LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Nubian Skin, the first brand to make inclusive, skin-tone undergarments catered to women of colour.
Ade Hassan is the Nigerian/British founder of Nubian Skin, the first brand to make inclusive, skin-tone undergarments catered to women of colour. The business also makes skin-tone softies (post-surgery prosthetics for mastectomy patients). Launched in 2014, and headquartered in London, Nubian Skin delivers worldwide and looks forward to growing the company’s offering and expanding its reach.
Lioness Weekender spoke to the game-changing Ade Hassan about her entrepreneurial passion and drive, and her vision for growing the Nubian Skin brand into the future.
What inspired you to start your company?
Nubian Skin was born out of my frustration. I wanted a product that I couldn’t find in shops, so I decided to create it. I knew I couldn’t be the only one who felt the same way. It’s such a simple concept. Skin-tone lingerie and hosiery that is suitable for multiple tones of darker skin, but it didn’t really exist.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
It's an excellent product, with beautiful colours and high quality, so really it's suitable for anyone regardless of colour. That being said, our bespoke colours were created to blend so well with black women and women with darker skin, so a woman of colour who wants high quality, skin tone undergarments should really be a customer of Nubian Skin.
Tell us a little about your team:
The core Nubian Skin team consists of four people including myself. We cover operations, product development, marketing and everything else! Everyone has a great attitude and works so hard. We also work with a much larger network of people who help make Nubian Skin as a company work: our suppliers who make all of our custom dyed components, and our manufacturers who work very closely with our product developer to make sure our product is perfect. Our 3PL warehouse teams in both the UK and US who store our inventory and ship our product, and quite a few others. I can honestly say that right now, the team is one of my favourite things about Nubian Skin.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and have my own business one day. Both my parents are entrepreneurs, and particularly seeing my mother in that role had a huge impact on me. That being said, I started my career in very corporate roles. The majority of my career was in finance, so it was a huge shift both in terms of industry and responsibility when I decided to start Nubian Skin.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
The goal for the immediate future is to fundraise and scale. I feel the company is now in a good position for expansion, so that's my focus.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Nubian Skin is the realisation of my dream - to become an entrepreneur in the fashion industry. It has also enabled me to create my legacy. I had a vision for women of colour to be catered to in the lingerie industry, and Nubian Skin changed the industry. We opened up the conversation as to what "nude" meant, and created a lasting change. The impact the brand has had on the industry and the women who finally feel seen will forever be part of my legacy and the good I've done in the world, and that brings me so much satisfaction.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Believe in yourself. Do your research, and then go for it. If you need to raise funds to start your business, go for it. If you want to boot-strap, go for it. You never want to wake up in your old age and think, "I wish I did that". Outside of that, I will say, make sure to take care of your mental health. Being an entrepreneur is often portrayed as being glamorous, but it can be an incredible amount of work and very isolating, so take care of yourself.
To learn more about Nubian Skin, send an email to press@nubianskin.com or visit the website and social media platforms:
https://www.instagram.com/nubianskin/
https://www.facebook.com/NubianSkin/
https://twitter.com/nubianskin
