, and since then, we’ve facilitated monthly opportunities for families to give back while supporting local causes they might not have known about. These events are a beautiful way to connect, and we welcome dads and brothers, too!

The journey to this point hasn’t been an easy one, and we’re still working hard to spread the word about who we are and what we do. It’s taken a lot of effort to step outside my comfort zone to market and share our mission, but it’s been incredibly rewarding to see how much it resonates. We’re thrilled to watch our impact grow steadily and meaningfully, one connection at a time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
How fun! I’d make sure we spent plenty of time in my favorite parts of the city: Dilworth, South End, NoDa, Plaza Midwood, Uptown and a few stops outside of the city for a good hike and fun at the US Whitewater Center. My ideal day includes delicious food, unique shopping, opportunities to be active, indulge in a little self-care, hear great music, and explore new cocktails in a fun setting.

Day 1: Dilworth
Morning: Breakfast at The Famous Toastery (my girls’ favorite breakfast/brunch spot!), shopping at JT Posh, massages at Mood House, and pedicures at The Nail Bar.
Afternoon: Lunch at 300 East, a cozy, upscale restaurant serving New American cuisine in a historic home; our family’s favorite restaurant when celebrating special occasions! Shopping on East Blvd and explore the Dilworth Historic neighborhood with its charming bungalows, boutique shops, and tree-lined streets. Make sure we stop at Paper Skyscraper, Vestique and stroll through Latta Park.
Evening: Dinner and drinks at Dilworth Tasting Room – sit on their secret garden patio if a nice night!

Day 2: South End
Morning: Breakfast at The Suffolk Punch, a café, brewery, and bar with locally inspired dishes. Walk along the Charlotte Rail Trail, a vibrant, art-filled urban trail connecting South End’s highlights, and shop in Atherton Mill and other South End boutiques.
Afternoon: Grab lunch at Hawkers Asian Street Fare before brewery hopping! Visit Sycamore Brewing to enjoy their outdoor patio, Wooden Robot Brewery for craft beer, and HopFly Brewing Co. for unique brews. Stop by Jeni’s Ice Creams for an afternoon snack.
Evening: Dinner at Barcelona Wine Bar for tapas and wine in a stylish, lively setting. Finish the night at Pins Mechanical Co., a fun bar with bowling, arcade games, and rooftop views.

Day 3: Uptown
Morning: Brunch at STIR on our way into Uptown, then visit Dilworth Artisan Station and the Mint Museum Uptown for art, design, and cultural exhibitions.
Afternoon: Walk through Romare Bearden Park and have lunch at Mert’s Heart and Soul for authentic Southern cuisine, one of my husband’s favorites!
Evening: Dinner at Alexander Michael’s before attending a live performance at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center or check out a concert at Skyla Uptown Amphitheater.

Day 4: Hike Crowder’s Mountain and NoDa
Morning: Grab a coffee and breakfast sandwich from Sunflour in Dilworth before leaving town. Take a short drive to Crowders Mountain State Park for hiking and views of the Piedmont region.
Afternoon: Return to Charlotte for lunch at Optimist Hall, a trendy food hall with diverse eateries. Relax and explore shops in the nearby NoDa district.
Evening: Dinner at Goodyear House for upscale Southern comfort food. End the night with cocktails at Chief’s Modern Cocktail Parlor or live music at Neighborhood Theatre.

Day 5: Plaza Midwood
Morning: Start with breakfast at Snooze before exploring Camp North End, a hub for art, culture, and a variety of delicious food.
Afternoon: Lunch at Midwood Smokehouse, shopping down Central and Commonwealth, making sure to hit Moxie Mercantile!
Evening: Dinner and drinks at award-winning Supperland, a beautiful restaurant inside a renovated church, offering Southern-inspired, wood-fired dishes.

Day 6: Last Day!
Morning: Start the day at Roots Cafe in Dilworth for breakfast sandwiches, pastries and coffee. Then head out to the US Whitewater Center for lunch, beautiful scenery, ice-skating, rock climbing, whitewater rafting and/or zip lining, depending on the time of year. Live music is also available during the warmer months!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My ability to take this leap is credited to my husband Dustin, and the women who have made all the difference in my life, encouraging me to follow my dream and loving and inspiring me along the way. I’m grateful to the influence of my mom, late stepmom, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, cousins, dear friends, and my daughters – they are the backbone of this journey. They’ve shown me what it means to lift others up, and because of them, I’ve built a platform to help other women and girls feel the same connection and support that I’ve been so fortunate to have.

Website: https://www.growingourgirls.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/growingourgirls

Facebook: http://facebook.com/growingourgirls

Other: kristin@growingourgirls.com

Image Credits
Katie Smith Photography (headshot)