Conclave 2026

Val Katayev is something of an anomaly in the jewelry industry. Over a 25-year career, he built and sold a series of companies across performance marketing, media, fintech, and real estate, generating more than $100 million in profits. For the last nine years, through Jocalio and Luxe Software, he has focused on a single mission: helping independent jewelers grow, modernize, and compete.

If one thread runs through his career, it is the ability to turn losses into wins. From a $5,000 loss on his first day of a venture at 19, to tariffs, a manufacturing facility lost to war, and industry disruption that rewrote the rules overnight, Val has repeatedly turned setbacks into the catalyst for his next stage of growth.

In this session, he shares the mentality behind those comebacks and the practical, grounded takeaways jewelers can apply right away to run leaner, lead better, and stay competitive in a market that never stops changing.