At a time when startup success stories are often reduced to viral moments and billion-dollar valuations, Nigerian-American entrepreneur Olamide Olowe is telling a far more authentic story, one built on resilience, financial discipline, calculated risks, and an unwavering belief in herself. Appearing on Stocked with Complex, the CEO of Topicals and Bread Beauty Supply offered a candid masterclass on what it truly takes to build a modern business empire.
From securing her first $25,000 investment at just 21 years old while still living in a dorm room to transforming Topicals into Sephora’s fastest-growing skincare brand, Olowe revealed that success is rarely glamorous behind the scenes. That initial investment funded the development of Faded Serum, the brand’s now-iconic treatment for dark spots and hyperpigmentation, but raising additional capital proved far more difficult. Although she initially targeted $1 million in funding, she eventually realised she only needed $500,000, strategically asking for more because, in the world of venture capital, asking for too little can undermine credibility.
YOU CAN ALSO READ: 25 Years On, NOG Energy Week Continues to Shape Africa’s Energy Future
One of her greatest challenges came during Halloween in New York City in 2019, when she discovered she had completely run out of money. While others celebrated, she was desperately trying to save her company. Then came an unexpected breakthrough: an introduction to a Google machine-learning expert with a reputation for making smart investments in beauty companies. Two weeks before Christmas, he invested $300,000 into Topicals, a lifeline that made the company’s 2020 launch possible.
Without that investment, she says, the company would have shut down entirely after numerous investors rejected her. Today, those rejections have become part of her success story, and Olowe has developed an unshakeable confidence that sets her apart in rooms filled with powerful investors and CEOs. Rather than feeling intimidated, she boldly declares that they should be intimidated by her.
For Olowe, understanding financials is non-negotiable because investors do not buy into aesthetics or emotions; they buy into numbers and growth potential. That financial discipline has defined her entrepreneurial journey from the beginning. For the first three years of Topicals, she paid herself only $30,000 annually, following advice from her accountant to reinvest profits directly into the business and embrace short-term sacrifices for long-term gains.
Although she openly admits to expensive tastes, particularly her love for luxury cars, watches and designer shoes, including a vintage Aston Martin DB9 she affectionately calls “Brownie,” she remains strategic about spending. Her passion for automobiles is so profound that she once rented an entire racetrack for her birthday and invited friends to drift McLarens and Aston Martins. Her entrepreneurial ambitions have also grown so expansive that she casually revealed purchasing another company, describing the experience as similar to raising a child.
Beyond acquisitions and luxury purchases, Olowe believes her greatest investments are people. Recognising her own limitations, she deliberately hired individuals stronger than herself in areas such as finance, strategy, and creative direction, investing $100,000 salaries in top talent because she understands that extraordinary companies are built by extraordinary people.
She also credits accountants as one of the most important hires any entrepreneur can make, comparing them to nightclub bouncers who monitor everything coming in and going out to prevent financial chaos. One of her boldest decisions came when she ignored the objections of her team and board members by spending $100,000 to send influencers to Ghana during Detty December to promote a new product launch. The gamble paid off spectacularly, generating $1 million in revenue within just three days.
Yet despite her remarkable financial success, Olowe insists that her greatest achievement is not luxury or wealth but the ability to create opportunities for others. The defining moment she realised she had truly “made it” came when she raised $2 million in just two weeks after previously spending nearly two years struggling to raise $600,000.
YOU CAN ALSO READ: Beyond Oil and Gas: The Strategic Evolution of Areedex Under Kayode Adeleke
Today, her mission extends far beyond beauty products. She wants Topicals to become a platform that amplifies Black stories, creating opportunities both behind the camera and inside boardrooms, while demonstrating the immense value of investing in Black women.
Her message to young entrepreneurs is refreshingly simple: the rules are imaginary, creativity is currency, and success belongs to those willing to build the right team, trust experts, know their numbers, and relentlessly believe in themselves.
In Olamide Olowe’s world, impossible is merely a challenge waiting to be conquered. Her journey from a college dorm room to the pinnacle of the global beauty industry is not simply a story about entrepreneurship; it is a story about redefining what is possible for a new generation of founders. And perhaps her greatest lesson of all is that extraordinary success is rarely built alone, it takes the right people, the right guidance, and the courage to take bold bets when no one else believes in your vision.
