Today we’d like to introduce you to Ishan Dutta.
Ishan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have a very international background. I grew up in India, and studied in the UK and France.
I first started in the hairdressing industry more than twenty years ago. I had just come out of business school in France and I decided to work for an international cosmetics company. The work was great. I learned about the details of the beauty business, right from designing a label, writing copy, developing new products and launching them worldwide.
The greatest experience I got from my work was the thrill of creating new products and watching them succeed in the marketplace.
I was hooked straight away by the magic of what hairdressers do in the salon. Creating products for them seemed to me like the dream job. My work ended up taking me all around the US and around the world.
Hairdressing has changed a lot over these last 20 years.
It’s become more daring, more colorful, more fashionable. Women aged 50 are 25 inside their heads, and their hairstylists need to respond to their needs or risk losing their business.
It’s become more social. Thanks to Facebook, Instagram & Twitter, hairdressers and their clients are more connected to each other than ever before. Women see a beautiful hair color result in their Facebook feed and they tag their hairdresser asking them to do it for them. Hairdressers see good techniques and they share them via Messenger with other hairdressers.
E-commerce has also changed things for hairdressers just like for everybody else. We all buy from Amazon now, and we expect good service level from any place we buy from. Hairdressers are ready to buy on the internet. Beauty stores have needed to up their game and provide better service, fresher stocks, better pricing.
So Why Did I start Ugly Duckling?
After many years of corporate life, I decided it was time I quit working for others and launch my own hairdressing brand. My vision was a brand that would help hairdressers achieve the most fashion-specific results.
I wanted the brand to be very real, very authentic. To this day people can say whatever they like about our brand on our FB page and we will publish it. I wanted to take advantage of the new digital and e-commerce trends. I wanted to be as remark-worthy on the internet as possible.
I launched Ugly Duckling just under 2 years ago. It’s based in LA, which is an excellent place to be because of the beauty culture. At the same time LA is a very cosmopolitan place and that is really important when you are in the hair business. Latino hair, Asian hair, European hair, African American hair. It’s all here.
So far, it’s gone very well.
We have had a very enthusiastic response from customers, pretty much from day one. Some of our products seem to be creating real niches in the market, which is really great.
I must say we have been very lucky in the support and the help we got from different sources…some famous names in hairdressing, models, photographers, tech people, sales, marketing, financial and moral help from family. You name it, I got free and unexpected help which made a real difference. I am really grateful to all these people.
We are still a young brand but we want to be bigger and reach more hairdressers. I am very confident that we will get there.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Challenges? Definitely managing the cash flow has been the biggest issue. As soon as sales started ramping up we were out of stock and we discovered we needed to invest a lot more in working capital just to keep growing.
The thing about starting business in middle age is that your cost base is really really high. Wife, kids in fee paying schools, mortgages etc. Luckily my wife has been very understanding and that has helped! We ended up selling a really nice new car and 2 nice houses to finance the business!
But it’s working. We are on top of the cash flow now and I don’t regret it.
Ugly Duckling – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We provide hairdressers, especially fashion-forward hairdressers who are pushing the boundaries with the latest products and techniques to help them achieve spectacular results for their clients.
What we’re most proud of us our products. We really take the trouble to get them right. Our color range has Argan Oil in it, so it leaves the hair very soft and shiny. The big trend these days is that hairdressers are going blonder than ever before. They hate brassiness, the trend is definitely ashy, cold colors. Rich vibrant bold colors are also in. Grey and Silver are in like never before.
Our products hit all these buttons. Our products achieve spectacular lift even on dark bases, and the ash blondes and toners are far ashier than most color lines. We have all the niche fashion colors that are not readily available. elsewhere. And unlike some products out there, they work!
I am also very proud of the fact that we have created a real community online where we share hairdressing ideas and techniques. We have over 55,000 followers now on our Facebook page, and the number is growing every day.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I would like to see Ugly Duckling much bigger 5 or 10 years from now.
Impacting many more hairdressers and helping them create great results in the salon.
I do intend to stay around and make all that happen!
Pricing:
- Professional Hair Color from $10.50
Contact Info:
- Address: Babe Cosmetics
5042 Wilshire Boulevard # 25918,
Los Angeles, CA 90036 - Website: www.uglyducklingcolor.com
- Phone: (213) 984-1398
- Email: sales@uglyducklingcolor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uglyducklingcolor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uglyducklingcolor/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/uglyducklingLA
Image Credit:
Nina Sukhovetskaya
Elona Taki
Brittney Perez
Hon G.
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