
How to Leave Your Day Job, Build Your Brand & Start Your Own Thing with Nicole Gibbons, Founder of Clare
09/04/23 • 52 min
In this week's episode we're re-airing one of our top episodes with Nicole Gibbons, the founder of Clare, the only Black-owned paint brand in the US, and is a favorite of Jessica Alba, Maria Sharapova, and Nate Berkus to name a few.
Before pursuing interior design, Nicole spent nearly a decade managing PR for one of the world’s largest retail brands, Victoria's Secret. Although she was excelling in her career, Nicole felt uninspired and was looking for a new outlet for her creativity. She started working on a decorating blog on the side that ultimately gained serious traction and led her into the path of interior design.
After working as a designer and establishing herself as a voice in the industry, Nicole decided to do another career pivot and had a yearning to build something that would be a household name. When working with clients, she always noticed the hassle around picking paints and saw an opportunity to disrupt the outdated paint industry and create a direct-to-consumer business that makes the entire process a way better experience.
Nicole has been featured in top media outlets such as HGTV, The Rachael Ray Show, Good Morning America, and Oprah Winfrey’s OWN. She's also raised venture capital from the backers of Warby Parker, Casper, Peloton, and more.
We talk to Nicole today about the power of patience when it comes to building your business, how to think about your finance before you take the leap, how she raised money and built a tech business with zero connections to start, and so much more!
In this episode, we'll talk to Nicole about:
Nicole's thoughts on confidence and the nature of risk and reward in entrepreneurship. [3:09]
The familial links that Nicole has to entrepreneurship and her early corporate career. [4:30]
Nicole's side hustle journey: pursuing passion while employed. [6:06]
How the blog organically evolved from a passion project into a business. [8:12]
Patience and consistency fueled Nicole's transition to full-time interior design. [10:01]
Foregoing the safety of paychecks and betting on yourself. [13:16]
Nicole's second pivot; executing on her research and ideas. [20:48]
How networking has played into Nicole's strategy throughout. [24:45]
Entering the world of venture capital; Nicole's philosophy towards funding. [27:13]
Advice for approaching investors; asking questions and due diligence. [34:57]
Sharing the story of your brand and creating a common thread through everything you do. [37:31)
Nicole's key resources: community, questions, and more. [41:29]
Nicole's thoughts on the idea of work-life balance and welcoming different seasons. [46:18]
Lessons from the early days of hiring for a new company. [49:28]
This episode is brought to you by beeya:
Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances.
Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10
Follow Yasmin:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/
Follow Nicole:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolegibbonsstyle
Clare's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarepaint
Clare Website: https://www.clare.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this week's episode we're re-airing one of our top episodes with Nicole Gibbons, the founder of Clare, the only Black-owned paint brand in the US, and is a favorite of Jessica Alba, Maria Sharapova, and Nate Berkus to name a few.
Before pursuing interior design, Nicole spent nearly a decade managing PR for one of the world’s largest retail brands, Victoria's Secret. Although she was excelling in her career, Nicole felt uninspired and was looking for a new outlet for her creativity. She started working on a decorating blog on the side that ultimately gained serious traction and led her into the path of interior design.
After working as a designer and establishing herself as a voice in the industry, Nicole decided to do another career pivot and had a yearning to build something that would be a household name. When working with clients, she always noticed the hassle around picking paints and saw an opportunity to disrupt the outdated paint industry and create a direct-to-consumer business that makes the entire process a way better experience.
Nicole has been featured in top media outlets such as HGTV, The Rachael Ray Show, Good Morning America, and Oprah Winfrey’s OWN. She's also raised venture capital from the backers of Warby Parker, Casper, Peloton, and more.
We talk to Nicole today about the power of patience when it comes to building your business, how to think about your finance before you take the leap, how she raised money and built a tech business with zero connections to start, and so much more!
In this episode, we'll talk to Nicole about:
Nicole's thoughts on confidence and the nature of risk and reward in entrepreneurship. [3:09]
The familial links that Nicole has to entrepreneurship and her early corporate career. [4:30]
Nicole's side hustle journey: pursuing passion while employed. [6:06]
How the blog organically evolved from a passion project into a business. [8:12]
Patience and consistency fueled Nicole's transition to full-time interior design. [10:01]
Foregoing the safety of paychecks and betting on yourself. [13:16]
Nicole's second pivot; executing on her research and ideas. [20:48]
How networking has played into Nicole's strategy throughout. [24:45]
Entering the world of venture capital; Nicole's philosophy towards funding. [27:13]
Advice for approaching investors; asking questions and due diligence. [34:57]
Sharing the story of your brand and creating a common thread through everything you do. [37:31)
Nicole's key resources: community, questions, and more. [41:29]
Nicole's thoughts on the idea of work-life balance and welcoming different seasons. [46:18]
Lessons from the early days of hiring for a new company. [49:28]
This episode is brought to you by beeya:
Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances.
Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10
Follow Yasmin:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/
Follow Nicole:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolegibbonsstyle
Clare's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarepaint
Clare Website: https://www.clare.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode

How to Have a Better Period Without Painkillers & Habits You Need for Healthy Hormones with Dr. Saru Bala
Can you imagine never taking painkillers on your period again?! We’re here to tell you that it’s possible. In today’s episode of Hormone Happy Hour, Dr. Saru Bala shares time-tested secrets to hormone health and having happy periods every month.
In this episode you’ll learn:
PMS hacks if you don’t want to use painkillers
How to know if your period is heavy
What can lead to estrogen dominance
The impact of stress on gut health
How to dial in sleep for healthy hormones
Dr. Bala is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor with a degree from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. Prior to attending medical school, she received her Bachelor's degree in Neurobiology from the University of Texas at Austin. She has done extra training in the areas of women’s health and naturopathic endocrinology. Her primary focus is on managing chronic hormonal issues such as PMS, period pain, heavy bleeding, fibroids, endometriosis, Hashimoto's, fertility, and other women's hormonal health concerns.
This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances and to learn more about Beeya’s seed cycling bundle.
Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10
Follow Yasmin:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/
Follow Dr. Saru:
Website: https://www.drsarubala.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsarubala
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Busting Weight Loss Myths & Transforming Your Relationship with Food with Kim Shapira, Celebrity Dietitian
Are you always fighting cravings? Or in a never ending battle with your weight? In today’s episode, we sat down with a Registered Dietitian to get to the bottom of weight loss woes, popular advice, Ozempic, hunger cues and everything you need to know if your goal is to lose and maintain your weight—without depriving yourself.
In this episode you’ll learn:
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Most common weight loss MISTAKES
How to maintain weight in perimenopause
The truth about taking Ozempic
How to STOP sugar cravings fast
Why your hunger cues are off
Kim Shapira M.S., R.D. is a celebrity dietitian (Kaley CuoCo, Brittney Snow, Marla Sokoloff and many more), nutritional therapist, and author of This is What You're Really Hungry For releasing July 25th, 2023. With a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Tulane University and a Master’s degree in Human Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition from Boston University. Kim has spent over 25 years helping people lose weight and keep it off (with a giant emphasis on keeping it off), both in her private Los Angeles practice as well as in hospitals, sports clinics, addiction centers and universities around the States.
Kim Shapira has been at the forefront of nutrition therapy since the early 2000s, helping clients to truly understand their relationship with their bodies and correcting life long negative behaviors. Kim has been featured in Yahoo! News, Vanity Fair, Pop Sugar, Sky News, Just Jenny, Dr. Drew and many more.
This episode is brought to you by beeya:
Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances.
Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10
Follow Yasmin:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/
Follow Kim:
Website: https://www.kimshapiramethod.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimshapiramethod/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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