We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Nucete-Elliott a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Andrea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
I create a space where with one product (Tie it yourself Hair ties) every person with long hair feels empowered and ready to take on any challenge that life might throw at them.
Andrea , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was born in Venezuela raised in Italy. Former Indoor volleyball Pro transitioned to beach volleyball in 2015/16. Having had a very difficult upbringing filled with emotional, physical and sexual abuse, I like to think of myself as an incredibly resilient human being.
When I moved to the US in 2013, I had the goal to become a Neurosurgeon as well as retying the bond with my father, who lived in Houston at the time. Little did I know that life had different plans for me, as I met my husband, Jerritt Elliott, head volleyball coach at the University of Texas in Austin. My life changed direction as I chose to move to Austin, graduate in liberal arts from UT, start a business (www.tiyproducts.com) and pursue my beach volleyball dream. I am lucky to be able to do all those things directly from my home here in Austin and love the impact that my life has had on others, I am currently a Lululemon ambassador for the Barton Creek Mall location and I am in love with the people I have been able to connect with so far!!!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As I mentioned before, I was sexually abused for ten years by a family member as well as emotionally and physically abused by my biological mother. I found refuge in nature when I lived on the Caribbean island of Margarita in Venezuela and later in sports and school when I lived in Italy.
I developed an eating disorder when I was 16 due to the constant comments made by my mother about my body changing, and finally healed completely from it at the age of 24! I never sought medical help for it, I wanted to get over this huge hurdle all by myself… I did it, as well as dealing with the aftermath implications of my early years.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My husband, Jerritt Elliott, paid attention to one of them most negligible yet ever present issues in the hair care. business. the HAIR TIE! he asked his athletes why they were always fidgeting with their hair and what was the real problem. They all responded in a different way to a very simple question: “is there nothing you can customize for the volume of your hair?” the girls said no… and his lightbulb went on!!! Him and I connected because of volleyball, I was a professional athlete in Italy and he is a D1 college coach for volleyball (small world as you might guess).. When I moved to the United States, he invited me to SXSW in Austin and we have been a couple ever since! Maybe just love at first sight!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tiyproducts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiy_products/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiyproducts
- Linkedin: Andrea Nucete-Elliott
- Twitter: Nuceteelliott_A
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_pkD5F4o8aCcGFcYYS40Tw
Image Credits
Morgan Knight Hughes