Necessity was indeed the mother of invention—and the fuel for the path to entrepreneurship for Grace Eleyae, a first-generation American of Nigerian and Kenyan heritage who found herself with a specific haircare problem during a trip to Kenya in early 2013.

After a bumpy 8-hour car ride, all of the hair on the back of Eleyae’s head broke off—the result of her hair being chemically straightened and being exposed to constant friction against a headrest. Eleyae decided it was time to “big chop” (cut off the damaged hair) and start over. She also realized that there wasn’t a product that would help her hair retain moisture, aid in its growth, and still be stylish too—a problem that many women like Eleyae often find themselves trying to solve.

By February 2014, Eleyae created the first prototype for the Slap, a chic satin-lined cap that could also be worn as a protective covering and allow her to rock her newly short hair without fear. After seeing improvements in her hair’s health and garnering the acceptance of friends and family who also tried and approved of it, Eleyae realized she had a validated business idea. Consequently, she began to sell her products on Etsy, and by September 2014, Grace Eleyae, Inc. was born. The brand’s mantra, “Stylish, silk and satin lined products that eradicate bed head, frizz, breakage and more, anytime anywhere” helped her identify her target market and how she’d be able to help them. A review by Canadian YouTuber Kassima Isabelle lauded the Slap as a nighttime routine “must have” and created the Slap’s first press feature that catapulted the brand into the mainstream market.

Growth has been synonymous with the Grace Eleyae brand since its initial consumer introduction. In just five years, Eleyae was able to expand from 5 to 230 SKUs, which now includes turbans, scrunchies, headbands, fedoras, pillowcases, and more. The company has now sold an estimated over $20 million in product, amassed over 400,000 in a customer base, sold out on Good Morning America’s Steals & Deals segment twice, and built strong retail relationships with retail giants like Ulta, JCPenney, and Amazon. And celebrities such as Gabrielle Union and Viola Davis have sported Grace Eleyae’s wares in public. Most recently, the brand was selected as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things 2020.

How did she do it? Grace Eleyae sat down with READY to BEAUTY to discuss some of the key factors for her brand’s success.

Understand Your Customer (And Be Open to Change)

In the beginning, we somewhat had to rethink who our customer was. Our very first influencer was Canadian. Most of her audience was located in Northern Europe, the Scandinavian countries, and Sweden. We [initially] created this product thinking it would be geared toward tightly curly-haired textures, but our first orders were from women with fine hair. Those were some big surprises for us. Currently we sell to such a wide array of people—from fine hair to thick and curly hair … men and women. All kinds of people are starting to see the benefits of sleeping with satin & silk and how it benefits all hair types.

Now, since the COVID-19 pandemic there has been an increased focus on consumer comfort and people’s buying patterns have shifted. There are people who might be taking meetings from home who didn’t necessarily get their hair done. Because salons were closed, they needed something to be able to cover their hair with. Grace Eleyae became a solution. Because of that our sales went up, especially at the beginning of the pandemic.

Invest in Market Research and SKU Analysis

In the beginning, we used customer surveys to get feedback on what products were working, what products were not working, how to improve, and what product categories to expand into. We also value customer suggestions. The Grace Eleyae team looks at market trends and we rely on focus groups for feedback.

We evolve because we continue to notice and respond to problems that still exist for consumers looking to protect their hair. As part of that natural product evolution, we try to create products that pair well with each other. We went from the satin-lined cap to the scrunchie, because in order to get big hair into the Slap, it’s helpful to have a scrunchie (that also protects) to help put your hair up first. Expanding into pillows and pillowcases were also a natural product market fit. When sleeping, your pillowcase might slip back and leave your hair and edges exposed, so a Grace Eleyae pillow makes sense.

In order to test new brand additions, we typically try to give a SKU 45 days to see if markdowns are needed. We ask: Are we actually selling through this inventory? Then, we conduct a full 90-day SKU analysis to monitor performance.

Choose Distribution Partners Wisely

Before, we focused specifically on e-commerce, so we’re just getting into the retail space and creating these rules as we go. We’ve learned that there are different goals with different partners as each retailer has different benefits.

First, there’s brand compatibility. Are they on brand with where we are? For example, once we figured out what our market was and that we were in the beauty space, we decided to target retailers that had a significant beauty footprint. The fact that Ulta has a lot of doors and is a leading beauty retailer was a significant factor in choosing the partnership.

Next is the terms of agreement such as payment terms, margin percentage, and marketing expense sharing. A lot of the bigger retailers have aggressive terms and requirements that may be difficult to meet. We’re learning to be more selective.

Invest in the Future of Beauty: (INCLUSIVITY)

I love the fact that the industry is moving, what feels like leaps and bounds towards inclusivity. Before, I used one type of hair product for textured hair and was never really able to get my curls defined. Now, there are so many products on the market that get my tiny little 4C curls completely defined. I’m excited to see three years from now how many more products will be created to make sure that we’re accommodating all types of needs. We’re going to start seeing more products and innovation for things that are really specific to consumers in wider markets.

As far as the future of the Grace Eleyae brand goes, the hopeful founder continues to seek market dominance via product expansion into the lifestyle market. Eleyae foresees the brand becoming the go-to for all aspects of her customer’s everyday routine. From morning to night, everyday to luxury, in-home to travel. And we wish the brand great luck as Eleyae aggressively, yet strategically, marches toward this goal. Her recent BOGO Black Friday sale is sure to attract new patrons looking to find answers to the pressing issue Eleyae uncovered years back. Thanks to Grace Eleyae, they will never have to sacrifice hair health for style ever again.