Nyakio Grieco Sold Her First Business to Unilever—Then Started 2 More
What would you do if you sold your business to Unilever? Delete the email app from your phone forever, maybe? Not Nyakio Grieco. She decided one win wasn't enough and started two more beauty companies.
Through the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Nyakio saw more support for her business than ever, and she realized a ton of Black and Brown brands were experiencing the same thing. She chatted with other founders and the wheels started turning for her second business, thirteen lune.
“They had very little distribution, but really incredible products. I wanted to create the retailer that I wished I'd always had.”
thirteen lune launched as an online marketplace offering mostly products from Black and Brown founders. It was an instant hit. Only 60 days after launch, JC Penny reached out to create thirteen lune stores within their locations. Now they're rolling out into 600 stores!
Nyakio says thirteen lune's quick success came down to three things:
Celebrity investors like Gwyneth Paltrow and Sean 'Diddy' Combs helped get attention right away.
Timing: it launched during an uptick in the Black Lives Matter movement.
They're truly doing something that has never been done by launching a retailer selling 90% of brands built by Black and Brown founders, but created for all people.
We asked Nyakio what she's doing differently in her second business. This time she's taking "smart money" from investors who can also be advisors and offer connections and experience to grow the biz, instead of saying yes to anyone with cash to invest.
“99% of the time as you're MAKING decisions [about investors]... you can feel it in your gut. Entrepreneurs have the best instincts. Listen to them.”
Earlier this year thirteen lune raised $8M of investment after growing sales by 2000%. With that cash, Nyakio launched a beauty brand under thirteen lune, Relevant. They’re also using the money to open IRL stores in 600+ JC Penny locations and an LA flagship!
