Topicals Founder Olamide Olowe Is Youngest Black Woman Ever To Raise $10 Million In Funding

CAVU Consumer Partners led today’s financing round for Topicals skincare, which raised $10 million. Olamide Olowe, 26, is the founder and CEO of Topicals skincare. She is the youngest Black woman to raise venture capital. Already, she was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for 2022 after her previous fundraise totaling $2.6 million.

Topicals is the fastest-growing brand in skincare at Sephora. It appeals to Gen Z consumers through its TikTok marketing and Instagram marketing, eye-catching packaging and mental health advocacy. Topicals, which was established in 2020, saw its revenue triple in 2021. The company sold one product per minute in 2022.

It is shocking to many that 85 million Americans have a chronic skin condition such as psoriasis, hyperpigmentation, or both. Topicals has a mission to eradicate stigma surrounding skin conditions. Topicals is reinventing how people can treat flare ups. The company developed products that contain herbals and ingredients scientifically proven effective in clinical studies.

Topicals will use the CAVU funding for brand awareness and growth. Topicals also intends to raise awareness on the relationship between mental and skin health. Topicals has donated more that $50,000 to nonprofits providing mental healthcare resources for marginalized communities. The company now has the ability to launch a 12-month accelerator program that will support nonprofits in this space.

Olowe gives her top three suggestions for creating a brand that customers love.

1. Identify your purposeKeep it simple.

2. Don’t shy away from culture. I am a data-driven founder and color that data with culture. Incorporate your personal experiences in the way that you build products and communicate with customers.

3. Find partners who share your vision Your mission is important to us. This stage of growth is critical for us to have an investor partner who can offer value beyond capital. CAVU Consumer Partners has a team of experts who are ready to put in the work to take this brand to the next stage.

Olowe had chronic skin conditions growing up. Olowe spent two years as an intern at Shea Moisture while she was an undergraduate at UCLA. She learned how to create a cult brand that appeals to underserved customers during this period. “At Shea Moisture, there was an ethos of doing well by doing good,” she says. “That inspired me to build Topicals with a social mission.”

Olowe noticed a need to include darker skin tones in her skincare line as she was researching it. Olowe was shocked to learn that 50% of dermatologists don’t know how to treat skin color. This led her to create a new narrative for Topicals that focuses on chronic skin conditions in darker skin tones.

“Storytelling is the heartbeat of what we do at Topicals,” Olowe says. “It starts with media, it starts with mental health, it starts with all of us believing that we don’t have to subscribe to certain beauty standards. Topicals is not only disrupting the ointment market, but also helps people to accept flare-ups and have fun taking good care of themselves. As someone who grew up with chronic skin conditions, it’s so rewarding to see people talking about their skin journeys in a positive way.”

Olowe’s greatest challenge was defending the industry norm that requires beauty companies to constantly release new products. The research and development process for Topicals is longer because they test their products to ensure they’re delivering the absolute best. Fortunately, the company’s digital campaigns combined with the efficacy of the products has kept consumers coming back for more.

Olowe warns young entrepreneurs with a drive to be successful not to wait to get started. “If you psych yourself out, even just a little bit, you won’t do it. Don’t even think about what you can’t do. Just ask, ‘Why not me?’”