- 8 hours ago
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00:00Hello? Okay, is this thing on? I need everybody to come to the front for this panel, okay? Everybody.
00:06The two gyms can wait, the airbrush can wait, because this is going to be a really good panel.
00:12So what's going on, GU Creator House? My name is Nandi Howard. I am the content director for Essence and Essence Girls United.
00:22And I'm going to go a little bit off script, but Essence Girls United is really championing the new generation for Essence.
00:28I know y'all know Essence is the auntie brand, but it's a couple cool girls running this brand, this vertical that I'm so, so, so proud of.
00:37And really proud of everything that we're doing. On Saturday night, we have a party after the Superdome from 10 to 2.
00:46So please make sure you come. Rochelle gonna kill me if I announce the headliner, but it's a really good headliner.
00:53So make sure y'all are here.
00:56So how many people know life is so much better when you get to do it with your best friend?
01:02Well, that's exactly what this next panel is all about.
01:05We're going to be checking in with two best friends who also happen to be successful entrepreneurs.
01:10So not only do they have fun together, but they also get the bag together as well.
01:15So please join me in welcoming Topical CEO, Alama Day, and Taylor Consulting Founder, Donye Taylor.
01:23Y'all get over here.
01:25Hello.
01:25It's on?
01:26It's not on.
01:26Okay.
01:27Y'all get on.
01:28Go, go, go.
01:29Hi.
01:29Hello, hello.
01:31How are y'all?
01:32How's everybody doing?
01:34It's hot outside, huh?
01:35It is.
01:36It's really hot.
01:37It's hot as heck.
01:37Okay, so first things first, I just want to take a quick minute to run down these receipts for everybody because these girls are really doing it.
01:46So Alama Day, she is a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum.
01:50She's the CEO of Topical Skin Care, which is basically solving all of our black girl skincare problems.
01:56You know, hyperpigmentation is something that some of us always struggle with, with one product at a time.
02:02She's the youngest black woman ever to raise over $10 million in funding for her business.
02:07Asa Rae, Yvonne Orji are investors of the brand, and Topicals is currently available in Sephora.
02:13And it's one of the top grossing brands in Sephora.
02:15Yes, it's the top selling brand in Sephora.
02:16I thought so.
02:17Number one skincare brand in Sephora.
02:20Donye is also a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum.
02:23She's a marketing genius, level two, who has created magic for a ton of huge brands, including Nike, Capital, A1, Puma, to name a few, and for artists like Black.
02:35She also is a published author, the queen of content creation, and the founder of her own consulting firm, Taylor Consulting.
02:41Let's give it up for these ladies.
02:44So on top of that, they also happen to be best friends.
02:47So first things first is we want to know, how did you guys meet?
02:50We met on some work vibes.
02:54Like, Lameday wanted to work with me.
02:56Oh, that's right, I did.
02:57And at the time, I was going through, like, a business breakup and an emotional breakup with my ex-business partner.
03:06So I was like, ah, like, I don't know if I can take you right now.
03:09So we just started, like, hanging out, but we really just met on some business stuff, yeah.
03:15Our first time hanging out was not, like, the typical, like, oh, let's go out to eat.
03:19We literally did a brainstorming session for six hours at my house.
03:23That was, like, our first hangout.
03:25This was, like, top of, like, two years ago, like, top of the year.
03:28We were just, like, mapping out all these ideas that we had, what we wanted to see, what we wanted to see exist.
03:33And, yeah, that was, like, our first hangout.
03:35And we knew from that moment on that we were going to be, like, tight.
03:38It was love at first sight.
03:39Yeah, yeah.
03:40I think that's always cool, too.
03:41Like, not the typical sort of meetup, linkup, you know what I'm saying?
03:46And then also, like, you want to make sure those, like, relationships are genuine, too.
03:51Like, I feel like you guys can have a genuine connection.
03:53And, like, it doesn't matter how long you've been friends.
03:56Like, it could be a year.
03:57It could be two years.
03:58It's, like, if you vibe with somebody, you vibe, you know?
04:00So, Olamide, your company, Topicals, has been doing numbers for the past few years since it launched.
04:05How has having such a close friend who is also an entrepreneur along for the ride impacted your journey so far?
04:12I always say Donye is, like, the other side of my brain.
04:15So, I'm left brain, which is very analytical, very business-oriented.
04:18She's very right brain.
04:19So, creative, marketing.
04:21And so, when I'm stuck creatively, like I was last year in August, I was telling her I wanted the brand to feel like it was more a part of culture.
04:29I wanted us to be, you know, where the girls were.
04:31We wanted to support them, and she gave me this idea to get involved with Fashion Week and to throw what we call now a night out with Topicals,
04:40where we basically just go to different cities and take the girls out.
04:43And she helped me, like, produce it.
04:44She helped me think through it.
04:46And if you check her Instagram page, you'll actually see a picture of us on my laptop working on the idea.
04:51And so, it's just so fun to be best friends with someone where they fill your gaps.
04:56You know, we talk a lot about romantic relationships, and we don't talk enough about platonic relationships,
05:01especially with other women.
05:02And to have someone that really does fill your cup up and can finish your sentences and can push you to think deeper about an idea,
05:09it's like once in a lifetime.
05:11Oh, I love that.
05:12Donya, you've always said that authenticity is key, even in business.
05:16But in the beginning, finding an authentic connection when you both already know the real reason you're connecting is to do business
05:22and make money can be challenging sometimes.
05:24How have you been able to navigate that so effortlessly?
05:28Let me see.
05:29I feel like this is so on point with, like, what me and your friendship right now.
05:35I had the opportunity to take a more hands-on role with topicals.
05:42But at that time, because I was being authentic to myself, I was like,
05:45I really want to see what my life would look like if I helped myself full-time.
05:50I've never given that.
05:52And Olamide has just been so supportive in my decision.
05:54But I think when you're authentic to who you are and what it is that you want to do, it's easier to make decisions for yourself.
06:00And it's easier for other people to support your decision because Olamide knows what it is that I want to do.
06:07And she supports that as my friend, but also at the same time, like, she knows that anything she needs, she can just call me and she can get it.
06:14But I think just me knowing what I wanted to do with my career and also her seeing me take those steps, too.
06:21It would be one thing if I just said, oh, I wanted to give some time for myself.
06:24But I think her seeing me invest in myself, I think it makes her feel more comfortable with my decision as well.
06:30So we just have a very transparent and authentic relationship.
06:34Yeah.
06:34I love that.
06:36So tell us about the last project that you both worked on together and how that came to life or new ones.
06:44We're working on so many.
06:45We're working on so much.
06:46So many projects.
06:47Like every, how much money do you think is in our text thread?
06:51The amount of ideas that would just sprout billions.
06:54It's a lot.
06:55It's coming.
06:55It's coming.
06:56Yeah.
06:56But I think, like, to talk a little bit about Donye, Donye's in this transitional period, right, where she's been someone that's been giving her brain to the internet for a really long time.
07:05Yeah.
07:06And something I challenged her on last year, and she's definitely been full force in this, is she needs to be able to make money from her own ideas without it being based on consulting or ad placement or partnerships.
07:19Like, she needs to create a sustainable way to make revenue.
07:23And so that's really what we've been working on.
07:25That's the gap she filled for me.
07:27I'm just so like, oh, this is cool.
07:29This is creative.
07:30This is fun.
07:30And she is more business.
07:33What's the business model?
07:34Yeah.
07:34Like, what's the business model?
07:35How can we scale it?
07:37So she definitely pushed me to think more about how I can systemize my creativity.
07:43And it's just done so, it's opened so many doors for me.
07:46And I'm really excited to see where all of that goes.
07:49I'll give you one sneak peek about something we've been talking a lot about.
07:52It's just we believe left brain and right brain are really important for a creative to be a full creative.
07:58We've been talking about what it looks like to help other people do that in a really sustainable way.
08:02Okay.
08:02So we hear sometimes entrepreneurs give advice against mixing business and money with friends and family.
08:09But you guys have made it work clearly.
08:12So to say the least, so what would you say are some do's and don'ts for successfully doing business with close friends or family?
08:18I would say a do is to just be transparent.
08:25Like, that's so cliche, but I think transparency, it falls under so many different categories.
08:33It's transparency is like being okay with expressing your ideas to somebody.
08:37But also transparency is saying like, hey, like, I don't think you should do that.
08:41I don't think that's a good idea.
08:43I would say transparency and good intent is the do's.
08:46Like, I think that's like what our friendship is built off of, like transparency and I agree.
08:51Intent.
08:52Yeah.
08:52Honesty, just being super brutally honest about things and also not coming from a place of lack.
08:57There's been times where I'm one of those people who makes a deck for everything.
09:01I've had so many ideas and I'm only one person.
09:03I can't do those ideas.
09:04Sometimes Donye will say something that will make me think of it.
09:07And I'll share the deck with her of a business idea I have and say, if you want to launch this, go ahead and launch this.
09:12And so I think having that open and just abundant mindset, because at the end of the day, we're going to get to the top together regardless.
09:20So whether she brings me up or I bring her up, it doesn't really matter.
09:23And I think so many people think that they have to be the one when in reality, your friend might get there way faster than you and pull you up much easier and faster than if you did it on your own.
09:32I don't really feel like there's any don'ts other than not hiding things from each other.
09:36But, yeah, I mean, I think we have uncomfortable conversations with each other.
09:40Sometimes it gets a little touchy, like, hey, was that your idea or mine?
09:44And I think what I love about us at the end of the day is it doesn't matter.
09:47We both ball.
09:47So, yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:49One thing I like about y'all is like y'all aren't like always together, too.
09:53Like y'all give each other space.
09:54Like, you may be in Paris, you may be in Jamaica, but it's like we know that y'all are still locked in.
10:01You know what I'm saying?
10:02We haven't seen each other in like two months before today.
10:04Essence brought us together.
10:06Essence brought us together, yeah.
10:07Although I'm a little mad at them.
10:08I do love you.
10:09Yeah, we love you.
10:09We love you.
10:10No, we love you.
10:11You make space for us.
10:12You always just are so creative and supportive of us.
10:15And so having friends like you also makes our friendship stronger because you give us opportunities to showcase our friendship.
10:23They just trying to judge me up.
10:25We love you, Liz.
10:26She's mad at us, y'all.
10:27She's so mad at us.
10:29Okay, so what advice do you guys have for young entrepreneurs who are working to transition their close friends and family from always wanting to do hookups or free services to understanding that their business is their livelihood?
10:43Yeah, just cut them off.
10:44Cut it off.
10:45Yeah.
10:45Like you just don't do it.
10:46You don't do it.
10:47Like you don't do free work because you're never going to get to where you need to go if you're always doing free work for everyone around you.
10:53People always say, you know, put your own life jacket on before you bring everybody on board.
10:58But also if the people around you, your friends and family have a talent, invest in that talent and bring them to be a part of your team.
11:04Obviously, you should have like some sort of working agreement so that you don't mix, you know, when someone is, you know, falling short.
11:11My sister works with us at Topicals.
11:12And when she is not tight, I pull her to the side.
11:15You're not tight.
11:16You need to get tight.
11:17You need to get it together, you know.
11:18So not being afraid to have those type of conversations, but really do invest in your friends and family when they have talents, when they have skills, because that might be what you're missing and that might take you to that next level.
11:29For sure.
11:29I would say for me, mine is more so on like the social advice.
11:33I went through a lot of like friend breakups when I was going through my transition of like just trying to be more and trying to be great.
11:40And I realized that some of the friends that I had like from childhood, they just could not be friends in my new season.
11:49And I got comfortable with like just being like, you know what, okay, like they can no longer serve me.
11:54And I think especially being a black woman, we're raised on so much like loyalty and like day one and all of that stuff.
12:02And it took me a long time to kind of separate myself from that mindset in order to create a circle.
12:09Not even, I don't even think I created it.
12:11I think I manifested my circle.
12:13Just I set out and I decided what I wanted for my life and everything else started like magically attracting.
12:19Like I knew the type of work that I wanted to do and that kind of brought Elamide into the forefront of my life.
12:24And now here we are.
12:25So that was, that would be my advice to young entrepreneurs.
12:29They're just going to get a point in the, in point in time where you have a fork in the road where you'd be like, yo, I can either keep doing the same thing that I've been doing with the same people
12:38and you get the same results or I can switch it up a little bit.
12:42So I would just say, don't be scared to switch it up when it comes to your friends, your work, anything, anything that's going to get you to where you want to go.
12:49And it's authentic and genuine to you.
12:51I would always say, take that path.
12:53Yeah.
12:53I love that.
12:53I think also what you guys kind of said made me think, you know, support your friends, pay for your friends work.
12:59If they have a skincare brand or a book, you know, I think for me, I just started realizing, you know,
13:06all my friends will give me free tickets to their parties or whatever.
13:09And I started like buying tickets and I started buying their merch and they are really appreciative of that because they're like, wow, I wouldn't expect you to do that.
13:17But I feel like if you support your friends in that way, if they have a business or they have something going on, it's super important to financially support them too.
13:24Or not always ask for handouts as well.
13:28So let's shift gears a little bit and take some questions from our audience.
13:32Let's take like two or three.
13:36Does anybody have any questions for Donye or Lama Day?
13:40Come on.
13:41Don't be shy.
13:42Okay.
13:42Come on.
13:51So the question was for everybody, how was it breaking into this skincare industry being a black woman?
13:56Right.
13:56I think people make us feel like what's wrong with us is like a bad thing, right?
14:03Like what's so different about us is a bad thing.
14:05But I use that to my advantage, right?
14:07I grew up with a ton of chronic skin conditions.
14:09I grew up not feeling represented in beauty.
14:11And I took all of those things and said I was going to make those focal points of the brand.
14:15And that made us stand out from other brands that were general.
14:18I think the worst advice that I have ever gotten from people was the brand is too niche.
14:24Like people always tried to tell me to expand, to be more open to more audiences.
14:29But when you're for everybody, you're for no one.
14:32And so by being super niched in, super dedicated to one audience, we've now seen other people get inspired by that.
14:39Because we know that black girls lead culture anyway.
14:41And now they are getting into the fold even if they're not the direct target market.
14:45So always think about what makes you different.
14:48Learn how to talk to your audience.
14:50Learn how to talk to your community.
14:52Speak to them in the way they want to be spoken to.
14:54And that's what will make you stand out from other brands.
14:58Okay.
14:59I'm going to take these two.
15:00So Carrie first and then, is that Jay?
15:03Okay, yeah, Jay.
15:04So the question is, what did you do to land on Forbes 30 under 30 and how did you feel?
15:22Yeah, how did you feel when you landed it?
15:24Okay, so my...
15:25I remember when you posted too.
15:26I messaged you like...
15:28Yo, okay, so my...
15:30I've actually never spoken about this publicly and I meant to do it when it happened.
15:35But I think my Forbes 30 story was crazy.
15:39I remember I logged into LinkedIn one day and I saw the associate editor of Forbes was in my LinkedIn DM and was like,
15:47Donye, your name keeps popping up in our office.
15:49We want you to apply.
15:51I thought it was spam because I never get on LinkedIn.
15:54So I didn't answer it.
15:55This was like, I would say like August-ish.
15:58I didn't answer it.
15:59She had like emailed me like two weeks later and was like, Hey, like, did you get my LinkedIn message?
16:05Yada, yada, yada, yada.
16:06So I opened the email and I see an application to apply for Forbes 30 under 30.
16:14And I started the application and I immediately got like imposter syndrome.
16:19Like I remember one of the first questions being like, how much money have you raised?
16:23And I'm like, I haven't raised any money.
16:25I'm just, you know what I mean?
16:26Like I felt like I was not supposed to be in that scenario.
16:33So I, me being transparent again, I responded back to her and I'm like, Hey, like just full transparency.
16:40I haven't raised any money.
16:42A lot of these questions I'm not able to answer.
16:44She was like, that's okay.
16:45Like just fill it out anyway.
16:47So I started the application, didn't finish it again.
16:51Cause the questions were like kicking my ass, bro.
16:54Like it was making me like question myself.
16:57Fast forward to, this was, we were in Barbados, Bermuda, Bermuda for her birthday.
17:05The associate editor at Forbes hit me up again.
17:07I'm like, Donye, fill out this fucking application, girl.
17:11Like that's what the email sounded like.
17:13So I submitted it literally in the hotel room before we went to the beach.
17:18And in my mind, I had already made up that I was not going to get it just because of the questions.
17:23So I had forgot about it until I was in New York one day.
17:27A Lama Day, she actually called me.
17:29She was like, Donye, you're on the Forbes list.
17:31I'm like, what?
17:33What?
17:33Are you kidding me?
17:34That's literally how it happened.
17:36But I think that's just a testament to when you are walking in your purpose and you're really doing stuff that is passionate to you, people can sense that and you can feel that.
17:46And I think we're entering into a space now, especially with so much just being oversaturated.
17:51People want to know that you actually love something and that you're really, really, really good at it.
17:56Not because you're just everywhere at one time or you're on TikTok or you're on Instagram or you're just doing all of these different things to be seen.
18:05People really admire real talent.
18:08And I think that me getting Forbes at that time let me know that.
18:12So at the time, I just felt like really excited.
18:15But I guess I hope that answered your question.
18:17I kind of like went on a tangent.
18:19But yeah.
18:19I'm going to give quick tactical advice.
18:21If your brand was a movie, would you watch it and why?
18:26Everyone needs like a headline.
18:28And so I think you need to figure out what your headline is.
18:31For me, the headline has always been the youngest black woman to raise X, Y, and Z amount of money.
18:34And so it's figuring out what your authority is and how do you brand it and package it in a way that's digestible for other people.
18:41Yes.
18:42Okay.
18:43Jade and then my mom has a question.
18:45Thank you so much.
18:55So she said she did not know Topicals is black-owned.
18:58But, you know, that's one thing I think, you know, people have different opinions about this.
19:03But I think really you don't know when you touch the brand.
19:07You don't know when you walk in Sephora like this is a black-owned brand.
19:10And that's neither here or there.
19:12That's to the discretion of the owner if they want that to be out there.
19:15But I think it's also important to speak to a lot of different generations and a lot of different communities.
19:20And I think Topicals does that really well.
19:22It's nice to see a black founder attracting different communities because sometimes I feel like only black women feel like they can support a black founder.
19:30When in reality, we want to attract everyone, although we're championing who we are, too, you know?
19:36I agree.
19:36And it goes back to what I said before is that black women lead culture anyway.
19:40So why are we only getting a piece of the pie when it comes to revenue?
19:44For me, I've always wanted the brand to be available for everyone.
19:48And then also I wanted the brand to stand for itself.
19:50I don't need y'all to like me for Topicals to be successful.
19:53And I've always wanted that to be the case.
19:55I've never wanted fame.
19:56I've never wanted to be the face of the brand.
19:58And I think when that happens, then people fall in love with the brand because it's the brand and not because it's you.
20:03Level two.
20:04Yes.
20:05Yeah.
20:06Yeah.
20:06Okay.
20:07Mother.
20:07Hi, I'm so proud of all three of you as a progressive, young, African American woman.
20:16My question to both of you is how have you created the space for your work-life balance and how are you protecting your mental health?
20:24Okay, Mama.
20:25She said, how are you managing your work-life balance and how are you protecting your mental health?
20:31I think we're both doing that right now.
20:34But I think what we both have in common is our high sense of self-awareness.
20:39We know when we are operating at 100 and we know when we are operating at 60 or 70 or whatever.
20:46So because of that, we can check in with ourselves on a daily basis and be like, yo, what do I need in order to get back to 100?
20:54And also, too, it's really hard when you are a founder or you're an entrepreneur because your work is kind of like your life.
21:03Like, there is no clocking out.
21:06It's so many different things going on in your head 24-7.
21:09So just maintaining a high level of self-awareness so that you can figure out where it is that you're at right now and how you can get back to it.
21:19I had to take the first six months off of 2023 in order to check back in with myself.
21:25I felt like, to her point, I had lended my creativity to so many people to the point where I didn't know what creativity looked like for myself anymore.
21:33And I knew that I needed to spend time with myself in order to get back to that.
21:38So I knew that I had to stop taking as many meetings.
21:42I knew that I had to stop taking so many clients.
21:44I knew that I had to get back into my student bag more.
21:48I had to learn more.
21:49I had to read more.
21:50I had to educate myself on things that I wasn't educated on in order to get back to that.
21:54So I think maintaining mental health is really important.
21:58It's correlated to how self-aware you are.
22:00Transparently, I don't think I do the best job.
22:03There are moments when I have to be super locked in and have the answer for everything.
22:07I think that's what's hard about being an entrepreneur is you have to have the answer all the time for everyone.
22:12And I think what I've done is diffuse my power in the company.
22:15This last month of June, I was pretty much off traveling in Europe because I needed a break.
22:19And I have a right hand who is business ops, takes care of everything, makes sure everything's good.
22:24I just have to give general directions.
22:26But I think also entrusting your team and letting your team know you're here for a reason.
22:31You're really smart.
22:31You're really creative.
22:32You're really talented.
22:33And you should take ownership over your work and do your work.
22:35So having a really great team is super helpful because I don't think I would have made it without them.
22:40I love that.
22:41And to close it out, I have a question.
22:42So I wanted to know, how do y'all differentiate people coming up to y'all and really wanting to know you and get to know you?
22:50Or just want to be y'all friends because they want you to post on social media or whatever the case may be?
22:55It's a vibe.
22:57Mm-hmm.
22:57You know, I feel like it's a vibe.
23:00Like, even with Elamide, it was a vibe.
23:02Like, the time that she reached out to me, everybody was reaching out to me.
23:06You know what I mean?
23:07But it was something about, like, her energy that I really just connected with.
23:13And I think the more you know yourself, the more you know, like, what makes you happy, what makes you tick,
23:18the more you're able to identify other things that can, like, enter into your flow.
23:22So I'm really big on just, like, if something don't feel right instantly, I may give it, like, one more chance
23:29because some days I may have a bad day, you know what I mean?
23:31But most of the time, I just go off the vibe, and it hasn't really led me wrong yet, so.
23:37I think when you're walking in your purpose, you're a vessel.
23:40And so I think so many people are afraid or nervous about being used.
23:45I was on a panel with Yandy Smith a couple months back, and she said,
23:49It's okay if you use me, just don't misuse me.
23:52And I really liked that she said that because I think at the end of the day, as a founder, as a creative,
23:56like, you are some sort of beacon to others, and so you will be used, right?
24:01If people misuse you, that's how you know that that person isn't right for you.
24:05But I don't think we should be afraid of people being a bit transactional with us
24:09because at the end of the day, there's money to be made.
24:12Absolutely.
24:12There's magic to be made, and I think that's okay, too.
24:15Yeah.
24:15How about that? We use each other.
24:17Right, right.
24:17It's just not about, we be using each other.
24:20Yeah, I remember Olamide shopping with O, and, like, as they were shopping, Olamide and I were just like,
24:26she was like, well, so, I mean, you work at Essence, but, like, what are you doing?
24:29Like, what's up?
24:30I'm like, Jesus.
24:31My friends know me.
24:32My friends know me.
24:33That's me.
24:33That doesn't, yeah, we were shopping, and we were just sitting down.
24:35She's like, what are you, like, what's going on?
24:37Like, what's the business?
24:38I think my friends are really creative people, and I think sometimes we get stuck in the accolades of, like,
24:42what looks shiny and cool to everyone else, and not why you were actually placed on this earth.
24:47So, you know, I'm on you.
24:48I saw your text messages.
24:49We're going to look at the property, and we're going to do what we need to do.
24:52Honestly, this weekend's a perfect time.
24:54Come, step into our office.
24:55Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:56Y'all know that's coming soon.
24:57Well, let's give it up for Elamide and Donye.
25:01Thank you so, so, so much.
25:03Can you tell us where we can follow you both?
25:05Yes.
25:06Donye Taylor on everything.
25:08My website, DonyeTaylor.com.
25:09Instagram, Donye Taylor.
25:11D-O-N-Y-E-T-A-Y-L-O-R.
25:15You can find me at Elamide, all socials, and then Topicals, all socials, and mytopicals.com, as well as Sephora.
25:22Amazing.
25:22Thank you, guys.
25:27To the daydreamers.
25:34Explorers.
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