Olamide Olowe is being candid about her latest foray in the business world.

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Nigerian-American is the co-founder of the skincare company Topicals. Olowe raised $14 million in funding for the company before she was 26. Over the years, she has secured investor participation from Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners, Kelly Rowland, Gabrielle Union, Yvonne Orji, Bozoma Saint John, and more. Tropicals is also the fastest-growing skincare brand sold at Sephora, according to Beauty Independent.

While Olowe has experienced success as an entrepreneur, she continues to confront the daunting realities that many other founders face regarding raising capital. Olowe has also felt the shift in attitudes.

“You would think that it’d be super easy for me to raise capital, but it’s not for whatever reason, whether it’s the economy this year or whether people feel like it’s too much risk,” she told Beauty Independent.

Cost Of Doing Business

Olowe is now working to elevate more brands, which she is doing through the launch of the holding company, Cost Of Doing Business. The company’s first order of business was acquiring Maeva Heim’s haircare brand, Bread Beauty Supply.

The acquisition marked a full-circle moment for Olowe, since her career began in the haircare industry working at SheaMoisture.

“I love the founder [Maeva Heim]. She’s been a friend of mine for years. I liked the category. I started my career at SheaMoisture in hair, and that’s my first love in beauty, but never enough for me to launch a brand,” Olowe told Beauty Independent.

“Not all the companies we’re going to acquire actually may be Black-owned, but we are acquiring companies that we feel like have cultural awareness and know how to serve the community that we serve,” she later added.

Olowe invested her own earnings into the acquisition, with the help of some small investors. She admits that the decision has its challenges.

“As a personal business decision, was it the smartest decision or the right decision on paper? Probably not. But I’m one of those people who bets on the house. So I know that, in the long term, it’s going to be a great thing… but, in the moment, it’s really difficult,” she told Beauty Independent.

“I’m constantly asking myself, ‘Can I do this again? Did I bite off more than I can chew?’ In those moments of self-doubt, I always remind myself that I’ve been through worse, things have been harder, and I’ve always conquered,” she added, per the outlet.