- 15 hours ago
KJ Miller, Julee Wilson, and Muhga Eltigani
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Thank you, ladies, for being here. I want you to just set up just for, you know, like a quick rundown of what your company is, what you do, and how you serve us, because that's what you've been doing so well and turning your companies into multi-million dollar companies.
00:18Sure. So at Natural Club, our mission is to create products with integrity while uplifting our community. So in that mission is what our products are. So it's refrigerated. It's good for you. It's all natural.
00:33But also a big part of what I do and what I focus on is how do I connect hair to a bigger part of our community? How do I honor it? How do I nourish it? And how do I have people talk to each other about hair in a way that builds our community?
00:50Absolutely. And KJ, what about you?
00:52Yeah. Well, first, let me just say this is so exciting to be here. Thank you, Julie, for having us. This is like a dream to be on the Essence Beauty Carnival stage. So thank you.
01:02Of course.
01:03We started Minted because we believe every woman should be able to find herself in the world of beauty. And my co-founder and I are two deep-skinned black women. And when we looked out at the landscape of prestige beauty, we didn't see brands speaking to us. We certainly didn't see brands prioritizing us. It felt like we were always an afterthought in the world of beauty. Maybe we'll add your shade after we've added the first 50 beige shades, right? Maybe if you mix this lipstick with this lip liner, it will sort of kind of do what you want it to do.
01:31And that didn't work for us. We wanted to create a brand where every woman who came to our site felt like, oh, I see myself. And this, I belong here too. So we're all about celebrating women of color, prioritizing women of color. And that's why we started Minted.
01:46Absolutely. Where can we actually find your brands? Are you guys actually in stores? Before we get into the nitty gritty of how you created these empires, where can we actually find your products?
01:59So you can find Natural Club products only online at naturalclub.com. And that's the word natural, N-A-T-U-R-A-L-L, club, C-L-U-B.
02:12Yep. And we are on mintedcosmetics.com.
02:15Amazing. And so now tell us, like, how did you start this? We had, you know, the amazing founder of Mayel out here earlier. And she was talking about, you know, she didn't have a whole, like, she didn't have an investor.
02:29She just was working as a nurse. And she kept putting her money, you know, into this passion of hers. How did you guys, you know, start your businesses? And like, how can you inspire others who might be out there who, you know, if you want a beauty business or another business, how can they start it for themselves? Because we don't all have a million dollars in the bank.
02:48Yeah. And I definitely didn't have a million dollars in the bank. But similar to her story, it was, one, identifying a need for yourself. And then, two, bringing that to other people because you understand that other people have those needs as well.
03:06And so I say the biggest way to start, it's always in your mind, right? Like, it's a mindset. I think all of us have ideas. We all have dreams. But if we can't get that out of our mindset of, like, I can do this, let me take this first step, then it just stays in our head. So that was that first step to start.
03:24Yeah. And you, I know, KJ, you worked in retail for a long time. And then KJ decided to go to Harvard Business School. I mean, that is just fancy and amazing and awesome. So tell us a little bit about that journey, because you were like, no more retail, let me get my MBA from Harvard and start this thing.
03:48Yeah. Well, so I actually met my co-founder, Amanda, at Harvard Business School. And we both had a shared love of retail and both went back into retail after business school. So I was consulting with the retail consultancy. She was at Barney's in business development. But we would get together every week because we knew we wanted to do something together. We didn't know what. And just ask ourselves, first of all, what are we even good at? Second of all, like, what are some problems out there that we think that we might be able to solve?
04:16And it was actually during one of those conversations, she said, you know, I've been looking for the perfect nude lipstick for three years. And I was like, girl, I can't find any lipstick that I like, much less a nude lipstick. And that was sort of our light bulb moment where we said, like, well, why, why can't we? Right? A nude lipstick and everyday lip color, that is something every woman should be able to have.
04:35Pull out of her bag, pull out of her bag, put it on without a mirror. It's so easy. It's her go-to shade. But neither of us could find it. And we knew that that spoke to a bigger problem in beauty about us not being prioritized. So we actually taught ourselves how to make lipstick. And then every single weekend, we were at her apartment making lipsticks. Literally every weekend, because we still had our full-time job. Like you said, we don't all have a million dollars.
04:57So this was after Harvard?
04:59After Harvard.
04:59Okay. I was like, are you doing Harvard work and mixing lipsticks?
05:02No, we had left business school. We were working our full-time jobs. And every weekend, we got together to make these lipsticks. And then we sent those lipsticks to influencers.
05:11Because we were like, listen, let's figure out if anyone even likes these things before we spend a lot of money making them professionally and with a manufacturer.
05:19And the feedback we got was so great. So the advice I give to people when they're thinking about starting a company is to do what you can, make the prototype, build it out, do the thing that, you know, figure out the website and figure out if there's really demand there before you sink a ton of money into it.
05:35But when did you know that you were like, we can quit our jobs and really make our side hustle the thing? Like, when do you know to take that leap? I think a lot of us want to take the leap. But it's like, I got bills. And the way my bank account is set up, like, I can't not have that paycheck coming every two weeks. So when did you know, I don't need that paycheck anymore. I can do this. I can make these lipsticks and make a living and make a good living.
06:03Yeah, well, for us, it's always going to be a risk. And it is very scary. You know, leaving a full time job and leaving a paycheck. And we didn't pay ourselves for several months when we first did this. But we did have demand. We did have influencers. We did have people on our Instagram saying, when are you going to launch? I really want to buy this lipstick. So we knew there was real demand out there.
06:25And the other thing is, we did have a little bit of money that we had raised from an angel investor. And because we had that little bit of money, it felt like someone else believes in this too. It's not just a pipe dream. And that, you know, I think gave us the confidence to leave our jobs.
06:39Mucha, you started your journey, like on YouTube, right? Using a social media platform. Tell us a little bit about that. Because I feel like we all know the kind of the power of social media, and how it can help you launch your dreams. And you know, it's free, you know, the time and all of that isn't free. But it's out there. And as a tool, how did how pivotal was it for you to use YouTube and making your success?
07:07Yeah. So the way I started YouTube was unconventional. I wasn't trying to start a YouTube channel. I just did journal entries through video. So I would just go on and just talk about my hair, just so I can personally look back at my growth, mentally and physically, like my hair growth. But my roommate at the time in college, she saw the video. And she said, you know, I think many women can resonate with your story.
07:35So why don't you just put one of your video diaries up, discussing like your true feelings about your hair, and your frustrations with not finding the right product, always thinking your hair is dry, maybe it's not growing, like, you know, just talk about it, let's talk about it. And because I put that out there, people would send me recipes, right?
07:54Like, they're like, oh, I tried this. And then I'll try it. And then I'm like, well, I added this. And this works, right? So it became a community of people sharing information with each other.
08:03And then I eventually decided to make hair products because of YouTube, right? So I would read the comments. And I had so many women say, like, you know, I don't have time to make my own products every single month. It's time consuming, it's inconvenient, it's messy. And so seeing that, I got early understanding of this potential customers for Natural All Club. And because of that channel, that's how I started Natural All Club.
08:29Amazing. And what's really interesting about your brand, too, I don't know if you caught it when she was giving an intro about it, like, it, it lives in your refrigerator.
08:39Okay, I'm gonna let that sink in a little bit. No one was like, ooh, like, these are hair products that you go to the refrigerator and get, they're that special, they're that natural, they are that clean, really.
08:54So tell us a little bit about that kind of that business model, because you don't think about that, right? And that, and that also changes because you can't just be on a regular shelf next to all of the other beauty brands, like you have to be refrigerated. So I mean, I know you're not in stores yet, but perhaps you will be soon. But you refrigerate everything. So when it's sent to the person, it's like packed in, in ice, right?
09:20Yeah, I'm a big believer if there's ingredients that are good for you inside. So like avocados, broccoli, spinach, all that, it's going to be good for you outside, too.
09:30So we take that base of fresh fruits and vegetables, we add different oils, and to create a product that really moisturizes from inside. And I decided to go with the refrigeration because let's say, for example, our avocado deep conditioner, it has fresh avocado in it.
09:48And it actually penetrates your hair instead of the avocado oil, which most companies use, that just sits on top of your hair. So oil is good for sealing and moisture, but not necessarily adding in that moisture. And so that's why I did it.
10:02And then another reason, there was a stat that I found that said that one out of every 12 hair products for black women contains hazardous ingredients that can steep into your skin and steep into your scalp and give you cancer, right?
10:17So we're getting not only cancer, but all types of other diseases. And over time, we're using these products for, you know, decades. And we have higher cases of health problems in our community, too.
10:31So to link that to one thing in terms of your hair product, I knew I wanted to create something that was very clean, that worked, but also was effective. Like, it helps your hair grow.
10:43That's amazing. I think it's kind of cool to, like, go into the refrigerator. It's right next to your juice. Take your hair conditioner, your hair mask. That is very cool.
10:53So we know that you guys are successful because you're sitting on the Essence Festival beauty carnival stage. But we also know with success, you know, there's highs and lows. Did you guys ever think about giving up or saying, maybe I should go back to retail or maybe I shouldn't do this?
11:12Like, who's going to want to get their conditioner out of the refrigerator? When, what are, what were the low parts like? And how did you bring yourself out of that?
11:22Yeah, I mean, I think if you're doing entrepreneurship, there will be so many low moments. There will be so many times where you doubt yourself.
11:29So many times where you wonder, like, should I keep, should I keep doing this? Like, I mean, if there are entrepreneurs who don't feel that way, we have nothing in common, right?
11:37Like, and I feel this way all the time. And I think my saving grace really is the fact that I'm doing this with my co-founder, Amanda.
11:44I have so much respect for solo founders. I have no idea how they do it. Because when I feel like I cannot keep doing this, the stress is eating away at me.
11:54And Amanda's right there. Like, girl, you got it. And vice versa. When she's like, I don't know. I don't have it today. And I'm like, I'll have it for you. Right?
12:01Like, it's okay that you don't have it. Let me have it today. So, I don't know. It's such a roller coaster. There isn't one moment I can point to where, like, oh, that was bad.
12:09I mean, I could point to yesterday. You know, I could point to two weeks ago. So, it's just having that partner relationship has really been a saving grace.
12:17What about you, Maja?
12:18Yeah. Like, every day there's a new challenge, right? But to be an entrepreneur, I think we're all inherently entrepreneurial. We're all inherently creative.
12:31I think that the difference is I just do this as full-time, you know? And I know that there's challenges that's always going to happen.
12:38But I surround myself, like you said, with people who live in positivity to me, right? So, I have mentors that have built a company like mine, but into, like, a billion-dollar company, right?
12:51And so, I could talk to them and say, like, you know, like, yesterday we've made a huge packaging mistake or, like, our bottles or whatever it is.
12:59And they're like, oh, yeah, I remember when that happened to me, too, right?
13:02But I overcame it and I'm here. And so, you can overcome it. So, when you see people who have done it, you could do it, too.
13:09And this is why I also say representation is so important. For people, like, entrepreneurship, for us, like, if you don't see people who look like you, it's hard to want to do it and hard to continue.
13:22So, if anyone wants to be an entrepreneur, you can find me at itsmohja. Ask me questions. I really do try to answer all of them because I want y'all to succeed.
13:32And you guys helped me succeed. So, that's all I can do.
13:36Y'all better receive that blessing. She's out here, like, ready to mentor somebody. I love that.
13:42Speaking of mentorship, did you guys, you talked about having a mentor. Did you also have a mentor, KJ?
13:48And how have your mentors kind of helped you? Is it financial? Is it just emotional?
13:54Like, how are you surrounding yourself with people that are uplifting you and making sure that you don't fail?
14:03Yeah, we've had the same mentor, actually, since we first started.
14:06A woman who has now started three companies, successfully sold two of them.
14:12And so, she knows a lot about entrepreneurship.
14:15And honestly, sometimes when we talk to her, it feels a little bit like therapy.
14:19Yes, there are business questions. We need to raise another round. What should we do?
14:23But then sometimes it's just like, Janet, I don't know.
14:28You know, like, and that's how I start the sentence. I don't know what to say. I don't have it today.
14:31And being able to speak to someone who does have it and who has been there and who knows what they're talking about is just really comforting.
14:40And I would say I also look to other female founders a lot for mentorship.
14:45And that's been a real blessing.
14:47The fact that I can call up Melissa Butler from the Lip Bar and say, hey, girl, I'm having this issue.
14:52Or, like, who did you use when you needed to do XYZ thing? What vendor did you go to?
14:56I think founders make some of the best peer mentors.
14:58It's amazing that you have that type of relationship.
15:02And I'm seeing that more and more.
15:03I'm hearing a lot of the entrepreneurs talking about the fact that they're calling each other,
15:07which I think is a really important piece to say that, like, we don't have to live in a spirit of competition,
15:12that we can help each other and pull each other up and say, what lawyer are you using?
15:17And, like, them tell you, this is the lawyer. Here's the contact information.
15:21Here's what you need to do.
15:23Like, I think that that's really special that, you know, especially as black women entrepreneurs,
15:28that we're helping each other rather than just seeing each other as competition.
15:33Yeah.
15:33So what about you?
15:34You talked about having a mentor.
15:36Is it emotional, financial?
15:37Like, how are they helping you make sure that your company succeeds?
15:42I think the first mentor was all about that mindset that I talked about earlier.
15:46Just getting me out of my idea stage to, like, just do it and be ready to fail.
15:51The second was more of, like, tactical strategy, growth.
15:56Like, what, like you said, like, vendors, situation, new packaging, someone who had, like, an industry knowledge in it.
16:02And the third was financial.
16:04I wanted Natural Club, and I still want Natural Club to be a household name.
16:09And I just looked at my runway in terms of how much money we're bringing in versus what we really want to do in terms of new product development
16:16and what we want to offer our customers and realize I'm not going to get there fast enough.
16:22So that last mentor helped me with that.
16:24But for those of you guys who feel like you don't have access to mentors, you don't need to have them, like, specifically there, like, in person.
16:33There's a lot of books out there that help people who, like, talk about their life lessons.
16:38There's also a lot of videos, TED Talks.
16:41Like, the information is out there.
16:43And so if you feel like you don't have anyone around you right now, don't worry.
16:47Like, there's literature out there that you can go out there and read and motivate yourself.
16:52For sure.
16:53So let's talk a little bit about beauty trends since we're here at the Beauty Carnival.
16:58You know, let's talk about, are there any trends within, you know, the beauty industry right now that you're seeing
17:04and that you guys hope to incorporate into your companies?
17:08Because, you know, you obviously want to scale.
17:11I would think that any business wants to scale, right?
17:13And Mented started off with these amazing nude lipsticks.
17:16Now you have, you know, lip liners.
17:19You have contouring palettes.
17:21You have eyeshadow, all of that.
17:24Where do you guys, like, what inspiration and trends are you guys seeing that you hope to incorporate into your brands next?
17:31I hope that I'm creating this trend of more refrigerated beauty products.
17:42So not just hair care, but skin care, because we can put new ingredients in it that add more vitamins and more nutrients and go a lot further than these artificial products.
17:54I was going to add that I have a little beauty fridge on my desk.
17:58Have you guys seen these?
17:59Like, they're little tiny, like, fridges that look like they're for, like, baby dolls?
18:05No?
18:05No one?
18:06Okay.
18:06Well, okay, you've seen them.
18:08Okay, so they're really cool.
18:10And, like, you can keep your, like, face mist in there.
18:12I mean, I throw a soda in there sometimes, too, because, you know, multitasking.
18:18But, you know, you put your face mask in there, your eye mask.
18:21You can put, like, face spritz.
18:23So, like, literally on your desk and open it up if you need, like, a midday spritz, you can put it on.
18:28It's, like, really cool.
18:29It's, like, a trending thing.
18:30So I think you're on the right track with the skin care and the hair care, for sure.
18:34What about you, KJ?
18:35What are you seeing in the, you know, cosmetic space that you're like, Menta can do that and we can probably do it better?
18:43I mean, I think ingredients are becoming so much more important to consumers.
18:49And I think about the fact that we launched Blush recently.
18:52Gorgeous Blush.
18:53Go buy some.
18:54There is gorgeous Blush.
18:55I have it on right now.
18:57Gorgeous, gorgeous Blush.
18:58But one of the key ingredients in the Blush is vitamin E.
19:02And I just think about 10 years ago when you would see a Blush commercial for Maybelline.
19:06No one would say anything about vitamin E and Blush, right?
19:09Like, what?
19:09Like, as consumers, it wasn't in our consciousness.
19:13We weren't talking about it.
19:14We weren't thinking about it.
19:14But now every product we make, we think about what's the key ingredient that we can put in here?
19:19Because these things that people are putting on your face, it's not just makeup.
19:22Like, that stuff seeps into your skin.
19:24So it matters what's in it.
19:26And I think as consumers, we're collectively becoming more conscious about that.
19:29So I think we're all turning over the label a little bit more, reading the ingredients a little bit more,
19:34and expecting more from the brands we purchase from when it comes to the ingredient deck.
19:39Yeah.
19:39I mean, well, statistics show that women of color are more interested in, like,
19:45what is in the products that they're putting on themselves.
19:48I think that obviously comes from the fact that, like, you know,
19:51the beauty industry wasn't necessarily taking us into consideration for a long time.
19:56Now they're starting to get woke.
19:57But before we were cocktailing, we were making things, we're queens of DIY.
20:04And so we really look when we go to the stores and say,
20:09what's in this?
20:10What am I putting on my face?
20:11What am I putting in my hair?
20:12And making sure that, you know, it works for us because no one was considering us,
20:18and now they are.
20:19So I do think that the ingredient conversation is definitely huge,
20:24which is, like, obviously the cornerstone of your products.
20:27But to know that there's also cosmetic products out there.
20:30I mean, I think you see it a lot in hair.
20:32But there's cosmetic products that have the ingredients in it that we need to nourish our bodies
20:36and are good for us, I think is really important, which I think is great.
20:41So I want you guys to also talk a little bit about going a little bit back to business.
20:45You know, I think that scaling and becoming big, huge businesses is, you know,
20:51something that everyone thinks that you want to do.
20:54I mean, is that something that you guys want?
20:56Do you want a big corporation to, you know, buy you at some day?
21:01Or do you really want to just grow your own kind of business?
21:06So for me, I love building this company because I just want to see how far I can get it.
21:12You know, to me, it's a new challenge each day.
21:15I am just trying to build a sound company at the end of the day.
21:19And I can see these big corporations like P&G.
21:22Someone had to start them, right?
21:24So it was one person that started and now look at that corporation.
21:28So why can't it be me as well?
21:31I like that, sis.
21:32You're like, I'm going to be my own P&G.
21:34I think our goal has always been to be a global brand and a home for beauty for women of color.
21:41So right now we only sell in the U.S.
21:43I'm so excited for when we finally start shipping internationally.
21:47I'm so excited for when we finally go into stores, into retail doors.
21:51I'm so excited for when we start launching even more products.
21:54Like you said, I think we want to see how far we can take this thing.
21:57But for sure, global beauty brand is the goal.
22:01Yeah.
22:01I mean, that's speaking to legacy.
22:03I always like to ask this question when I have entrepreneurs on stage about what legacy do they want to leave.
22:10And, you know, you're not, you guys are both hugely successful.
22:15But what is the legacy in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years that you want to leave?
22:20Well, I want everyone who has a great hair day to be like, oh, it's because Natural Oil Club.
22:29That would be great.
22:30Right?
22:30But I just want to be, I think for me, I want to be known as someone who is fearless, who tried their best and, you know, sometimes failed, but was always trying.
22:40And always trying to put positivity out there.
22:44Absolutely.
22:44And what about you, KJ?
22:45I know you're speaking for both you and your co-founder, but I feel like Mented is really getting to a place where more people are using it.
22:55Actually, I said this before when I came out, but show of hands, who uses Mented or knows about Mented?
23:00And who knows about Natural Oil Club?
23:03I feel like there's a lot of discovery going on here, which I love.
23:07And that's what's part of the beauty of Essence Fest and the Beauty Carnival is we want to make sure that people, you know, get put on to a lot of these brands and especially, you know, brands owned by black folk and beautiful black women like yourself because we do need to support.
23:25So I'm glad that you guys are being introduced if you don't already know about their brands.
23:30So, KJ, tell me a little bit about the next five years for Mented.
23:34I know you said you're going to be a global business, you know, soon.
23:37Maybe it'll happen in the next five years, but, like, more immediately, where is Mented going?
23:42What can we expect other than the blushes coming down the line?
23:47Well, you talked about legacy, and I hope that our legacy is one of a brand that stood for something, that unapologetically stood for our people,
23:57that didn't back down from that, when people say, like, oh, is it still inclusive if you're focusing on women of color?
24:05I don't want to back down from that question and say, oh, really, it's for every single person.
24:10Oh, look it, we got people clapping.
24:11That's right.
24:12I just think if you don't stand for something, you sort of stand for nothing, right?
24:16If you try to be everything to everyone, you're sort of nothing to no one.
24:19And I hope that our legacy is of a brand that truly did prioritize our people, people who look like us.
24:26And if we're able to do that, then I think we've done something right.
24:30And over the next five years, I think we're just going to keep doubling down, keep making products where we're putting women of color first.
24:37Amazing.
24:38Yes, let's give it up for KJ of Mented and Mujah of Natural Club.
24:43Thanks, everyone.
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