Today we’d like to introduce you to Osazomon Imarenezor.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Osazomon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up in South Chicagoland as a 1st generation Nigerian American immigrant and then transitioning into a multi-cultural, residential math and science college prep school in the deep cornfields of Aurora, IL, has significantly pivoted my purpose in life: Advance the human condition till your very last breath.
My research for the past 7 years has been focused on toxic conditions for human dermal (skin) fibroblast cells in cancer and cosmetic ingredients. For this reason, my undergraduate degree focused in Chemistry. I’m a doctoral student at the University of Miami in Biomedical Science focusing on Skin Biology and Dermatological Science. I love science, beauty and technology. I consider everything I do to be geared towards that (fashion included), so with this current degree, I’m invested in merging cosmetic pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to further the skincare sector of the cosmetics industry.
I’m currently CEO of a startup venture, Slayd, which is a platform at the intersection of beauty, social technology, and ecommerce! A no-brainer, right? Beauty is my first love. As a Nigerian woman, my mother, my aunts, sisters, cousins, best friends; we all do HAIR. It’s almost like cooking for my family. (HUGE SN: I cannot cook. Sorry to my future husband, our chef will have to to do). I originally thought of the idea in 2015 as I was just always being a ‘beauty broker’ between stylists and ladies that needed a beauty service (The plug lol).
With that, I just thought of making a business off of that. I entered a campus-wide competition in 2016 and won over $10,000 in 2017 to focus on my business plan. Ever since then it’s been a great ride. I do have other Global businesses but they all are focused in conjunction with Slayd’s mission of expanding the female beautypreneur internationally.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’ve definitely had my share of 10-foot hurdles. Where do I even start?
School for sure was something I was good and bad at. Being in tune with my technical and creative sides had me on a different wavelength, I feel. In my undergrad experience, I had to withdraw an entire semester my senior year because I just wasn’t there. There were Cs, Ds and W’s on my transcript, towards the end. This was when I truly understood what I wanted out of life.
I lost 4 founders in the process of starting my businesses, and had some days where we had no idea on where to go next. I had to earn respect as a hard-working individual, regardless of my gender and ethnicity, from pretty much everyone. I just never gave up. No matter what, I kept believing in what I had. I stayed positive and worked strategically smarter. Nothing in this life happens without that.
I’ve lost some funding without even being able to utilize 1% of the funding and then had to start back from square one. There have been delays on the development and some days when you want to give up.
My advice to young women starting off their journey is to enjoy the process of being great. There is no blueprint to this life of success, only a set of habits: Work Hard, get into a morning routine and a night routine, control your emotions and you’ll control your life’s path. Ask for HELP, this way you can set yourself up to ALWAYS win. View every loss as an opportunity to win. There are no such thing as Ls, only Ws in disguise.
Pace yourself enough so that you don’t let your fire burn out! Always have fun with it. I can keep going but that’s all, for now, lemme know if you want more.
Oh and you are what you eat. I lost 30 pounds in 2017 off of primarily changing my diet. I gained a clear mind as well.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Slayd story. Tell us more about the business.
I describe myself as a Nigerian Beauty Doctor! In every way, shape, and form, I intend to embody that. I am a scientist by training and a hands-on African-creative entrepreneur by nature. It is a mouthful, but that is what my life is centered around. I specialize in skin biology and dermatological science from the lab to consumer. Skincare consulting and colored wigs are my niches in beauty.
Being a doctoral student at the University of Miami puts me in the correct environment to build a network of skincare professionals and departments that are at the forefront of medicine in Miami. With skincare, I evaluate over 16 skin types and provide a range of affordable to luxury products to create a great skincare regimen.
I create frontal wigs as well as provide quality extensions for my clientele. Extensions range from the low tier, more affordable extensions that last about 6 months, to high-end extensions that last at least 2 years. Most importantly, I provide cosmetic service providers with ideal clientele in their cities. We enjoy expanding the reach of beauty across country borders and cultures.
What sets us apart is our pipeline from beauty education to BeautECommerce™ for all service providers. We believe it is essential to have active and passive income for all service providers on our platform.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
My main advice is to find someone that has done exactly what you want to do, REACH. OUT. Email, Instagram DM (this has been extremely successful for me) or call.
Here is my IG DM Template:
Hey *MENTOR/COLLEAGUE NAME*!
I hope all is well. My name is * YOUR NAME* and I am *CURRENT OCCUPATION OR CAREER*. I’m a fan of your work and have been studying your craft for a while. (Talk about your favorite work from them.)
I’d love to know if there are any openings or opportunities to assist you and your team. I’m currently based in *CITY*, *STATE* and my experience is as follows. (Hit them with your best files.)
This has allowed me to connect with creatives that have work with celebrities internationally, trust me. Do this.
Pricing:
- Closure Wigs: $110
- Frontal Wigs: $160
- Color: $25/bundle
Contact Info:
- Website: www.linktr.ee/osazomon
- Email: osazomoni@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/osazomon
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/osazomon
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/osazomon
Image Credit:
FashFotos by Ajibade Fashola, Adesuwa Aigbokhai, Olamide Tunde-Ali
Joe Reda and Sophia Lanzendorf
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
