How to Leave Your Day Job, Build Your Brand & Start Your Own Thing with Nicole Gibbons, Founder of Clare

In this week's episode we're re-airing one of our top episodes with Nicole Gibbons, the founder of Clare, the only Black-owned paint brand in the US, and is a favorite of Jessica Alba, Maria Sharapova, and Nate Berkus to name a few. 

Before pursuing interior design, Nicole spent nearly a decade managing PR for one of the world’s largest retail brands, Victoria's Secret. Although she was excelling in her career, Nicole felt uninspired and was looking for a new outlet for her creativity. She started working on a decorating blog on the side that ultimately gained serious traction and led her into the path of interior design.

After working as a designer and establishing herself as a voice in the industry, Nicole decided to do another career pivot and had a yearning to build something that would be a household name. When working with clients, she always noticed the hassle around picking paints and saw an opportunity to disrupt the outdated paint industry and create a direct-to-consumer business that makes the entire process a way better experience. 

Nicole has been featured in top media outlets such as HGTV, The Rachael Ray Show, Good Morning America, and Oprah Winfrey’s OWN. She's also raised venture capital from the backers of Warby Parker, Casper, Peloton, and more.

We talk to Nicole today about the power of patience when it comes to building your business, how to think about your finance before you take the leap, how she raised money and built a tech business with zero connections to start, and so much more!

In this episode, we'll talk to Nicole about:

* Nicole's thoughts on confidence and the nature of risk and reward in entrepreneurship. [3:09]

* The familial links that Nicole has to entrepreneurship and her early corporate career. [4:30]

* Nicole's side hustle journey: pursuing passion while employed. [6:06]

* How the blog organically evolved from a passion project into a business. [8:12]

* Patience and consistency fueled Nicole's transition to full-time interior design. [10:01]

* Foregoing the safety of paychecks and betting on yourself. [13:16]

* Nicole's second pivot; executing on her research and ideas. [20:48]

* How networking has played into Nicole's strategy throughout. [24:45]

* Entering the world of venture capital; Nicole's philosophy towards funding. [27:13]

* Advice for approaching investors; asking questions and due diligence. [34:57]

* Sharing the story of your brand and creating a common thread through everything you do. [37:31)

* Nicole's key resources: community, questions, and more. [41:29]

* Nicole's thoughts on the idea of work-life balance and welcoming different seasons. [46:18]

* Lessons from the early days of hiring for a new company. [49:28]

This episode is brought to you by beeya: 

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Follow Yasmin:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/

* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Nicole: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolegibbonsstyle

* Clare's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarepaint

* Clare Website: https://www.clare.com/

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