Khadidja Toure  watched her mom make her first million at 24 and was later inspired to launch her company, Kubra Kay Skincare. Her skincare line is influenced by  West African skincare secrets, tips, and tricks. Khadidja traveled to 25 countries in search of the best ingredients and skincare practices to incorporate into Kubra Kay’s all-natural ingredients such as shea butter, cocoa butter, and tumeric. 

Building Kubra Kay has proven to be rewarding yet challenging as Khadidja  travels weekly for her full-time biomedical engineering career. Her earlier time being a top basketball player prepared her for such a rigorous schedule. We sat down to discuss how she's implemented the lessons she has received from her mom & grandmother into her plans for growing Kubra Kay.

During your time playing basketball at ECU was Kubra Kay apart of your plan?

I know. I always wanted to start a brand, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I always was really intrigued with skin and beauty. And I think that while I was playing basketball, I just realized that my skin just wasn't very good. So I think it just transitioned from being something that was like a pain point to something that I became really passionate about and really obsessed with. So it just kind of naturally progressed to Kubra Kay.

While you were traveling, who did you meet along the way? What did you experience along the way that kind of influenced you while creating this product?

Over the last like two years, I think I've been to 25 different countries. I'm an engineer and I would travel to different clients. Then over the weekends, I would just go to different countries. It was just so interesting, because I go to all these small villages in South Asia and Africa. You would see these older ladies that have the most incredible skin. It was just interesting because I would go to all these little villages and learn the natural remedies that they'd make for their skin and different skincare practices. Eastern medicine and traditional Western medicine have their differences. I've learned different techniques that they use when they apply the moisturizers to their face. It’s really incredible.

What have you learned about yourself from creating this company?

I think one of the main things that I learned is how many boundaries I put on myself throughout the process. I always knew that I wanted to start a brand and I've always wanted to create something, but I think in my head and I didn't realize I was doing this. I put so many like boundaries on myself. I was like, okay you know I could never create like a L’Oreal or I could never create something like that. It was so much easier than I thought when I was going along the process. So I realized how much limitations I put on myself

How did you go about procuring funding for business. Have you been bootstrapping? Did you get any investors or partnerships?

Yes, so I've been really lucky because my mom and my family, they're all entrepreneurs. So I invested in stocks really early. I've owned a house really early that I rent out. I've been able to fund everything on my own, which I'm happy about because then I have complete creative vision for everything that I want to do. I've just been very lucky that I'm in a position where I've invested early on and invested my money really smart early on. I was able to create the seed money that I needed for this.

How did your mom influence your building of this company?

My grandma's from Senegal. She used to trade and she's just a hustler. So I mean, she didn't grow up really rich. I feel like she was able to just pass down that worth work ethic to my mom. She has her PhD in physics. She's honestly really brilliant. I think that with her ability to go to school, get her PhD with my grandma's trade background and hustle background she learned to trade really early. She would be in college braiding people's hair. She had a full ride scholarship. She would braid people's hair and turned that into a down payment for her first house. So just like from that aspect, just watching her hustle that was something I really got to pick up a lot from. I was very much inspired by her. I think she has been linked to a lot of my first memories of skincare because she has such incredible skin and she would show me a lot of the natural remedies that she would create in Africa. She's just inspired me in every single way. I'm really lucky to have her.

What do you want people to know about what you do?

I just want them to know that we're very purpose driven. So for me, I've always wanted to be a self esteem advocate and a confidence advocate. I think that there is a complete difference in someone that is really confident and someone that's not. It’s really beautiful to see someone that's really comfortable within themselves and a lot of times I feel like that does start with your appearance. I feel like for me skin is one of the first things you notice in terms of your health, your youth, your beauty, and your overall wellness. I feel like that's really linked to that. So I feel like I want people to know that I'm very purpose driven and not sales driven and not like hype driven. I just want to be able to help people find that confidence. I feel like I'm really just blessed and fortunate to get to do that through Kubra Kay.

The Real Deal Behind The Hustle

What’s a mantra that keeps you encouraged?

If it's truly meant to be, it'll happen.

What’s one app or tool that helps you manage your work/life?

My planner. I like to be really really organized, but my planners like honestly really next level.

What book should every Girl Behind The Hustle Read?

The alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What’s your go to song before a meeting or to kick off your day?

I’m obsessed with H.E.R.

Here's how you can connect with Khadidja Toure and support her businesses Kubra Kay | Instagram |

You can stay connected via Instagram/Facebook @girlbehindthehustle or by Email at heygirl@girlbehindthehustle.com

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