Meet Kimberly Ikediobi | Founder & Chemical Engineering Student @ Virginia Tech

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Ikediobi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor of my success I believe is the amount of hair growth I’ve achieved by solely using my products. I post my progress on my instagram page (@naturalkuru) and when others see that the products are working on my hair, it gives them a reason to believe that it will work on theirs. I also think the transparency my business has is important. I’ve shown the stages of me formulating on my YouTube channel and I create a detailed description of each product and what it does for your hair. In packages, I also write a personalized letter to each customer so they know that they mean so much to me! Without the support of those who believe in me, my success would not be nearly as much as it is today.

What should our readers know about your business?
My main goal was to create high quality products that are affordable. I wanted everyone, no matter their financial status, to be able to take care of their hair. I wanted the products to be organic with ingredients that are recognizable. A huge problem that many face is using products with harmful ingredients that they are unaware of. On my website, I have created a description for each ingredient I use to avoid that problem. I also wanted to have different size options (mini and regular) so customers can try a product before fully investing a lot of money and end up not liking it. I basically wanted to combat the problems that I faced as a natural. I’m most proud of my hair growth, as well as my customers. It always fills me with joy when my customers send pictures of their progress. I’m excited to see where my business will expand to as the support increases. It was not easy to get to where I am today. I had many sleepless nights researching my ingredients, how to make the products most efficiently, and what products I even wanted to make. I also had to advertise and advertise, and it can be difficult when some are praying on your downfall. I overcame it by believing in my vision and changing my point of view to where I only saw success. I learned that not everyone will support you, even some of your “friends” so it’s important to focus on the people who do support you and do it for them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The part of Houston I’m from (shoutout Alief!) is where I believe to be the middle of everything. The great places to be are not that far from where I live. I’d take them to Memorial City Mall or the Galleria to shop. To eat, there’s so many great places. Some of my favorites are Cheddars, Canes, Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill. I would even be down to try something new with them because there are so many great spots that I still need to explore. To have fun, we would have to go to the Space Center, the Museum District, Galveston, Discovery Green, the Downtown Aquarium, and so much more. If in season, they have to go to the Rodeo or watch the Rockets play at the Toyota Center. Even lowkey things like bowling, laser tag, paint ball, ice and roller skating, go-kart riding, etc would be so fun to do.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, I have to shoutout my parents and siblings. They believed in me from the start and helped me before I even launched. They helped me formulate, make edits to my brand design, website and more. Since I am a college student, my parents wanted me to focus on my studies and not make my products while I’m taking classes. With that, they helped me mass produce all my products during Christmas break and now they package and ship off my products for me while I am away. Next, I shoutout my college roommate, Mikayla, who helped me make my products during the semester when we were busy with classes. I thank my two best friends, Emmanuel and Anita, for their immense support and encouragement from the very beginning, my friend Vy for helping me handle the nitty gritty details, and my friend Gerald for always giving me his honest opinion and feedback for my future ideas. I also thank my Natural Kuru ambassadors who wanted to try out my products and give me their honest feedback, as well as spread the word! Lastly, I thank every single one of my customers (109 orders as of now!) for believing in my small business!

Website: www.thenaturalkuru.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturalkuru/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyikediobi/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NaturalKuru

Image Credits
Mikayla Dolo-Pittman Cherisse Bradley Shaniya Overton Bryce Daniels Nala Miller Eddie Galvan Darian Green – Photographer