IWD 2021: Q&A with Scientia founder Tiffany Salmon

Female leader, product innovation expert and all round cool girl!  Meet our founder Tiffany Salmon…

We’re pretty proud that Scientia is female founded (and led by a predominantly female team!) so, in honour of International Women’s Day 2021, we sat down and did a quick Q&A with Tiffany on all things women in the beauty. From how she’s trying to help forge a gender equal world, to the biggest challenges she’s faced, let’s get into it… 

How do you define confidence? Personally and in the work place.
Confidence and self-belief have been hugely important in achieving my career goals. Feeling confident isn’t about arrogance, or walking into a room thinking you’re better than anyone else, but it is believing that you’re right, having that confidence behind your decisions and the confidence to voice them.  

What are your three tips for Women in business?

Ask questions, you might be afraid of looking silly or draft but how else will you learn? Speaking up, being curious, asking questions - that’s how you build knowledge.

Don’t be afraid to use your voice! Especially if you’re sat in a room full of men, it can feel quite intimidating to speak up. But, if you feel like you have a different opinion, a fresh idea, can do something better or bring something else to the table, then bring it. What’s the worst that can happen?

Be Kind. There’s this misconception you have to always be a badass to succeed in business, but you don’t. I think it’s so so important to be kind. Whether that’s to your peers, your boss, or someone you manage, be kind to them, help them, empower them. You’ll never know when you might need that too.

This years’ International Women’s Day theme is #choosetochallenge, what do you think you do to help forge a gender equal world?  

Over the past almost 2 years now, I’ve been building our brand division from scratch and have proudly employed a team of amazing women in both junior and more senior roles. I like to bring people on and then help them progress, invite them to board meetings and bring on their skill sets to help make them feel confident, empowered and listened to, ensuring they feel like they have a voice. 

I also have two children, a boy and a girl, and I try to make sure they both know their opportunities are equal, whatever they want to do, whatever they set their minds to, they can achieve it.

Who inspires you?
For sure my Mum, she inspires me every day, of course. She’s just faced a year in isolation, away from her 5 children and 10 grandchildren who she usually surrounds herself with, and she’s just been so strong and positive, she’s always been the best role model to us all.

Next, my team! I have a wonderful team of women (and men, but today we’re talking about the ladies!) and I’m so proud of everything they’ve managed to achieve this year. They inspire me every day with their attitude and their positivity, especially these past 12 months. They’ve been incredible, they know they can achieve anything and that’s just amazing. We’ve gone from being very small but we’re making big steps and I’m very proud of them.

Lastly, there’s a girl called Becca from a town near me who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and she’s been sharing her journey, treatment and experience on social media, whether that’s anxiety leading up to scans, or the way she’s been kicking its ass through her diet, through meditation and mainly though her mindset. I’ve never known someone to be so positive and strong in the face of pure adversary and I’m incredibly inspired by her daily.

What advice would you give to anyone starting up their own beauty/skincare brand?

Be really sure that this is what you want to do and then just go for it! Next I’d say find your niche, what are you passionate about? To make it work it has to be something you’re really into and in love with. Look for your area of the market and then just keep going till you get there! I wake up and go to sleep thinking about my work, it’s that obsession and drive that keeps me going.

What were the biggest challenges you faced setting up your own brand?

My experience is in private label, which means I’ve helped create brands for other people for the past 15 years, so when I moved into creating brands for myself that was a big learning curve. A baptism of fire, I’ve absolutely loved and learnt so much from, and it helped that I surrounded myself with an amazing team.
 
For Scientia specifically, the skincare market is SO competitive and there’s already so much out there. It was really important for me that the brand was unique, with its own tone of voice, aesthetic and products that offer something that doesn’t already exist on the market. 

Best advice you’ve ever been given?

Ask questions. You’re never going to learn anything if you don’t ask. Put yourself out there, even if it makes you feel stupid because no-one knows absolutely everything. I’ve made a point of surrounding myself with talented people - incredibly talented formulation chemists, the very best graphic designers and so on… those are the people I want helping to make my Scientia dreams become reality!

Any words to live by…

You’ll never achieve anything amazing staying inside your comfort zone- cliché but true- we do have to push ourselves.