We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thya Sanders a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Thya, thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

With starting any business, it’s scary going from idea conception to the physical service. Especially when it comes to technology, you never know what hurdles you may come across. A business owner always has that worry that people won’t be as excited about their idea like they are, however, when makeup artists started to jump on board, we realized that the interest was really there! Makeup artists were really wanting a platform like the NIYA app and when they came across it, they were so excited and they saw the vision and the future that there was something there for artists. It gave the artists independence, ease that everything was done through the app, and also saving them time.

The beauty industry is ever-changing and we are confident that or app can handle those changes. We have been in business for a bit of time now, however, with the strict measures that came with COVID, we found that our platform allowed artists to still bring in business. We expect to be even more useful post-COVID by allowing consumers to connect with their favorite artists no matter where in the world they are.

Thya, 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’m the CEO & founder of the NIYA Beauty App. I developed the NIYA Beauty app after recognizing a major need in the makeup space. I found myself clueless about the latest cosmetic products and trends, overwhelmed by the amount of information available and unsure of where to turn for expert guidance. I soon learned I was not alone. So I created the NIYA Beauty app to help us in our journey through the beauty world!

Unlike going to a department store and feeling the pressure to buy cosmetics in exchange for makeup tips or scouring through endless YouTube videos, NIYA Beauty offers its NIYA Babes access to professional makeup artists for expert advice in real-time, on their own terms and from the comfort of their home.

It all started with me learning makeup from my friends before going to college. It was something that we liked to do together but I always found it hard to find products that matched my skin tone and it was a little bit of a struggle. However, when I went to college I got compliments on my skin as in my family, we were really watchful and had good techniques on how to take care of our skin and so I stopped using makeup all throughout college. This was a big shift for me but I loved it. After all these years however of not wearing makeup, I realized how fast the makeup world was changing and it was getting harder for women to keep up with all the new trends and styles.

What really struck, however, was when I went to a retail shop and asked a beauty expert a question and she turned to me and said, “You really don’t know how to apply makeup right?” and that kind of scared me. Due to this, I then became shy to ask for help from makeup artists. So when looking was looking at what my resources were, it was either a retail counter or looking on YouTube. So, which has no personalization. So I wanted something that was just a lesson where I could ask a couple of questions and the person would not judge me. I thought I could have someone come to my house and teach me but that option was always so expensive.

That’s when I realized I don’t see anything like what I want out there so I am going to build it. I wanted to create a platform that allowed anyone who needed help with their makeup to be able to learn from the comfort of their own home at whatever time they needed and at an affordable price. This decision was not easy at first but I am so happy I took a wish to reality.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is ever-changing, so we’re always looking to adapt and have a “go-with-the-flow” mentality. One of the things I’ve had to learn is to not take myself too seriously and have fun with it. We realized that by showing the personal side of our brand, behind-the-scenes & sharing the real people behind NIYA, that we’ve been able to connect with our audience more extensively. Our best performing content has been made on a whim & TikTok has been an amazing asset to reach thousands of women. It’s really important to us to engage our consumers while keeping it light, fun and approachable – which is the basis of our values here at NIYA.

Any advice for managing a team?

Something I had to learn when starting my business was managing a small team. When it comes to my management style, I prioritize communication (sometimes over-communication). I manage by offering support when needed, so that I can empower my team to feel confident in making decisions with and without me. There are always teachable moments. For example, I’ve learned that the best way to approach a situation when a team member makes a mistake is to push forward, rather than dwell on it, and discuss how we can learn from it in order to not repeat it in the future. Anger and frustration is never the answer, but instead, coaching & uplifting my team.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.niyabeautyapp.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/niyabeautyapp
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/niyabeautyapp
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/niyabeautyapp
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr64s2vAsGy21T-wrkhqPjA
• Other: TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@niyabeautyapp Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/niyabeautyapp