We recently connected with Chinelo Fleary and have shared our conversation below.

Chinelo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

This story might sound familiar in the sense COVID came as a blessing and curse too many, but me COVID allowed me time to think for forced me to become uncomfortable. Ma’at Nail Polish is a direct reflection of ambition, resilience, hard work. Ive never been the type of person who didn’t enjoy the challenge and always wanting to the possibilities of the unknown and pushing my limits. Me, I did it, it never seem impossible, Ive always been a doer and wanted to continue to do and the shutdown of the world put time and opportunity into perspective for me.

The Idea of a Nail Polish Company was conceived in the middle on the pandemic while shopping at a grocery store in Miami by two friends. It was the craziest idea because I was not and still not the girl who you would find in the beauty aisles Ulta beauty buying tons of makeup, at the age of 30 Im still learning how to apply concealer, Im not in the nail salon every Saturday morning for a refill, polish change, full set or pedicure; it wasn’t because I hated the idea of women doing whatever to enhance their natural beauty or adding to what they already have; I hated the wait of the salon, I hated the smell of the chemicals coming from the polish and the idea of not know what is in the very product that I’m wearing is beyond me, there had to be another option. Don’t get me wrong, I love to look nice, wear makeup and I do get my nails done but the process is daunting and not to mention, after removing a full-set or gel polish your nails, nail bed and cuticles are completed ruined.are completely ruined. Looking at a beauty magazine in the middle of the produce aisle, i questioned by friend and then business partner, ” Vegan Nail Polish, how on earth in nail polish vegan, why is it o important to make something that you are not consuming Vegan, He then said I don’t know, that interesting. I told him, wouldn’t it be crazy if we start a Vegan Nail Polish Company, he say yes. From that day, it was official, we were starting a Vegan Nail Polish Company, There had to be a product for someone like me, who was conscious about what is not only going in their body but putting on their body and ensure that we not only look good but feel good on our terms. Drilling and soak off nail polish has now become a thing of the past and now we get back to healthy nails. The CBD component because my mother had been using CBD for other aliments due to her arthritis and she had experience nail loss. So i put the two together and decided to try added full spectrum CBD to the nail polish, since the CBD so helpful in so many other ways, lets see the affects on the nail . My mother has been a big influence in my journey, from the CBD aspect of the Polish to the influence to one of my favorite colors in my collection ” Melanie” .

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Im Chinelo Fleary, a Miami Native but a strong Caribbean background and influence. The values the family has instilled me in and my sibling will have have allowed us to thrive in any environment and in any industry; honesty, love, family, humility and empathy. As I was making my product I envisioned myself as a consumer and asked myself, this was idea at conception and it has stuck with me; Ma’at is an Egyptian Deity that stood for Honor, Truth and Justice and it ties in perfect with not only the product itself but my values as a person. Everything with Ma’at Nail Polish was intentional, from the names of the polish, which allow for some type of connection to the user to the logo and the placement of the feather replacing the apostrophe in Ma’at name.Behind everything there is a story worth telling and worth listening .

I saw that many woman or beauty lovers alike are suffering from dry damaged and brittle nails and feel addicted to using gel polish because they feel there is option and that not true. Ma’at solves those problems, thats to our formula and the CBD infusion in all our products giving user not only a last manicure or full set that does not chip, does not need to be drilled or soaked off.

What Im most proud of is the ability I have to adapt and really push my boundaries. The sole purpose of the company was just to push my boundaries, do what most people see as impossible and in the process be a instrument of inspiration and change, breaking generational curses and not only create generational wealth making paths for generational trailblazer, thinkers and innovators.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Most people are not fortunate enough to use their own capital to start your business. I worked and still work as a full time teacher and I own real estate in Miami and Jacksonville. I’ve learned very quickly that it is very important to pay yourself and that exactly what I do. In both of my business I have become my own employee, I work so I should get paid and the rest of the profit are invest back into my business to allow it to grow, You business has to work for you just as much as you work for your business.

I have family support and they have supported me in ways that money will never amount to. I invest not only money but time into my business and thats the most important and most expensive item you can spend.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Business is not easy and a lot of practices and trusty is a big when establishing relationships, personal or business. The second year in business a lot changes personally that would be detour a lot of people from life, I literally was at rock bottom and I did not know what to do. Having positive and like minded people around me like my family allowed me to persevere. I had to change my circle of friends because they were not moving in the same direction I was, and it hurt but I knew it was going to be for the better. There were relationship that I had form through my journey and a lot of them I appreciated because they each taught me something good or bad and they have stuck with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: Ma’at Nail Polish
• Facebook: Ma’at Nail Polish
• Youtube: youtube.com/maatnailpolish

Image Credits
Credits are due to all family and friends