[Teammate] Olamide x All, take 1.
Common, slate.
[clapperboard smacks] I only wanted to make
something that was radically different in people’s routines,
whether it’s the form factor it comes in.
the ingredient stack,
the way you apply it to your skin,
how it fits into your routine is so revolutionary
in comparison to what else you have.
And so I’m so excited that our customers
are excited to support us
because our products are so effective.
[upbeat music]
Hi, I’m Dianna Singh, Features Director at Allure,
and I am thrilled to be joined today
by the founder of Topicals, Olamide Olowe.
I am so excited to dig into your journey as an entrepreneur.
We are such fans of yours at Allure.
But I want to start by kind of rewinding a little bit
and asking if you were always interested
in the beauty industry.
As a kid, I was that kid that was on YouTube.
I was making hair masks, I was making face masks.
So, I definitely think, as a kid,
I knew that I would get into something beauty-oriented,
and I knew I was also very business-minded.
Yeah. I think for a lot of entrepreneurs
taking those first steps are the most daunting part
of the process of starting a business,
could you walk me through those early days of topicals
and the first decisions that you made
to lay the foundation for your business?
I was so fortunate to have
a really great starting experience in beauty.
My roommate my sophomore year of college,
her dad owned the beauty company, Shea Moisture.
And so I interned there for two years
and learned everything.
And when I mean everything, I mean everything.
[Dianna] Everything. [chuckles]
Like we did trade shows.
We were in the lab designing products.
We did grassroots marketing.
And so that really laid the groundwork
for understanding how to build
a community growth-type of business.
You mentioned the word community,
and that comes to mind for me when I think of Topicals.
How did you go about fostering community
from the very beginning?
I was the end customer.
I felt left out of
what I felt like everyone else was experiencing
when it came to beauty.
And I wanted to create an insider-outsider community.
And I was really inspired by streetwear growing up
because it really is the outsider.
And I loved that it was a counter-cultural,
sub-cultural, youth cultural movement,
and I wanted to create something similarly with skincare.
And so, that’s the ethos.
We have had so much success this year.
We’re the biggest we’ve ever been,
growing faster than we’ve ever grown.
And outside of that,
I’d say I’ve been a student of the game.
I love reading. I love listening to podcasts.
I love soaking up business knowledge,
particularly in industries that aren’t my own.
Yeah. And we’ve been able to use
a lot of those learnings at Topicals to create a brand
that feels distinctly different than what’s in the market.
And speaking about product more specifically,
how does your commitment to innovation
translate into physical product?
You know, for us, we’ve only launched around 15 SKUs,
which in the skincare world is nothing.
We have been super disciplined
about only launching two to three new products a year.
We’ve used a lot of data to really design products
that work for darker skin tones,
but in doing so, we’ve actually made products
that work better for everyone.
Yeah. And a lot for us
is building on what we already are.
We want to be the brand that you go to
for your hyperpigmentation needs.
When you think about dark spots,
when you think about discoloration,
we want you to think,
Topicals definitely has something for me.
Yes. And I also wanted
to make sure that you didn’t have to spend so much money
to get access to the results you were looking for.
Yeah. I know as an entrepreneur,
you’re always on the go.
Planes, trains, automobiles.
What does travel look like for you,
and how does that play a role in your business?
I always say a plane is like an office in the sky for me.
I am my most productive on flights.
I’m able to write business plans, marketing strategies.
There’s something about the silence of a plane,
where no one can call you,
it just makes me super productive
and gives me clarity of thought.
No Wi-Fi. None.
Dream.
So looking ahead to this coming year,
what is next for you as an entrepreneur,
and what’s next for Topicals?
Building a sustainable business.
I want Topicals to not only be here
from five years from now,
I want us to be around for 100 years.
And in order to do that,
we have to have a really strong financial foundation.
Sure. And so we’re spending
a lot of time really understanding our margins,
the way we build our team,
the way we build products and do marketing.
And outside of that, we really want to connect
with more people globally.
We want to continue to expand the business
in Asia, Africa, the Middle East.
We’re really excited about bringing
this idea that skincare can be fun to everyone.
So I’m really excited to continue
transforming the way people feel about skin.
World domination.
Absolutely. I love it.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
It was so inspirational to hear about your journey
and all that’s ahead for you and for Topicals.
Thank you so much.
Really?
Love.
No, notes. [chuckles]
This is fun.
I mean.
[upbeat music]