In Founder Focus we introduce entrepreneurs and change-makers working on innovative startups, social enterprises and SME’s around Aotearoa New Zealand.
At a glance
Founder: Nicole Bourne
Business: All Things Foil
Founded: 2024
HQ: Taranaki
Can you tell us a bit about your business?
My name is Nicole, a qualified hairdresser for 12+ years, two years ago I ventured out to open my own salon. I envisioned I would work in my dream salon for the rest of my career, until the creative juices started to flow and I began testing the gaps in the market that I felt I needed within my space.
I began to get a little bored and although the salon became busier and was thriving, the day-to-day operations were very similar. Within the space, we were all busy senior stylists and I found myself cutting and folding foil for everyday use in a blonde specialist salon. I enjoyed this to a degree because I’m an active relaxer so the more productive I could be the better, until one night I did not want to be doing this job, all of a sudden “lightbulb moment”.
I started researching NZ companies, competitors, and manufacturers for pop-up pre-cut hair foil and found a lack of local offerings and trendiness. Since having an e-commerce site for my hair salon I felt like I understood the startup and what was involved, also using other products in the market I knew what was lacking, to be quite honest I felt like nothing was on trend or modern and wanted to reach the more boutique specialised salons or small salons like my own that is just simply time poor. Because I’m a hairdresser by trade I was able to test and trial samples so I knew what the hairdressers were needing! I have only just launched from home using Shopify and my hair salon hasn’t cut foil for over three weeks (since launching).
What’s the backstory for your business idea?
Just after our busy period in December, I was able to take a few days off to dive deeper into manufacturers after long conversations wanting to fix this problem I had. I ordered a heap of competitor foil during our busy period as this was a pain point for me (long days and less time to cut foil) so I could see what I liked the best size and thickness wise, consulting with my staff to see what they also liked the most, I ended up getting about six samples from different manufacturers and found what I didn’t like in a foil. Thickness and length are everything.
I came up with the idea, sitting in the lounge folding foil outside of my workplace hours which wasn’t fair on my family. While I get to go to work and do what I enjoy, between myself and my husband who works shifts we manage to have more time and less financial pressure due to packaging up orders from home which equals more family time.
What programmes, learning or mentoring, or resources have been of assistance so far?
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