428: How KIN Apparel’s Founder Turned a Dorm Room Side Hustle Into a $10 Million Business

This week in the guest chair I have Philomina Kane, Ghanaian-American entrepreneur and content creator. In 2017, she graduated from Princeton University and began to cement herself as a haircare YouTuber. Garnering a following of nearly 200,000 subscribers, Philomina became a guiding force, empowering Black women to embrace and care for their natural hair. After building a strong brand and loyal following, Philomina founded KIN Apparel, a brand dedicated to crafting satin lined hoodies and hats for both hair protection and comfort. In this episode she shares about: How the innovative approach of KIN Apparel caught the attention of Shark Tank landed a six-figure deal with SKIM’s founding partner Emma Grede Her desire-driven approach to marketing and how leading with offering a solution to a problem has hooked her audience Reaching over $10M in revenue while continuously navigating challenges like fulfillment centers and a changing financial landscape Highlights include: 00:00 Intro 03:15 From the Bronx to Ghana 07:30 Building a following on YouTube 14:50 Founding KIN Apparel 20:00 Transition to full-time entrepreneurship 27:00 Benefits of vulnerable marketing 32:00 Financial journey- grants and funding 41:00 Navigating the changing financial landscape 44:00 Shark Tank experience 47:00 Challenges with fulfillment centers 57:00 Tips for entrepreneurs Check out episode 428 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Links Mentioned: Philomina’s YouTube:    / @naturallyphilo   Philomina’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs3xy3wpZ... Philomina’s TikTok:   / naturallyphilo_   KIN Apparel: https://kinapparel.org/ KIN Apparel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinapparel_... LEDA Program: https://ledascholars.org/ Science of Black Hair: https://www.amazon.com/Science-Black-... Hello Alice: https://helloalice.com/ Black Ambition: https://blackambitionprize.com/ New Voices: https://newvoicesfoundation.org/ Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08... YouTube:    / sidehustlepro   Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss Affiliate Disclosure: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend or share. If you purchase those items through my links, I may earn a commission. You will not pay more when you use my links.