Going Against The Grain With Oui The People Founder Karen Young

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Since the dawn of advertising in the fashion and beauty space, we’ve looked to unrealistic images of beauty, often resulting in negative self-talk, low self-confidence, and unrealistic standards among women. However, a new guard of beauty leaders have entered the space disrupting this narrative entirely. When launching Oui the People, CEO & Founder Karen Young took note of the shaving ads from the 50’s and realized that modern brands using similar language needed to make a change.

As someone who had firmly established herself in both the luxury fashion and beauty industries before branching out and starting her own direct-to-consumer skincare brand, Karen was on a mission to inform our culture and change the beauty conversation.

Her brand Oui the People offers a beautiful heirloom safety razor and all-natural luxury grooming products that cater to the modern women’s needs. Now one of less than 100 Black Women to ever raise over $1 million, she recently closed an oversubscribed seed round—meaning she got more money than she had asked for—raising the brand more than $3 million dollars!

On this episode of WorkParty, Karen Young shares what it takes to lead a movement in the beauty industry, how to raise capital, how her upbringing impacted her outlook on self-care, and how her background in psychology informs her highly personalized customer experience.


LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

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IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS . . .


  • Oui the People's brand philosophy and impact on changing standards in beauty

  • Karen's experience raising over $3 million in capital

  • How studying psychology has provided an advantage in terms of observing and reacting to customer behaviors

  • Being proactive versus reactive in customer service

  • The value of embodying your natural beauty

  • Diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry

  • A day in the life of Karen Young, CEO & Founder


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