When did you provide you with the thought of Secret Skin or realise there was a spot out there for the enterprise?
I moved to UAE in 2019 to proceed on my company profession path after 5 years of working at Amazon, however discovered that the alternatives had been restrictive of their alternative to contribute to the group, or of their sphere of affect. I used to be additionally experiencing a palpable religious wrestle between cash and that means, provided that my 10-year ‘cancerversary’ of being in remission was developing and any new job would simply be a bullet level on my resume.
Secret Skin founder Anisha Oberoi
Two issues led to the start of Secret Skin: The lack of ability to entry protected, reasonably priced private care and sweetness within the area was one. A buyer would ordinarily want to attend two weeks to obtain a product if ordered from overseas after paying steep costs (between 55-85 p.c overage in transport and customs). Second, there was a deep private have to impression change. During my sickness 11 years in the past, my frustration at not having the ability to discover toxin-free magnificence or private care merchandise that wouldn’t disrupt my hormones or negatively impression my fertility turned the inspiration to create a model that ladies like myself might belief – one that will reinforce the significance of girls’s well being by means of the narrative of magnificence.
Secret Skin’s worth proposition to the client right this moment is aggressive pricing on new-to-the-region manufacturers, free transport, same-day supply, native buyer care and native fulfilment for protected and reasonably priced magnificence and private care merchandise, with a plastic recycling program to incentivise clients for pro-environment behaviour.
What is your marketing strategy?
We function as an e-commerce discovery platform for international Eco-luxe plant magnificence. As a retail companion we’re a completely built-in service supplier for manufacturers that need to enter the Middle East however discover the method cost-prohibitive, labour-intensive and time consuming. We place ourselves as their devoted centre of excellence. We enter into unique industrial distribution and on-line retail contracts after due diligence on certifications, buyer opinions, product sampling, and many others, after which register them below our license with native authorities. We co-invest with them for amplification throughout platforms and property from advertising and marketing to PR to influencer seeding and on-ground activations. The principal companion’s participation is integral to constructing the model consciousness and buyer base out there.
Is the corporate bootstrapped or have you ever raised capital from traders? Can you are taking us by means of your funding journey?
I initially used my Amazon financial savings to arrange the enterprise, however we had been lucky to search out native angel traders to assist our early journey. We raised pre-seed in July 2020 earlier than our launch in October and have lately opened a brand new spherical for seed capital, which is presently ongoing. We are very particular about what sort of traders we need to invite: Apart from the apparent funding, smart-money traders assist us with new introductions to extra potential traders, alternatives to develop into new areas, create extra distribution channels, assist optimise provide, supply advisory counsel for development particular to our trade and many others. We are focussed on reinforcing girls’s well being within the area, so we’ve got a neighborhood angel with a medical background in addition to a girl investor within the digital media house. Since we simply hit six months of operation we at the moment are seeing an curiosity from early-stage VCs from EU, SEA & MENA which is sort of thrilling.
Tell me about your expansion plans?
With regard to new markets, we launched with transport in UAE and to India, however lately rolled out Oman and Kuwait. We will launch formal on-ground operations in Saudi this yr and because the buyer knowledge set builds (buy behaviour/picture drivers/quantity drivers and many others), we are going to begin a subscription service and launch our AI-enabled App. We are additionally engaged on an in-house Private Label. At the second the main focus is on launching new classes resembling equipment, magnificence instruments, clear make-up, an natural child spa providing and new worldwide manufacturers.
Where would you prefer to see the corporate within the subsequent 5 years?
In 2023 we plan to take Secret Skin to South East Asia beginning with Singapore. My dream is to have our Middle East headquarters in Dubai and the South East Asia headquarters in Singapore the place I lived from 2012-2014, and to ship globally. I would like Secret Skin to be often known as a pioneer in Sustainable Beauty Tech, a enterprise that focusses on girls’s well being and wellness with contribution to social and environmental impression in step with UN sustainable growth targets.
What recommendation would you give anybody seeking to begin their very own enterprise within the area?
Start with why you need to do it: Is there a spot that you simply’re addressing? What drawback are you fixing and why is your worth proposition distinctive as in comparison with others within the house with comparable providing? How are you finest outfitted to offer the answer by way of staff skillset, technique and infrastructure? If your thought checks off essential containers then you should breathe life into it 24/7.
An entrepreneur’s life is like braiding and climbing the rope concurrently on a steep, rocky cliff. Its finest to fail quick, so innovate cautiously and pivot rapidly to scale sooner.
Find the best mentors and advisors to assist you and permit your companion or partner to be an goal sounding board.
Take time to pause: It’s a marathon not a dash.
