How 26-Year-Old Lady Started a Hoodie Company With N207,000, Now Make N122.5 Million
- A young lady who was raised in Ghana and started making hoodies with just N207,000 is raking in over N120 million every year from sales
- Philomena Kane started making hoodies when her hair began to fall off due to stress from school and decided to cut them off
- She said she always wore satin-line scarf before she could put on hoodie and decided to start making satin-lined hoodies
According to Philomena Kane, she was so stressed that her hair was already beginning to fall out.
The beginning of an idea
In 2014, Kane was studying biology at Princeton University and the pressure was seriously affecting her. So she shaved off her hair, and her natural hair grew back.
Source: UGC
She said she found herself wearing a scarf first before putting on a hoodie, she told CNBC. She decided one day to start making a satin-lined hoodie.
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In 2020, the 26-year-old started an outfitting company called Kin Apparel with just over N200,000. In 2021, Kane’s start-up has already garnered over N122 million in sales.
Investments pour in for her start-up
She got an additional N83 million investment from Lori Grenier and Emma Grede in exchange for 30 per cent of her company’s shares.
Her company, Kin Apparel, short for ‘Keep it naturally’ specialises in sweatshirts with satin-lined hoods made to stop frizz, retain moisture and fit all types of hairstyles. Her company also makes pillowcases, bucket hats and bonnets with the same material.
Kane said girls with big curls who cannot find a hoodie big enough to fit her hair, a guy with locks trying to lint the balls from forming on his hair, are the targets of her designs.
The founder of denim-brand, Good American who is also a founding partner of Kim Kardashian’s shapewear-apparel line SKIMS, stated she was most impressed with Kane's story and personality. She said retailers are looking for black female founders, adding that Kin Apparel has a very big window of opportunity.
Huge following on social media
Kane now has over 200,000 subscribers on her personal YouTube channel. She documents her hair journey on the channel and gives tips to other black women and tells them to embrace their hair.
She also has a huge following on other social media platforms like Instagram and Tik-Tok and they have made her spend nothing to get customers.
She was raised by her grandmother in Ghana. She said her parent did not approve of her moving from what she studied at the university to selling or making hoodies.
Billionaire gifts 19-year-old beauty entrepreneur N166 million to speak with his daughters
Legit.ng has reported that a 19-year-old beauty entrepreneur, Tania Speaks, has gotten a raise for her organic beauty business from a billionaire, Mark Cuban after she pitched her ideas on a television show, Shark Tank. The investment, however, came with a caveat.
That the 19-year-old meets his two daughters and have a one-on-one with them.
The billionaire said he would invest the money for a 15 per cent share in her beauty business and also that she should tell his daughters how she built her business.
Source: Legit.ng
