Nigerian Fragrance Founder Reveals How She Got into Sephora and Raised $500,000
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She spent $225,000 of her own money on a brand that hadn't sold a single bottle yet. Before that, she priced her first fragrance at $250 and the internet came for her. "Who do you think you are? You're not Gucci. You're not Creed." Her team told her the price is the price. She sold out, did over a million dollars in six months, and people started reselling the bottles on eBay for $600. Funmi Monet is the founder and CEO of Influxious, the fragrance brand that launched exclusively at Sephora. She was a licensed therapist first. Then she trained at ISIPCA in Versailles, joined the Sephora Squad, and built an audience of more than 500,000 people who trust her nose. In this episode we get into where the $225,000 went and why she doesn't regret a cent, the standard founder advice she ignored on purpose, the VC who told her a million dollars was too small a check to write, how she studied the Ami Colé shutdown so she wouldn't repeat it, why niche fragrance brands don't pay creators, and the de-auntie era that started with one rude comment about her wig. Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership) Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast EPISODE SPONSORS Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa. CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/ WHERE TO FIND FUNMI MONET Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funmimonet/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@funmimonet Threads: https://www.threads.com/@funmimonet LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/funmi-monet-68613363/ INFLUXIOUS Website: https://influxious.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/influxious.co/ Shop at Sephora: https://www.sephora.com/brand/influxious AFROPOLITAN Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast TIMESTAMPS 0:00 "You're not Gucci. You're not Creed." 1:15 Quick favor before we start 1:31 The biggest misconception about the fragrance industry 3:12 You don't need a wall of perfume, you need an audience 4:23 The question she wishes people would ask her 5:57 Why that perfume smells different on you 7:40 Charging $250 and the backlash that followed 9:05 Sold out, then resold on eBay for $600 10:15 From Clubhouse to a Sephora shelf 11:54 The founder advice she deliberately ignored 13:34 Raising a $1M pre-seed with $7 in her account 15:15 What she needs from angel investors right now 17:45 The Room: inside the Afropolitan private membership 18:28 Sponsor: Zobo Money 19:13 How her ambition actually changed 20:27 Why scaling too fast kills good brands 22:00 Where the $225,000 of her own money went 23:29 What fragrance houses do to new brands with no money 26:41 Perfume school in Versailles 27:43 Cutting out the middleman on packaging 28:32 How she's avoiding the Ami Colé situation 31:11 Saying no to money she badly needed 32:50 The therapist chapter 33:10 The Dr. Cheyenne Bryant licensing debate 36:35 High functioning vs high value men 37:38 The therapy session that started all of this 39:39 Why she'll probably never hit a million followers 41:19 Nigeria to Oklahoma 42:53 Losing Yoruba and her biggest regret 45:24 The Nigerian parents who let her take art class 46:34 Influxious was a high school art project 47:35 Her mother's perfume and special occasions 49:38 Choosing yourself on the days you don't want to 50:05 The de-auntie era 51:43 Turning 30 with none of the plan intact 54:30 When your parents redirect the prayer 58:36 Dating while launching a business 59:52 Why niche fragrance brands don't pay creators 1:01:56 Lean into your personality and build a series 1:04:51 Building the Influxious Insiders community 1:06:13 "You are the niche" 1:09:38 The lesson that cost her the most 1:11:27 For the woman who thinks her thing is too small 1:13:17 What her clients taught her about what people really want 1:14:48 The stranger who recognized her in Istanbul 1:15:38 One year out, five years out 1:18:24 The delulu number 1:19:51 Rapid fire 1:26:56 Who should be in this chair next
