For Louisa Kinoshi, beauty entrepreneur and Founder of Beauty REVNG, the need to re-define the standards of beauty for African women, was one of the core reasons she set up her business. She talks about the business of beauty, the challenges of being an entrepreneur, and the steadily growing community of “BR Dolls.” Enjoy her interview.

You are the founder of BeautyREVNG; tell us a little bit about your company?

LK: BeautyRevNG aims to revolutionize the beauty shopping experience in Africa. Our web store provides a highly personalized shopping experience and features a wide array of recognized to niche, hard-to-find indigenous and international beauty brands at the click of a button.

BeautyRevNG.com is also an online community for African makeup artists, beauty bloggers, and makeup enthusiasts. Beauty Rev NG’s online community provides visitors access to tutorials and advice from top Africa’s top beauty influencers while spotlighting young, African female entrepreneurs in beauty.

Why is it important to you that African women define their own standards of beauty?

LK: BeautyRevNG is not just about shopping it’s about celebrating the modern African woman. I was tired of seeing our version of beauty omitted from mainstream and social media. I wanted to build a company that highlights OUR beauty story. I want girls all over the world, from Berlin to Shanghai to look at our African makeup style with our bright geles, beads and bold lips and think “Wow that’s dope!”

To me, defining our own standards of beauty isn’t about thinking our version of beauty is superior but about making African influences in beauty more mainstream. We are starting to see that happen in the fashion world where haute couture designers incorporate African prints on the runway. We can also trade beauty secrets with the rest of the world. In Africa, we have amazing natural beauty ingredients like shea and black soap. I’ve read that rice water is great for the skin and is an ancient Asian beauty secret. Women all over the world could be sharing these tips while appreciating each other’s culture.

What was the idea behind setting up BeautyREVNG, and how did you come up with the name?

LK: Beauty Rev NG is pretty much a shortened version of Beauty Revolution Nigeria. When I started this company, I wanted to disrupt the beauty industry in Africa. We had our first photoshoot earlier this year, and our first model was wearing dread locks: a hairstyle that isn’t accepted in mainstream beauty. They are faux locs but still very edgy and different and we have received so many compliments about the model and the brand in general.

We are always thinking about how we can change and influence perceptions. First through the products we carry. One of the first Nigerian brands on the site is R&R Luxury, a luxury natural skin and hair brand. African brands aren’t traditionally seen as luxurious. But R&R is doing an awesome job in the “luxury” category and all their ingredients are from Africa!

Have you always wanted to do this? The fusion of beauty, technology and retail?

LK: I’m obsessed with technology I’m the girl you’ll see with her iPhone, iPad and laptop everywhere I go. It’s important for technology to be able to solve real-world problems and we are addressing the pain point many women in Nigeria have expressed – having access to high-quality beauty products and the tools to use them in real time.

Our long-term strategy is to create the perfect synergy between technology and retail. Our goal is to deliver online to all major African cities. While e-commerce will grow exponentially in Africa, we also predict that we will need to supplement our online strategy with retail. Our cost-effective retail strategy is to launch beauty experience centers (BEC’s) in popular beauty salons, studios and boutiques across the continent. Each “BEC” will have an iPad stand loaded with an app where shoppers can get product matches, view reviews, watch tutorials and even see if their friends have purchased a similar item. Once they purchase, they have the option to share via social media. We will be launching a BEC in Lekki (Lagos), Yaba (Lagos) this month and Port Harcourt, and Abuja before the end of the year. We are conducting research on other cities to launch including Accra, Nairobi, Luanda and other major cities.

Who is the target audience for BeautyREVNG?

LK: We call our BeautyRevNG stakeholders “BR dolls.” A BR doll is a young woman who lives in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos or Accra. She’s a go-getter and is very serious about her career or education but she also has a fun, quirky side. She probably runs a blog or has a popular Instagram page. She’s not afraid to try new trends and is obsessed with sharing her finds could be in beauty, fashion or travel.

I love the fact that it says BeautyREVNG is for the bold, brassy girl. Would you consider yourself a bold, brassy girl? And what has made you embrace your brassiness?

LK: When it comes to makeup, I’m actually quite conservative. I like a classic natural face with a bold lip. My bold and brassy side is reflected more in my hair style I think I have about 3 colors in right now. Its blended in a way that is professional but when you look closely you can tell. In May, my hair was actually lavender but that lasted for like two weeks! Lol!

What makes your business different, from other online retail beauty platforms?

LK: The fact that we are constantly evolving. When we launched our site it was shocking that there weren’t any other sites like us that are aesthetically pleasing and with all the features we have. Now we are moving on to the next thing which is to build an app to make the shopping experience even more seamless. In 2016, BeautyRevNG will launch an app for African women where consumers can engage with beauty influencers, shop, get product reviews, tutorials, and share with friends. Imagine being at the office and you notice you’ve run out of eyeliner and you need to touch up your makeup for a date that night. Our dream is that you can go on the app get guided recommendations on which one to purchase and voila you have it delivered to you before the end of the day.

You’ve been in business for a little over a year; how has the experience been?

LK: It’s been amazing! What I have enjoyed the most is meeting our BR dolls in person either at an event or fair. We have BR dolls from all over the country who are doing amazing things as well in their careers, business and we’ve become like a support community for each other.

You moved back to Nigeria last month, to focus full time on your business; that’s a brave move. Do you feel any apprehension like “Louisa, what are you doing?”

LK: Not at all. Nigeria is my home and everyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about Africa.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in running your business?

LK: I think most Nigerian entrepreneurs face the same challenges which are: logistics, electricity shortage, finding talent. However, I just focus on solving problems and what I love about Nigerians is that we are very creative about solving our problems.

What are the key lessons you’ve learned about being an entrepreneur?

LK: Since I began this journey I’ve seen how every experience I had in school and previous jobs, prepared me in advance for this role. I’m happy I had lots of experience before starting my own business I can’t imagine doing this fresh out of university.

Who are some of your role models and mentors?

LK: I actually have an official mentor now thanks to the Tiffany Amber Women of Vision Mentorship Programme. I have always admired Mrs. Nike Ogunlesi, the CEO of children’s wear brand Ruff & Tumble and it is so exciting that she will be mentoring me. Other role models are Sophia Amoruso, Founder of Nasty Gal and Oprah of course!

How has social media helped your business and are there any plans to expand?

LK: Due to the rise of social media, we are seeing a trend of African beauty influencers who are shifting the landscape and encouraging African women to tap into elements of their heritage and culture as symbols of beauty. Our marketing strategy is fueled by social media and crowdsourcing. By working closely with Africa’s top beauty influencers, we are able to garner excitement and enthusiasm for the beauty products on our site. We are currently on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We just joined snapchat less than two weeks ago and it’s by now my favorite. We also opened a Periscope account but we aren’t active yet. Follow us on any of these channels @BeautyRevNG.

 

If you could, what would you tell your younger self?

LK: “Mistakes are not failures, but specially prepared lessons plans to help you succeed in your next journey. So don’t sweat it, just pull up you big girl trousers and keep on!”

What is your vision for the African woman?

LK: African women are embracing entrepreneurship, and my vision is that women and their businesses will be seen as the key to unlocking economic opportunity throughout Africa!

 

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The Leading Ladies Africa Series is a weekly interview series that focuses on women of African descent, showcases their experiences across all socio-economic sectors, highlights their personal and professional achievements and offers useful advice on how to make life more satisfying for women.

It is an off-shoot of Leading Ladies Africa; an initiative that seeks to effectively mentor and inspire women, with particular emphasis on the African continent.

Do you know any woman of African descent doing phenomenal things? Send an email to [email protected] and we just might feature her.