This month, to celebrate International Women’s Day and champion some of our female founders, we caught up with Ozohu Adoh, founder of Epara.
Ozohu Adoh grew up in Nigeria, lives in the UK and has a life-long personal passion for authentic skincare. Yet for a long time she suffered from dry, uneven skin. No treatments or cosmetics helped and no existing brand spoke to her as both a woman of colour and lover of luxury – so she decided to make her own. She sourced organic ingredients from Africa and began to experiment.
The result is Epara. A range of scientifically proven, beautifully bespoke products for your face and body derived from the rich soils of Africa that will wrap you in an all-natural luxury. Epara repairs and pampers, leaving skin even, moisturised and hydrated.
The moment that ignited the spark in me to start a business was…
When friends started to notice and improvement in my skin and ask for some of the solution I was using. In fact, they suggested I commercialise the idea.
The toughest challenge I’ve faced is (and how you overcame it)…
With a background in Finance and Strategy, navigating the beauty industry was hard work. Luckily, I met some incredibly talented individuals who had deep industry knowledge and were very supportive as I began to build the business.
The biggest success has been…
Seeing global growth of the brand and the resilience we have demonstrated in forging ahead against incredibly difficult odds.
I’m very good at…
Seeing the big picture and having some idea of perspective. In the grand scheme of things every setback or great success becomes a learning point within the context of your life journey.
The type of person I look to recruit is…
Someone who is willing to learn. I am happy for the person to say, I don’t know the answer but guess what? I am going to research it to see how best to address our particular problem.
The part of my day I most look forward to is…
Mid-afternoon, when I take a break from work and everything to become centrered once again.
If I could give fellow entrepreneurs one piece of advice it would be…
Stay the course! Even when it looks dire, remedies can always be found.
Outside of work I can be found…
Reading, taking courses on different things and cooking.
My philosophy on life is…
To do your best every day. Tomorrow is another day and opportunity to try again.
Client story
What was your business challenge? Setting up the right structure from the beginning and having a robust shareholder agreement in place which Alex kindly guided me through.
How did you work with Ignition Law on this? What support did we provide you with? Alex helped in structuring the business, helping draft the SHA and closing our first seed round.
Did you enjoy working with the team at Ignition? Absolutely. They have always been so professional and competent in all our dealings.
Instagram @eparaskincare
Twitter @eparaskincare
Facebook Epara
